Into the Badlands (AMC)

[TheDarkKnight]

I haven't watched it yet but it premiered last night. This looks interesting, and has a six-episode first season.

Hope it's good.

[RubiconDecision]

Yeah Martin Csokas is definitely a great actor, hardly recognizable in The Lord of the Rings as he typically is typecast as the villain. It's one-dimensional fluff minus martial arts reality plus Chinese-style choreographed wirework.

"Probably entertaining. Today, the edged weapons are shortened and (CGI green-screened)and lighter to facilitate whippy unrealistic swordplay and eliminate all danger vs. real swordsmen stuntmen taking serious risks.

There might only be a guy wielding the handle of a sword with a tiny plastic stub, and not actually doing any swordwork.It's sad really.

You can see what I'm talking about in Uzumasa Limelight. The new generation often has no Kenjutsu training as they're not using swords.

[Halie Satanus]

Hmm, I heard nothing but bad things about this, but AMC have a decent track record. Might give it a go.

What I did watch last night was the first episode of 'The Frankenstein chronicles' and it's pretty impressive. Cast is strong (led by Sean Bean), production elements all excellent, seems a nice dark detective story. A bit like Penny Dreadful with less of the fantasy element.

[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus]

It seems i am the first one here who actually watched it. So far this could be one of better series. The Pilot was really good i would give it 8 1/2 of 10 points. The story so far is nothing extremly great but also nothing actually bad and difficult to judge by just one episode. So far you have several stereotypes. The hero is rather cold and so far he did not show much expressions which will change i guess since it is probably about him changing in to a decent human. Than you have the baron who had nothing much to do yet but the actor definitly took joy in his role. Rather anoying is the royal family drama about an incapable son and his mother. Surprisingly good was the introduction of the boy for who the creators of the series have found a decent actor. First time since a while that i saw a young actor who didn't annoyed me immeadatly ; As for the mistery of the Badlands. The first episode doesn't explain much, you are thrown in to it and i think that's a good thing.

But now the the important part. The visual values are really good en par with Strike Back which was until it ended a benchmark for good action scenes, although they had a completely diffrent scenario and gunfights. The actionscenes are really good, probably the best you saw in a series so far. Although the guys behind it worked also on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon it is no Wuxia Style (you know flying people etc. ). The scenes are rather made in the style of the movie Grand Master, actually both have a scene in the rain which look similar. However i like in the series that you have clearer images of the scenes. I find it extremly annoying to use handcameras in modern movies to create a wild fight who looks realistic. Problem is that you often don't see much. Thats the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggwTt-nVwKQ but beware it does look a thousend times better in HD, actually it does look even boring in this low quality

In the end i hope it will get a decent second season similar to The Walking Dead after Season 1.

[RubiconDecision]

Honestly, Yuen Woo-ping and his disciples have damaged all traditional martial arts, mythologizing valid art and ability, and sacrificing them at the twin altar of Entertainment and Money.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuen_Woo-ping

Yuen Woo-ping (Chinese: 袁和平; pinyin: Yuán Hépíng; born 1945) is a Chinese martial arts choreographer and film director, renowned as one of the most successful and influential figures in the world of Hong Kong action cinema. He is one of the inductees on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong. Yuen is also a son of Yuen Siu-tien, a renowned martial arts film actor.

The show's authenticity, suspension of disbelief, and value as Art is predicated on fakery. 'Not an auspicious beginning.

[Gaidin]

What I did watch last night was the first episode of 'The Frankenstein chronicles' and it's pretty impressive. Cast is strong (led by Sean Bean), production elements all excellent, seems a nice dark detective story. A bit like Penny Dreadful with less of the fantasy element.

I see what you did there. Go create your own thread. Here, this should help:



I'm about to watch the first episode, looking forward to it.

[HunterKYA]

The show's not too bad, yet I'll wait until the season's over before reserving judgment.

Fights scenes were pretty good, well choreographed, and were great all around. However, the build-up of the story does kind of drag at times, between the action sequences, for the sake of developing the plot. Some of the characters feel the same way, but because it was only the first episode, it's difficult to really flesh someone out into who they might become or what their motivations would be.

Overall: 7 / 10 (for Episode 1)

[TheDarkKnight]

I have no freaking clue what it is about but I liked it a lot.

[DarthShizNit]

It gets a 9/10 simply because it looked cool as hell and had entertaining fight scenes. Since it's one episode in, I don't think we can judge it on anything else yet. Also, the baron is gonna be a fun character I feel.

[Gaidin]

It gets a 9/10 simply because it looked cool as hell and had entertaining fight scenes. Since it's one episode in, I don't think we can judge it on anything else yet. Also, the baron is gonna be a fun character I feel.

This. Also. Both Barons will be fun.

[RubiconDecision]

6.0

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

There are so many logical problems in the first episode, I do not know where to begin. Perhaps a decent fight coordinator might have raised the sheer stupidity of a climactic acrobatic sword battle with the protagonist in which a hat wearing red shirted villain never loses said hat throughout those gyrations.

