The Boys-graphic Novel turns sour
The Boys is an American superhero web television series developed by Eric Kripke for Prime Video. Based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, it follows the eponymous team of vigilantes as they combat super powered individuals who abuse their abilities. Garth Ennis being one of my all time favorite comic writers I was very excited for boys, also having read I was eager to see how Amazon would execute this series. Surprisingly I was slightly dissatisfied, it might have been due to the expectations I had but go with no expectations and this will be a thrill to watch.A very Fresh take on superheroes and some undeniably unappetizing scenes which overall made this gritty and intense. The Boys breaks away from our usual superhero fatigue in favor themes and concepts that are a much-needed breath of fresh air. Mostly thanks to Garth Ennis’s talents, this show is hardly it.
This concept isn’t anything new, but it’s the execution that makes it all worthwhile well sort of… considering it was an Amazon produced show. Seeing our beloved super saviors as cold, profitable properties all attached together by corporate strings in parallel to ordinary people coming to grips with the reality of their heroes is the show’s striving point. Almost every super’s backstory and progression throughout the narrative is written exceptionally well especially in terms of pacing. Next to supes, the chemistry between all the boys is truly captivating with even the slowest scenes becoming enjoyable with the show’s patent dark humor.
It’s in the final few moments of the season where the show fumbles, however. Certain character arcs are left unknown in favor of saving and extending them for the next season. While it’s understandable from a narrative standpoint as it’s best not to lay all the cards on the table in the first season, some of these arcs feel slightly incomplete as the addition of one more scene or shot would’ve aided in completion. Don’t get me wrong The Boys series is ok. But when you compare it to the original comics… I wanted 1:1 with maybe some MINOR creative changes. What we got is something that only vaguely resembles the original apart from title, characters and general plot direction. If i didn’t read through what Garth Ennis created I wouldn’t know better.
Believe me when I say the original story will give you a lot more fun, fair share of cold running down your spine and hearty chuckle here and there as all good stories should do. Because in the stream of all those super hero lovey dovey wonder stories, there aren’t many that would try to put it into a more real, brutal and no bull#hit frame of reference that we could relate to.
However that being said, the over the top violence and gore along with great dialogues and brilliant acting easily brings it to the top. I would be really surprised if the two KIWI lead protagonists, Kurl Urban and Anthony Starr, wouldn’t get nominated for best actors in a leading role, especially Starr. He was absolutely brilliant as the lead antagonist Homelander. The absolute biggest problem the show has is timing. It has no understanding of the concept whatsoever. It introduced two lead characters in 2 min alongside an action scene involving a robbery, and two other characters, and…the timing is absolutely horrific. The powers they have are super cliche as well as their costumes. Although the characters are somewhat interesting, and failed to grab my attention as much as the Graphic Novel does, I think it fails as a script. When you already have the content and concept, the script is what needs to be thought through, and in Boy’s they didn’t think it mattered. Watch this show, I’d say give it a try maybe it’ll introduce to Garth Ennis’s brilliant comic series – ‘The Boys’
