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Cape Town - This poor show has had an uphill climb since its inception. Marvel's Inhumans was meant to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by getting a feature film but then it got downgraded to a series and then got kicked even further down the ladder to just an 8 episode mini-series.
There's been a lot of disappointment surrounding this show, but I'm going to be honest, I did not hate it. And when I saw the negative chatter online, I made the decision not to read any reviews that might bias my watching. I am no TV critic but I am a big superhero geek and I enjoyed this far more than the chore it was to watch Marvel's Iron Fist.
Now if the word Inhumans sounds familiar to you, that's because it's been a big storyline on Marvel's other TV outfit, Agents of S.H.IE.LD. and I was wondering how they would be linked. Turns out the Inhumans in SHIELD are the descendants of the the Original Inhumans who live on the moon. Yes, they live on the moon, is it ridiculous? Of course it is, this is a comic after all so suspend your belief.
The story centres on Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans and the royal family. After a coup by his brother Maximus the royal family escapes their city of Attilan (via a teleporting dog) to Earth. But Lockjaw has a poor sense of direction and leaves them scattered all over the island of Oahu, Hawaii, leaving the Inhumans on unsure footing in unfamiliar territory.
Let's just say this upfront; Anson Mount who plays Black Bolt is excellent at face acting. His ability is that his voice has the power to destroy anything in its path so he's mute by choice. A lot of the humour and enjoyment came from watching Black Bolt interact with human customs and technology on Earth. Karnack is another character I enjoyed. And it's quite heart-breaking when his powers get knocked.
As always, Marvel's TV shows tend to veer off from their comic sources using them merely as a reference to draw from rather than sticking to the story. Most of the time I don't mind this but when you're going to be changing important things, it's annoying. Maximus, for instance is not just a human.
In the comics he has the ability to numb, control, to induce short-term amnesia in others and he can exchange his consciousness with the consciousness of another living being. His belief that Inhumans are superior to humans makes no sense if he is merely "human" and wants to conquer them. He's also a genius but the TV iteration of this character just seems to be petty.
BAFFLING STORYLINES
There were a few baffling things story wise though.
The Inhumans confusion about human technology when their society is so much more advanced is strange. How can Medusa identify the sound of traffic over the phone but Black Bolt doesn't know what a car is? They're all hooked up to communicator Fitbits but paying for clothes is a foreign concept. I mean, even if you're royalty you should know how shops work.
Then there's Maximus' issue with the fact that Black Bolt doesn't speak. This is annoying in light of the fact that he knows exactly why his brother can't speak. It's not as if he doesn't communicate at all albeit via sign language.
The costumes aren't too bad, I like Black Bolt's slight costume change because why would you want to hide Anson Mount's face but my word, Medusa's wig. I understand that her hair is a big part of who she is but why does it look like it's a completely separate character who's living on top of her head? It just looks poorly done, but this is a small criticism.
Overall it was an enjoyable two hours of TV and it was not nearly as bad as critics made it out to be.
Watch the trailer here:
Catch Marvels Inhumans Saturdays at 20:00 on M-Net (DStv 101).
(Photos supplied: M-Net)
