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[SpaceWolf]

IGN have just dropped their review for the premiere of the first two episodes of Marvel's Inhumans on IMAX, so I thought it was high time to set-up a review thread for Scott Buck's next hotly anticipated comic book adaptation. I'll do my best to update this thread with further reviews as they come in.

So...take it away, IGN!

IGN:

Inhumanely bad.

Marvel's Inhumans is the latest entry in the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe, but this new TV show doesn't live up to the usual Marvel standard. The Inhumans are a secret society of superpowered people who live on the moon, and while that is admittedly a weird concept, it's not what holds the show back. It's the crummy costumes, wooden dialogue and all-around dull delivery of the material.

Inhumans is bad from top to bottom. Try as it might, the show does not live up to the Marvel brand. It is most definitely not worth seeing in IMAX, and I wouldn't recommend catching it on TV either.

Score: 4/10.

WIRED:

When the credits rolled in WIRED's screening of the IMAX premiere of Marvel's Inhumans, a fellow audience member loudly exclaimed "what the f*** did I just watch?". While his review is more profane and far more concise than our own, he was pretty much on the money: Inhumans is a mess.

Judging from internet chatter, expectations for the show had been low following lacklustre trailers and awkward comic con panels over the summer. Sadly, the final product lives down to those expectations, suffering from shoddy pacing, inconsistent plotting and characterisation, and a cheap, rushed look to everything.

BIRTHMOVIESDEATH:

Why?

As far as these first two episodes go, it's a show made entirely of baffling, wrong-headed decisions that actively work against capturing your interest. This is usually the bit where I dig deep to find some sort of redeeming quality, but other than the performances (which are all fine, despite being wasted on a tonally confused approach), I'm struggling to find anything good to talk about. Which sucks, because these characters and this world have so much dramatic potential. All the seeds are right there! There are perspectives waiting to be challenged! A revolution waiting to happen! Characters waiting to learn and introspect! And all this could very well happen in future episodes, but after an hour and a half, the fact that absolutely none of it feels like a possibility doesn't inspire confidence.

Look, maybe Inhumans will pick up. Maybe the ass-backward, lazily sketched out premise will be clarified, and maybe there will be actual reasons to understand or even root for one or more of these completely despicable assholes. But everything in this entire feature film's worth of storytelling (presented to audiences. In theatres!) feels like a complete waste of time with nothing worthwhile teased or promised. Nothing works in terms of character or story, and the design elements that aren't complete disasters are... fine, I guess. Lockjaw is fine. The effects are fine. Nothing in these first two episodes really helps tell an actual story, and trying to enjoy it is exhausting.

DIGITAL SPY:

For Marvel completists only, Inhumans is – as many had anticipated – the weakest entry in the MCU to date, across screens big and small.

A severe throwback to the mostly underwhelming comic book adaptations of the pre-Iron Man age, this looks to be a serious misstep, one that'll hopefully provoke the House of M to take a step back and reevaluate their creative strategy.

Because, after all, who thought it was a smart idea to hand the guy behind the maligned Iron Fist the keys to another major property?

NEWSARAMA:

Marvel's INHUMANS 'All Dressed Up But Has Nothing To Say' (4/10)

But given Buck's track record with Dexter and Iron Fist (which, for the sake of comparison, is far worse than this show), Inhumans also seems to have been misdirected from the jump, and every layer of the show has unfortunately followed suit. Much of this might be attributed to the constraints the show was working under - this show would have been a difficult feat to pull off for many producers, and if the enthusiasm of the cast is any indication, the result is not of a failure of effort but a failure of imagination. We live in a world where DC Television has shown us a rollicking superhero show is possible (and across far more episodes), from The Flash to Supergirl to the sprawling, ambitious DC'sLegends of Tomorrow, the latter of which should have been Inhumans' guiding light. This show sounded great on paper, but after years of buildup, Inhumans feels like its lead character, Black Bolt - all dressed up but has nothing to say.

SHOWBUZZ DAILY:

The pilot, alas, may well be the worst piece of content Marvel has affixed its name to since the inception of its movie/TV ”universe."

Despite the IMAX cameras, the pilot is a visual bust, one that would be unexciting on a screen measured in dozens of inches, let alone dozens of feet. The opening half (the credits label the theatrical product as ”Parts 1 & 2," although at 75 minutes, it's about 10-15 minutes shorter than a normal network 2-parter without commercials) is set mostly on gray, boring interior sets that have no panache whatsoever, and when the story moves outdoors in Part 2, the Hawaiian scenery is photographed (by Jeffrey Jur, under Roel Reine's direction) like a not-particularly imaginative tourist's vacation record. Since a TV budget is a tiny fraction of what Marvel spends on its movies, the action sequences are pitiful compared to what IMAX screens usually showcase.

