Marvel's Inhumans: The First Chapter - Review

Honestly, I'm a little stuck on what to call this. Is this Inhumans episodes 1 and 2? Is this Inhumans: the movie? The pilot? Parts 1 and 2? I really don't know. It's a bit difficult to really talk about this when I have no idea exactly what it is. Some people are billing this as Marvel's Inhumans: The First Chapter, so I might just stick with that for the time being.
Now, I've not been one of those on the Inhuman hate-train over the past year. For me, the idea of an Agents of SHIELD spin-off being a miniseries as opposed to a $200 million feature film sounded a lot more reasonable, and was also helped by some early promotion about it being a big IMAX epic. Having seen Inhumans: The First Chapter in an admittedly impressive IMAX screen though, I can't say the IMAX benefited the show at all. The production values are so mixed on the whole that the show can never make use of the superior technology at its disposal. It's pretty TV-ish, and not especially cinematic, meaning that this is a far cry from the feature film we were promised a few years ago. However, when compared to say Doctor Who's The Day of the Doctor (2013), or Deep Breath (2014), or Sherlock: The Final Problem (2017), Inhumans: The First Chapter actually fits in well. It's TV on the big screen, and while for some that isn't exactly worthwhile (especially not for £15-20 a ticket), for me, being a bit of a cinema-lover, it's quite a nice experience. The cinema certainly wasn't packed, but clearly there was some interest in the series - mostly from families with children who seemed to be big Marvel fans...who perhaps were not exactly the intended audience for this series.
The premise of Marvel's Inhumans: The First Chapter is that the seaborne terrigenesis has alerted the Inhuman royal family - living on the lunar city of Attilan - that there are more of their species discovering themselves on Earth. When attacked, however, the King's brother Maximus decides that an attack on the humans would benefit Inhuman kind, and allow them all to live and thrive on their home planet. Despite his brother's protests though, King Black Bolt (yes, he really is called that) is determined for Inhumans to remain hidden away and secretive, leading Maximus down a dangerous path of military coup...
What's quite bizarre about all of this is that throughout this 75 minute "First Chapter", Inhumans seems to be set entirely against its own protagonists. Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak and Crystal, and almost sides with the series' hypothetical villain Maximus. Maximus seems to be the only character to notice the harsh class divide in the society of Attilan, and the only one interested in the people. Despite his desires for drastic and violent action, the man's essentially in the right here.Not only this, but everyone rejects him because he isn't Inhuman - not that he has anything against Inhumans, he just wants to stick it out for the little guy.
So...how are we meant to support our protagonists in this scenario? Black Bolt is a rather one-note, bland character with no charisma from actor Anson Mount; and Medusa's just...really, really melodramatic. I don't want these people to go on being sat on their high-horse when all they care about is staying King and Queen. None of their conversations are about their people, just about their power, their influence, and their mutual love. Now, perhaps this is all just opinion-based, but I don't really support these characters who seem to be entirely in the wrong.
That being said, Gorgon, Karnak and Crystal are actually all likable, interesting characters with desires and interests and personalities who can actually talk, have fun and make jokes. Any scenes with these characters work. These are the protagonists I rooted for, not the two leads. And as for Lockjaw the giant teleporting dog? He's hardly in it sadly, but he's certainly a fun addition to the ensemble.
It's baffling though that the show manages to create such unlikable leads, and such an endearing villain. While yes, Maximus' hench-woman Auran is clearly evil, she's working for the guy who wants to do some good!
I suppose maybe one could argue that all of this is semi-intentional, and that Scott Buck has challenged the genre and character conventions through this, but I'm honestly not sure. Maybe by the end of this series (I doubt we'll get a second) the resolution will clarify either way.
On the production side of things, the designs are quite bland, if somewhat functional, the CG is pretty good for the most part (on par with DC's The Flash series) and the location filming is stunning. Sean Callery's score is...mixed. The title music is bland, but the incidental music is actually pretty damn great, and a remix of 'Paint it Black' ends up being a pretty badass track for a Medusa vs Maximus showdown. The writing is clichéd and the dialogue very predictable, but I do think the director has managed to pull something out from the potential wreckage and turn shite into just about-average here. Other than Black Bolt, the cast are committed and good in their roles, and the pacing is surprisingly strong. I can't say that the show will work well when this is split in two, but who knows? We have yet to see.
So I guess the deciding statement is whether I'd recommend Inhumans: The First Chapter. Well, yes and no. Watch it on TV, give it a good go (both Parts 1 and 2) and see what you think. As for the IMAX showings...I think only really those who like the look of it will find something worthwhile in spending the cash. I'm glad I saw it at my local IMAX cinema though, and I guess that's the most accurate judgement of quality I can make.

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