The Boys (2019)

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LOL, they actually made a series on this ultraviolent, X-rated comic!

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Looks good.  I like how Simon Pegg was cast as Huey- in the comics Huey was Simon Pegg!

 

 

It looks close to the comics however the actors they chose aren't as comedic looking .  Will he be a mass murderer, mass rapist, and cannibal like he was in the comics???? 😄

 

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^ I think Simon is playing Hughie's father

[Michael*]

I can't imagine any network conceivably allowing an unadulterated version (which quite honestly would be hard to stomach anyway) onto our screens, however in this case, smoothing out some of the rougher edges would likely improve on the source material. The core idea of the story is a very good one.

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On 7/23/2019 at 6:58 PM, jkjk said:

^ I think Simon is playing Hughie's father

 

you're probably right

 

Amazon dropped the entire S1 for viewing for subscribers; the show has been renewed for a S2.

 

Episode 1 is alright but none of the actors stand out in terms of performance. Karl Urban's accent seems dodgy (perhaps Michael can comment on it).  It's interesting how they adapt the comic to the show and I wonder how this will compare to the upcoming Watchmen TV series.  Both portray superheroes as assholes.

 

In thinking of Garth Ennis' work- as of the past couple of years he has published a great number of WW2 stories.  While I like that WW2 comics are still being made, I think as a writer he overstretches himself here and his knowledge isn't up to the task- making his WW2 stories rather artificial, shallow, and cliched'.  The Boys and Punisher Max were the last projects that were well done.

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On 7/24/2019 at 4:09 PM, Michael* said:

I can't imagine any network conceivably allowing an unadulterated version (which quite honestly would be hard to stomach anyway) onto our screens, however in this case, smoothing out some of the rougher edges would likely improve on the source material. The core idea of the story is a very good one.

 

It's been a very long time since I looked at the comics (read portions of it, flipped through the whole thing).  A criticism of the comics is that they were vastly over-long- the core story was rather short.  The comic had a lot of filler and it's appeal was the great number of mentally ill, corrupt, and criminal "superheroes" that were put down.  The comic was based on shock value, which Ep1 generously displayed.

 

Also, Stormfront has been gender-flipped:

 

[Michael*]

4 hours ago, Cult Icon said:

Episode 1 is alright but none of the actors stand out in terms of performance. Karl Urban's accent seems dodgy (perhaps Michael can comment on it).

 

Yeah, having seen Urban try out a similar voice in Thor Ragnarok (albeit played mostly for laughs as a slightly dopey sidekick for Cate Blanchett) it was pretty clear here as well, that he was laying it on just that little bit too thick.

 

To give him some credit though, I was surprised after watching him do an American accent in Star Trek to find out that was really a New Zealander. 

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Karl Urban was pretty good in "Dredd".  Too bad that the re-boot didn't get a sequel and that other movie he starred in didn't do well.  He did other movies around that time, usually playing a bad-ass.  He reminds me of Michael Beihn.

[Michael*]

Urban always strikes me as an actor who is really willing to put himself out there for a role. I don't always know if I'm going to like the things that he's in, but I know I won't be bored watching them.

 

Someone should really have picked up his version of Dredd and run with it as a franchise, it was picture perfect casting.

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It really seemed like for a time, he was given a chance to become a major star- but it never materialized.   Another one was the guy who starred in Terminator Salvation and Avatar.  

[Michael*]

4 hours ago, Cult Icon said:

It's been a very long time since I looked at the comics (read portions of it, flipped through the whole thing).  A criticism of the comics is that they were vastly over-long- the core story was rather short.  The comic had a lot of filler and it's appeal was the great number of mentally ill, corrupt, and criminal "superheroes" that were put down.  The comic was based on shock value, which Ep1 generously displayed.

 

Also, Stormfront has been gender-flipped

 

Same here, it's been many years since I last had a look at the books, although I definitely feel like the material should lend itself well to the format of a miniseries.

 

There's lot of potential of course for Stormfront to have real-world resonance and, should they choose to do a direct adaptation, a female character in that kind of role could be a pretty unique thing. Then again, if they avoid those connotations altogether, it might feel like change for the sake of change. I suppose we'll just have to find out when we've got all the elements.

[Michael*]

On 7/26/2019 at 6:12 PM, Cult Icon said:

It really seemed like for a time, he was given a chance to become a major star- but it never materialized.   Another one was the guy who starred in Terminator Salvation and Avatar.  

 

That's right, Hollywood spent a good few years trying to make Sam Worthington happen. There was Jai Courtney too, chance after chance in high profile franchise films, despite the fact that audiences didn't really warm to him. To Urban's credit, although his career perhaps never went stratospheric, he seems to have mostly avoided that kind of typecasting.

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I just got the entire season 1 (8 episodes).  The story seems to be very, very different from the comics although many of the OG are there but with character changes/gender switches.

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On 7/27/2019 at 6:03 PM, Michael* said:

 

That's right, Hollywood spent a good few years trying to make Sam Worthington happen. There was Jai Courtney too, chance after chance in high profile franchise films, despite the fact that audiences didn't really warm to him. To Urban's credit, although his career perhaps never went stratospheric, he seems to have mostly avoided that kind of typecasting.

 

Sam Worthington sucks- although I find most A-listers to be somewhat dull and overused actors these days.   I find that the casting for TV shows to be overall better than blockbusters as they don't rely so much on star power for tickets.  Urban is a decent actor and is overall charismatic but seems more marketable as a supporting character.  

 

Having watched more of the boys I'd say that the guy who plays Homelander is the real star of the show and this may lead to more success in the future.  His acting is outstanding and his character is perverse & entertaining.  And most importantly, mysterious and unpredictable.

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On 7/26/2019 at 1:39 PM, Michael* said:

 

Same here, it's been many years since I last had a look at the books, although I definitely feel like the material should lend itself well to the format of a miniseries.

 

There's lot of potential of course for Stormfront to have real-world resonance and, should they choose to do a direct adaptation, a female character in that kind of role could be a pretty unique thing. Then again, if they avoid those connotations altogether, it might feel like change for the sake of change. I suppose we'll just have to find out when we've got all the elements.

 

The name that is used- Stormfront- shows the vintage of the comics.  It was a highly active neo-nazi forum before it was shut down after the neo-nazi rallies and violence in Charleston IIRC.  Kind of odd to use a woman for that role.  Sounds like a female nazi sexual fetish (Ilsa She Wolf of the SS).

 

The show is pretty good and I'm liking it so far.  It's funny how the tropes of superheroes are reversed in "the Boys" and now we get to see it on screen. Homelander kills people in the laziest way possible like one would imagine it in real life.

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I would love to see a transmetropolitan show.  A great cyberpunk comic:

 

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YESSSS

 

 

[Stromboli1]

I've heard this is the best TV show on right now besides The Expanse.