FANDOM:

With its groundbreaking use of IMAX, Inhumans should have been event television. Instead, it plays safe and makes an opening chapter to a series that is largely stripped of personality and flair. In concentrating on making a splash with its IMAX premiere, it refuses to push boundaries in other, more important areas. Sadly, that means a lacklustre beginning to a series that was meant to wow.

SCREEN RANT:

Marvel's Inhumans begins with a listless, uninspired premiere that struggles to find a compelling take on the company's C-Level heroes.

Watching the premiere, there is a sense that the series was made with the assumption that because this falls under the umbrella of the ever-expanding Marvel brand and is indirectly linked to the world's biggest film franchise that would provide incentive enough for people to watch. This series is in need of an incentive greater than brand loyalty to keep them watching, though. Every brand has its limits and this uninspired take on the Inhumans might be Marvel's.

DEN OF GEEK

Score: 2/5.

A perfect metaphor for the show is the saga of Medusa's hair, which she can move, control and wield as a weapon. Early footage of her CG-enhanced locks looked ridiculous, and it's not all that great in the finished version either. The show's solution is to shave Medusa's hair off in the first 30 minutes of the premiere episode (not a spoiler), robbing her of her trademark feature and taking a cheap way out. I couldn't help thinking: what would Kevin Feige and the filmmakers of the MCU do with this? Sadly, it's very likely we'll never know.

 

[Funky Papa]

So my late summer hatewatch is now between this and The Strain.

Decisions, decisions...

 

[BronsonLee]

This is all Lockjaw's fault

 

[super-famicom]

Reviews so bad Black Bolt will scream.

 

[Funky Papa]

This is all Lockjaw's fault

Don't you dare insult my pretty.

He's too good for this mess.

 

[ReplacementPelican]

Oh well, its not like anyone is going to be disappointed but would have loved to be pleasantly surprised by this.

 

[vaderise]

This is what happens when movie division cancels the movie with the biggest potential and TV division tries to turn it into a TV show with a shitty showrunner

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

You will never witness this epic moment on the big screen.

Thank you, Scott Buck.

Spoiler

/s

 

[Kusagari]

Why exactly are they showing this in theaters?

I was shocked when I went to Fandango and saw tons of showtimes for this shit.

 

[Discotheque]

amazed that people are gonna pay to see this pilot in IMAX.

spend that money on a sandwich or something.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

I just can't wrap my head around this:

And on top of all that, even though the IMAX version is supposed to be presented as a movie, it still includes episode recap flashbacks halfway through, making me wonder if the editor didn’t get the memo.

 

[Kayhan]

*mild shock*.gif

 

[Pandora012]

Why exactly are they showing this in theaters?

I was shocked when I went to Fandango and saw tons of showtimes for this shit.

Dat IMAX experience.

 

[Psychoward]

I just can't wrap my head around this:

Lmao

 

[SpaceWolf]

I just can't wrap my head around this:

In all fairness, Iron Fist was also overly fond of repeated, unnecessary flashbacks.

 

[Shaanyboi]

I just wanna see what the crowds for the theatrical run of this look like

 

[Penguin]

Why exactly are they showing this in theaters?

I was shocked when I went to Fandango and saw tons of showtimes for this shit.

Because IMAX probably thought they were striking gold with an exclusive launch of a MCU product.

Believe even paid for the first two episodes (not sure if contribute to the entire series)

 

[Anoregon]

This will be the first MCU property that I don't watch.

 

[cw_sasuke]

This will be the first MCU property that I don't watch.

Second for me....skipped Iron Fist.

 

[Broken Joystick]

SCOTT BUCK
C
O
T
T

B
U
C
K

 

[Tankard]

Who could have seen this coming?

 

[BKatastrophe]

Unsurprised and therefore not upset.

 

[Quonny]

Inhumanely bad.

4/10.

Scoring, how does it work?

 

[LotusHD]

This will be the first MCU property that I don't watch.

I'll read reviews.

 

[SuperBanana]

Marvel are seriously dropping the ball on these TV series.

 

[vaderise]

Marvel are seriously dropping the ball on these TV series.

Agents of SHIELD is fantastic
Defenders was fine

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Scott Buck needs to stop getting work

 

[Dirtyshubb]

So my late summer hatewatch is now between this and The Strain.

