“The Boys” Bite-Sized Review
Everyone knows (and many love) Marvel’s super-hero movies full of caring super-folk who have hearts of gold, right? Well, get ready to see that hopefulness stomped into a pulp and replaced with a big helping of Nihilism when you start steaming, “The Boys,” on Amazon.
Set in a world where those with super-powers are carefully controlled and marketed by a mega-corporation named Vought, it becomes apparent quickly this isn’t a cheery Cinematic Universe. Most (but thankfully not all) of those with super-powers are terrible people and it takes a group made-up of members who have an axe to grind with heroes–The Boys–to make sure those so-called super-heroes stay in line.
For a show coming from Amazon, it is surprisingly anti-corporate and some scenes of incredible violence make this show absolutely not for the squeamish. Like the comic-book source material it draws from, however, “The Boys,” will at times work in enough moments of heart or have some genuine sweetness (one super-hero named Starlight is a rare kind soul in this Universe) to make the otherwise relentless cynicism bearable. If you’re one of those people who scoff at the idea of squeaky-heroes and think that in a World where folk had powers they would actually be huge jerks, “The Boys,” is likely the kind of show for a skeptic like you.
David Bitterbaum is the longtime writer of The Newest Rant where he discusses how he loves all of popular culture, except for the stuff he hates. He often rambles about everything from movies, to music, television, and often comic-books. He lives in Saint Louis with his extremely patient wife and son.
http://www.thenewestrant.com/