I love post-apoc in fiction and film. I also have practiced traditional martial arts for many decades. If anyone was looking forward to the show, it would be me. I am the niche-market unless this is for dopey teenagers...

Yes, I can believe in a severe collapse in which feudal baronies arise. I can believe serfdom would naturally occur. I can suspend disbelief that there wouldn't be regular rifle use, even though gunpowder could certainly be created, as well as machining at least flintlocks.

What I cannot believe are idiots leaving behind edged weapons given the difficulty of creating forged weapons. Given the complexity of creating textiles, I cannot foresee the waste of odd costumes, including a cummerbund/girdle. Nor would such barons solely create a monoculture economic system as it immediately creates weakness due to interdependencey.

In such a society, the serf to soldier ratio would at best be 10-20 serfs : 1 soldier, and we'd see no homage to "Enter the Dragon" because there's too much bone crushing toil to do for 10-12 hours a day.

In the Deep South, there are Southern gentlemen of letters, who undoubted attended The Citadel or The University of the South, who might speak in a manner like the Baron's but likewise the people around them would have a Southern drawl, so it makes no sense that no one else speaks that way. A good number of the "Colts" would be black, unless there's been a major race war.

In such a society, the oil would be present and could be extracted, but never be refined due to incredible complexity. Instead algae based biodiesel or ethanol or wood gas generation would be utilized for transportation.

Three lovely natural beauties from Europe are treated like ornaments, costumed bizarrely with makeup(!) in a post-apoc world? They were nearly wasted in the production. Sarah Bolger, even as a child(In America) demonstrated remarkable range and all she does is disrobe? How weird.

After intentionally doing exposition on maintaining the delicate balance of power would you have a provocative attack in the protagonist's territory? WTF.

AMC please get your manure together. The show is a bunch of "hooey". Or as we say in the South, "That dog won't hunt".(This scheme won't work).

The BBC has proved you can successfully do a three part miniseries(Black Mirror) or a six part miniseries(The Fall) and produce Art that is spare in the dialogue, removing fluff, to intensify the pacing.

[RubiconDecision]

S01E02 5.5

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In a post-apoc world, the last person to die is the healer. Just like docs on the frontier, there were no pharmaceuticals. The doc had to know herbs, cultivation, and extraction methods. Only an idiot would kill the healer as they were herbalist, physician, surgeon, psychiatrist, and counselor for all manner of issues like sanitation and agriculture and likely be veterinarians as well.

[AqD]

Honestly, Yuen Woo-ping and his disciples have damaged all traditional martial arts, mythologizing valid art and ability, and sacrificing them at the twin altar of Entertainment and Money.

Kung-fu is for Entertainment and Money!


What kind of showing do you think correctly represents martial arts? HK police films like Kung Fu Jungle? Or Indian ones?

[RubiconDecision]

Kung-fu is for Entertainment and Money!


What kind of showing do you think correctly represents martial arts? HK police films like Kung Fu Jungle? Or Indian ones?

Once, there were actually special traditional martial art schools in Japan attached to the studios so that everyone from Tosiro Mifune through Hiroyuki Sanada(a period stetching 30 years) learned archery(kyudo), karate, and swordsmanship(kenjutsu) as well as equestrian studies. A huge number were trained even extras.

Now, it's wirework and actors waving around a handle with a tiny plastic blade.

S01E03 6.0
So dumb it's not worth reviewing but includes a procedure likely to induce brain infection.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/into-the-badlands/s01/ 51%
http://www.metacritic.com/tv/into-the-badlands 54%

[AqD]

Japanese kung-fu films are too dull and the story is usually depressing, no drama effect at all. I still prefer happy Indian films! Have you seen Jodhaa Akbar or Veer?

[TheDarkKnight]

So the series is returning in two months with a ten episode second season.



I wasn't overly impressed with the first season in terms of story, but the acting in some of the characters as well as the excellent action scenes convinced me to keep watching. I only hope the second season has the same quality in action but they provide a more engaging story.

[Kyriakos]

Hmm, I heard nothing but bad things about this, but AMC have a decent track record. Might give it a go.

What I did watch last night was the first episode of 'The Frankenstein chronicles' and it's pretty impressive. Cast is strong (led by Sean Bean), production elements all excellent, seems a nice dark detective story. A bit like Penny Dreadful with less of the fantasy element.

I'd watch Sean Bean even if it was a Street Fighter movie. So i am sold.
I hope he doesn't die in this

[Finn]

I watched the first season basically because there was nothing better on at the time and it fit into my genre of tv shows. I'm also hoping for better writing this season...but I guess time will tell.

[TheDarkKnight]

I have no idea wtf is going on as usual but I look forward to some amazing fight scenes.

[TheDarkKnight]

Into the Badlands (and The Son) to end this year at AMC
https://deadline.com/2019/02/into-th...re-1202553597/

For s sake...I have never cared about the plot that much but I have no idea how they are going to wrap it all up in 8 episodes.

As long as there is good fighting I guess I won't care too much.