Kicking off last week with an episode that was better than anything we got out of seasons four and five, episode two kicks right off with plenty of action and middle eastern tension. From inside the walls of prison, Scofield once again sets the stage for an escape from another cell that holds him captive. Easily, Wentworth Miller slips back into the role of Michael, giving long running fans a taste of the early years. And still, Dominic Purcell seems to be having a hard time getting back into the character of Lincoln Burrows. His acting is stifled and unnatural, making us wonder why on Earth they wouldn't have some patience while trying to get these scenes right.
Yet, this revisit to the glory days of Prison Break gives us a taste of the style and substance that the show once had. Using the exact shooting and editing style, this is a true revisit to a time when Fox truly rocked some great original programming. Unlike the lackluster 24 revisit that they tried to pull off this year, Prison Break is a reunion of sorts that gives us back our core group of anti-heroes and puts them in another dire situation that closely reflects how their initial journey started. Cloaked in mystery and the dark corridors of captivity, the revisit twists a timely story about a town being overrun by terrorists into a fine piece of escapist television that pays tribute while also bringing something fresh to the screen.
Where some people may take issue is with plot holes and some poor writing in certain areas. Things happen too fast in some spots and the ambitions of all the characters haven't been quite fleshed out yet. With only nine episodes to work with, the people behind this revitalized Prison Break needed to be more on point with their story telling. The first week should have been a two hour episode to at least give us some more development. Much like The X-Files return, the short run may end up hurting the final product. And the unusual amount of suspension of disbelief that's expected here definitely raises some eyebrows.
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| Crap. Not this again. |
All in all, it's good to see that someone had the right idea when bringing this back. If the next couple chapters start getting to the lifeblood of the actual escape, Prison Break will be one of the first television series to ever come back to the near satisfaction of a thirsty audience. I had always thought that there was something else they could have done with the timeline and main characters. There was something missing during the last couple years that they never touched on. 'Kaniel Outis' comes close to recapturing the essence of Prison Break as we see more return players come back and we're introduced to a whole new batch of inmates that will surely have their own violent desires.
Now, we just need more of T-Bag and that awesome hand.
Score
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