Wrapped up my viewing of Twisted Metal this weekend and as a franchise that was probably too instrumental in my childhood development, I absolutely adore the show.
The developers did an absurdly good job taking the massive, convoluted lore of the game series and created a vulgar but surprisingly heartfelt at times world full of delightfully vibrant, bombastic characters. Anthony Mackie is simply superb as main protagonist John Doe, channeling genre legend Bruce Campbell is his combination of aloof but charming, stupid but capable, brash but endearing brand of bravado. Stephanie Beatriz plays well as his main companion Quiet in a role that arcs well throughout the series. Thomas Haden Church plays a great cold main antagonist in Agent Stone, a hardened man of the law looking to bring order back to the chaos of the outlands. Then we get to the unashamed main attraction: Sweet Tooth. Easily the most iconic character of the franchise and one of my favorite fictional characters in general. Joe Seanoa as the body and Will Arnett as the voice do a show stealing double performance as the delightfully demented psycho clown killer. The main cast all do a really terrific job in their roles and even the supporting cast bring a lot. Mike Mitchell and Tahj Vaughans as Stu and Mike, childhood friends just trying to find their Shangri-La in the apocalypse, Neve Campbell as Raven, the mysterious leader of New San Francisco, Richard Cabral as Loud, Quiet's ill fated brother, and Jamie Neuman as Miranda Watts, a twister inducing member of the Convoy, are all highlights.
The story is a simple there and back mission that takes the main duo through the apocalyptic wastelands filled to the brim with cars, guns and plenty of blood thirsty characters. It never drags or dwells in one spot and each episode feels full. There are moments where the main will-they-or-won't-they dynamic between John and Quiet feels slightly overblown but they play off each other so well it doesn't bog the show down entirely nor does it ever maintain focus long enough before swiveling to the next danger. The show does a great job filling out most of its characters with history and memories to the point where even the villains become shades of grey. There are surprising moments of heartfelt joy, grueling sadness and poignant themes, a wild thing to say in a Twisted Metal feature. The humor doesn't always hit but it never feels ultra forced or annoying and I did chuckle quite a few times in every episode.
I may be deemed a madman but I would honestly put forth Twisted Metal as a bigger achievement than The Last of Us. Do not get me wrong, TLoU is a tremendously well executed adaptation. That said, TLoU the video game is a visually gorgeous, emotionally charged, narrative driven experience. So it's not exactly surprising to me that the live action version is... a visually gorgeous, emotionally charged, narrative driven experience. Twisted Metal is a multiple decade spanning, supremely schlocky series about a tournament of cars with guns bashing into each other. If The Last of Us is the most expensive, fancy, stinkiest smelling cheese you need to import from France, Twisted Metal is the nacho cheese you can buy in a 2 gallon jug for $6.99 at Walmart. TM has never been deep, thoughtful, powerful, thematic or story driven. Taking that ingredient and creating an inspired, fun, loud, colorful world that feels like Twisted Metal but isn't just cars with guns chasing each other for 10 episodes (though there is plenty of vehicular mayhem and it's pulled off quite well for what appears to be a smaller budget) is remarkable.
Twisted Metal isn't high art nor is it trying to be. It's a fun, enjoyable, breezy drive through the wild, bloody, carnage filled apocalypse in a car strapped to the nines with guns and homing missiles piloted by a surprisingly deep and interesting cast of characters. It would be an absolute shame if we didn't get a second season, especially with how the first ends but if this is all we get, I'll cherish this as a Twisted Metal fanboy from boyhood.
