Well, looks like the Film drought of fall has started, and I’m scratching the bare surface to try and find something to review, so let’s look over to television. …Marvel has a show? Well thank Stan, that should hold me over until Thor 2.
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD is a spin off of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, about the adventures of the secret organization of the character that organize heroes in order to try and conceal them from the public. The show stars Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, who has returned to life (if he ever left) after his apparent death in The Avengers.
In the premiere episode, we are introduced to the world of SHIELD on a mission to bring in a mysterious man who saved a woman from a burning building and obviously used super powers in the process, causing SHIELD and an anti SHIELD hacker trying to find out all they can about the hero in order to stop him from causing chaos. The story does a good job of introducing the concepts of the show and all of the characters whom we will be seeing, getting it all done quite concisely, but unfortunately had a feeling of haphazard rush to it. Most Premieres for showrunner Joss Whedon have been 90 minutes, and he obviously did his best to condense things down, but the script can’t help but feel as though the concept needs to be explored more before we get fully into the exploration of the post Avengers world. Speaking of the Avengers, the show has lot of great in-universe continuity, doing its best to relate itself to the Marvel films, Agent Coulson being the perfect mid ground between that and the show. From this episode, those who saw Iron Man 3 will feel particularly rewarded, but I’m keeping spoilers to a minimum.
The script has decent enough dialogue, with many quirky moments that help to relate the audience better to the character, but can sometimes feel overbearing and out of place, after all, Whedon has that affect. That being said, it builds tension and excitement excellently, and really knows how to use its commercial breaks. I had to do some things during a break, and was literally doing whatever I could to be done with it quicker so that I get back to the show. It grabs your attention quickly and refuses to let go, and by the end you are given a satisfactory reason to head back next week.
Effects wise, Disney must have thrown a ton of money on this, because it uses a lot of huge set pieces and effect based scene. Hopefully this doesn’t negatively affect the show’s lifespan, that was part of what killed Whedon’s last show after all. However, this large budget is used to great effect, as the show looks cinematic and grandiose, going far beyond what the usual film spin off is able to achieve.
The opening episode is a great introduction to the world that is the agency of SHEILD, but it also suffers from a bit of a rushed plot, a lack of initial engagement in the script, and an occasional oversaturation of quirkiness. However, it overcomes its shortcomings with an engaging and intense script, with some great performances from all the actors involved. Hopefully next week’s episode will keep the promise of excitement that this episode has given.
Final Rank for this episode: B
+ Engaging script with great performances
-too quirky at times, far too rushed of a script
Watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D every tuesday at 8 pm on ABC
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