Decisions, decisions...

The Strain is actually a lot of fun, i mean there are moments where you scream at a character for doing something monumentally dumb but otherwise there's a lot of fun to be had with some of the characters.

 

[CaviarMeths]

Hopefully this is bad enough to be good. Iron Fist was just bad.

 

[BlackGhost]

We all gonna love it

Spoiler

Or hate it and probably watch it anyway

 

[Funky Papa]

I just can't wrap my head around this:

I've been saying for a long time: it's like Marvel didn't give a fuck about anything regarding Inhumans.

Sets look beyond uninspired. Wardrobe design is like something picked from the shelves where the discarded concepts for B movies go. Acting is obviously off. Most inhumans look remarkably human. Pretty much any bit of information released so far shows an obvious lack of understanding of the source material.

I don't even understand how this happened. I haven't watched Iron Fist, but Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Daredevil were decent adaptations. They had tons of issues (Luke Cage was a messy, messy show at times), but for the most part they remained true to the comics and they were entertaining.

This is a disaster. Nothing about Inhumans sounds good, let alone enticing. As a matter of fact, it doesn't even sound "so bad it's good". It just plain bad. Which is the worst kind of bad.

 

[Blader]

Scott Buck needs to stop getting work

I assume he gets these jobs because he can work quickly and cheaply and get things done on time, which counts for a lot...but is it really worth it when the end result is so universally reviled and damages the brand name? Not just for Inhumans, but Iron Fist, Dexter, etc.

 

[SpaceWolf]

We all gonna love it

Spoiler

Or hate it and probably watch it anyway

I'm definitely watching at least the first couple of episodes for Lockjaw and Medusa's whacky hair-related shenanigans alone...at least until both are likely to disappear from the show entirely as a means of the production company drastically reducing the special effects budget.

 

[NealMcCauley]

Just noted in the box office thread the local IMAX went from six Inhumans shows a day to three in the last 24 hours.

That's definitely a sign of confidence.

 

[kris.]

It's almost like continuing to give Scott Buck work is a bad idea.

 

[cartographer]

I love that people not understanding Karnak's powers keeps coming up.

 

[CaviarMeths]

I assume he gets these jobs because he can work quickly and cheaply and get things done on time, which counts for a lot...but is it really worth it when the end result is so universally reviled and damages the brand name? Not just for Inhumans, but Iron Fist, Dexter, etc.

For real. I mean yeah, he's probably fast and cheap, but shit I bet I could do it faster and cheaper. But I'd also make a garbage product. What value is there in that? It's not like they were on a timeline here. There was literally no barrier at all to making this series whenever and for as long as they wanted.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Inhumanely bad.

4/10.

Scoring, how does it work?

For a Marvel property, being below average is no excuse.

 

[Trojita]

What's worse to watch in Imax?

Inhumans or Thor 2: The Dark World?

 

[Rymuth]

The Buck ruins everything he touches

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

There's a Inhumans show and I'm not gonna watch it. Crazy times we live in.

 

[Rvaan]

Why exactly are they showing this in theaters?

I was shocked when I went to Fandango and saw tons of showtimes for this shit.

They made a deal with IMAX. IMAX funded part of the show and in return was allowed to show the first 2 episodes in a special IMAX feature.

 

[n00bsauce87]

Wasn't the concept originally for a movie instead of aeries?

 

[Protome]

You will never witness this epic moment on the big screen.

Thank you, Scott Buck.

Spoiler

/s

Or this one

 

[HazySaiyan]

Dumb question, where does the whole 'Inhumass' thing come from?

 

[metsallica]

I just can't wrap my head around this:

Makes sense to me. The creators think their audience is less intelligent than they are and immediately need a manufactured refresher. Said creators were also incapable of delivering said refresher organically through plot. This has looked like a laugher from second-one, so anyone expecting this to review better was simply deluding themselves.

 

[vaderise]

What's worse to watch in Imax?

Inhumans or Thor 2: The Dark World?

Thor: The Dark World was the best thing you could've seen in IMAX

 

[BatDan]

Dumb question, where does the whole 'Inhumass' thing come from?

The first pictures that dropped looked like AAAASSSSS.
It hasn't exactly improved.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Dumb question, where does the whole 'Inhumass' thing come from?

Simple: It looks like ass. Thus, InhumASS.

 

[donkey show]

You will never witness this epic moment on the big screen.

Thank you, Scott Buck.

Spoiler

/s