TL;DR – It could have been more intense, but it becomes a surprisingly interesting car chase when it gets going.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this series.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause .

Twisted Metal Review –

It is a very odd time for video game adaptations, where we are oscillating wildly from adaptations that still feel embarrassed about their source material to those that are perfect recreations. In this shifting dichotomy, we get Twisted Metal, a game that I think few have considered since its PS2 days, bar that image of the clown. But the question is: can you turn that into a compelling narrative? Well maybe.

So to set the scene, 20 years ago, the world fell apart as a virus destroyed the world’s computers. This apocalyptic event split the world in two. Some walled themselves up inside cities, and those who got booted outside. It is a lawless void, but people must still take supplies between the cities. Insert the milkmen, of which there is no better than John Doe (Anthony Mackie). But it might be worth driving into the unknown when he is allowed to find a home. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

While my thoughts on the show will be a bit mixed, that is not to say that there were aspects that they completely knocked out of the park. Similar to The Last of Us, an apocalypse stopped all creation of new cultural items. But rather than this just being a bit of colour in the background, Twisted Metal goes all in on that early 2001s vibe. A Knights Tale is in cinemas, The Master of Disguise is a cultural touchstone, and the music is very pop-heavy. I do have to give a lot of respect to whomever was behind the choice of needle drops in this show because, after lacklustre examples in Barbie and Mario Bros, we get not only options that are appropriate for the time but also work in the context of the scene. It does not matter if it is Sisqo’s Thong Song, Evanescence’s My Immortal, or Aqua’s Barbie Girl; they all slap and work in the moment.

It does get a bit muddled in places, but we get many interesting characters throughout the show. It is not at all surprising that Anthony Mackie and Stephanie Beatriz make a great team in this show, but their energy is the perfect alignment for what they need. A lot of the first half of the season hangs its hat on Sweet Tooth (Joe Seanoa/Will Arnett) to provide the more zany elements, and I wish they had expanded on that a bit more because when we get further in, and The Convoy and others are introduced the world get so much better. But that should still not take away from the fantastic dual-team act of Joe Seanoa and Will Arnett that swings for the fences in both the physical and voice acting. Also, the main antagonist being a trumped-up rent-a-cop with delusions of grandeur, was a choice.    

When it comes to the emotional component of the series, I was first surprised that it even had one. There are a couple of moments when it gets really sentimental, and I was glad it had that time to explore that side of things in what is a generally irreverent outing. However, one thing that became more and more frustrating as the show progressed was the artificial tension. They kept having to give Quiet and John Doe. It always felt forced and completely unnecessary, given the other characters. On that front, I did kind of wish more characters went to 120%, as we see with Jason Mantzoukas. But the biggest issue I had with the series was much like Mortal Kombat, this whole enterprise was setting up something more interesting in the future. That potential of the final episode was huge, and you just kind of wished this had been all of the season.

In the end, do we recommend the first season of Twisted Metal? A strong, maybe. I am not sure it ever reached the heights it was going for, and the digital-double cars always stood out like an eyesore. However, thanks to the concise runtime, the natural charisma of Anthony Mackie & Stephanie Beatriz, and the interesting setting, make is something that you might want to see just how it plays out. If you are interested in Twisted Metal, you can take a look at our map of the world.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Twisted Metal yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.   
 
Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Twisted Metal
Directed by – Kitao Sakurai, Jude Weng, Maggie Carey & Bill Benz
Written by – Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Michael Jonathan Smith, Grant Dekernion, Shaun Diston, Francesca Gailes, Jacqueline J. Gailes, Alison Tafel, Alyssa Forleiter & Becca Black
Created by – Michael Jonathan Smith
Based On – Twisted Metal by Sony Interactive Entertainment
Production/Distribution Companies – Artists First, Electric Avenue, Inspire Entertainment, PlayStation Productions, Universal Television, Sony Pictures Television, Peacock & Stan
Starring – Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Seanoa, Will Arnett & Thomas Haden Church with Neve Campbell, Richard Cabral, Mike Mitchell, Jamie Neumann, Diany Rodriguez, Peg O’Keef, Chloe Fineman & Jason Mantzoukas and Lou Beatty Jr., Tahj Vaughans, Jared Bankens, Richard Kohnke, Angel Giuffria, Chelle Ramos, Michael Carollo, Wanetah Walmsley, Creek Wilson, Anthony Mackie Jr., Lena Clark, Eden Lee & Matthew Rimmer
Episodes Covered – WLUDRV, 3ENCRCS, NTHLAW1, WHZDARE, CRZSRDS, DRVTHRU, NUTHOUZ, EV3LIN, ROA4DK11 & SHNGRLA