Finally, Preacher premiered on AMC tonight. Here's our review of the pilot.
AMC, home of TWD offers up a new show about evil. The first episode of Preacher is a twisted series starter that hinges on a great cast and a non-conformist story full of dynamic characters and hyper violence.
With the same production values as that super popular soap opera zombie show, this comes at a perfect time, giving us something new to latch onto that goes in a totally brutal direction and features a uniquely strange story. Breaking the mold of other AMC shows, Preacher's characters are weird and outrageous. With the sphincter mouthed Arseface and a bevy of barely human support players, it's an interesting show that doesn't conform to anyone's expected televised standards. As good as the pilot episode is, it's hard to imagine that such a off kilter idea will stick with a large audience the same way TWD has. If they want this to thrive, they need to kick it into high gear really soon. The popularity of zombies continues to grow, which in turn makes TWD a continued success. Considering its moral ambiguity and satirical jabs at religion, Preacher is fun but might have a hard road ahead.
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| Ever seen The Devil's Double? See it. |
The pilot kicks off with really cool graphics that look like something ripped from a '50s science fiction flick then it moves right in for the kill with a series of introductory moments. We're shown many of the main characters and are only given slight details of their back story. However, the pilot ultimately seems to lack focus. Instead of giving audiences a straight forward first episode, the story jumps around quite a bit which might be a hard sell for those that might be on the fence about this show. Jumping from country to country and character to character is indicative of a series based on a comic book. But it might throw some viewers that were expecting more of a straightforward story arc.
This first chapter is a slow burn that has a wicked tone throughout. Capping numerous scenarios with exploding flesh, bone breaking fight scenes, human blood letting, and a ton of dark humor thrown in for good measure, Preacher seems like it will push the envelope for televised violence. Followers of The Walking Dead and its sister show Fear the Walking Dead will definitely notice the similarities in the way they look. Much like TWD, Preacher has a cinematic feel that's amplified by the use of Dominic Cooper's phenomenal acting talents.
I'll be honest. I don't really know the source material. So, it makes scoring this pilot episode a little harder. I wanted to love it. I wanted to walk away thinking I'd seen something absolutely insane. The humorous side of the show is definitely a huge plus in my book and the visuals are amazing. I guess I just expected a little more.
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Score:
-CG