Monday, November 16, 2015

Into the Badlands on AMC hit most of my Quentin Tarantino fanboy buttons with its incredibly gorgeous fights

So AMC premiered their new series "Into the Badlands" last night right after their weekly dose of "The Walking Dead." I gotta say that it hit most of my Quentin Tarantino fanboy buttons. The credits were wonderfully done in full comic book story board mode with silhouettes and samurai swords. The filmography was beautiful with the over-saturation of color doing its part to make me feel like this is a fantasy world where the rules are different.

I liked the very Steampunk-esque vibe I got from the show too. It seemed to play well with the absence of guns, the prevalence of martial arts, and the setting that was part poppy field and part Louisiana bayou. The characters that we met are named: 1) The Widow, 2) Jade 3) Lydia 4) M.K. 5) Veil, and 6) Sunny. Those are all the ones that I could remember. Sunny is a complete badass that channels Jet Li and Jackie Chan in every scene and M.K. is the mysterious boy with strange berserking powers that only emerge if he tastes his own blood. The mythology of the world is set in the distant post-apocalyptic future where (apparently) opium is highly valued, Barons (white people) are warlords with armies of ninjas, and where people in "The Badlands" hear rumors of a better life in the great ether that lies beyond the known world. These are all themes that go into every post-apocalyptic story. After all, you can't have an apocalypse without hope.

And "Into the Badlands" I think has plenty of hope going for it. Sunny is going to be a father, so there's urgency for him to want to seek out the truth behind those rumors of a distant land where people aren't killed for having children. M.K. adds fuel to the fire of Sunny's imagination by verifying that he came from that place...only he doesn't know how to get back. Of course, right? That'd be too easy. And the other Barons are circling Sunny's Baron, which is bad because I think if Sunny's Baron dies it's kind of like a medieval Japanese society, and he'll be expected to die with his lord.

All in all though, I was amazed by the big fight sequences. It's exciting that there's a martial arts drama with no skimping and the action is as good as in any movie. I guess I'm just going to hold on and enjoy the rumble. So did any of you catch "Into the Badlands" last night?

10 comments:

  1. It's on my DVR and can't wait to watch it! Look forward to some kick-butt action.

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  2. Sounds like the sort of thing I should get to at some point.

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  3. I didn't see it, but I will have to check it out.

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  4. I watched it. I agree it is well done, and exciting. I'm not sure it will keep my attention for long though, as they roam through the Badlands and encounter whatever fight-worthy scenes they will have. The story line (getting back to the better world) may not sustain it for more than a few episodes.

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  5. I heard good things about the action but not so good things about the story. Sadly, I'm so woefully behind in my TV viewing that I can't add another show. Seriously. I'm like four weeks behind on several shows, and I just axed five other shows due to lack of time.

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  6. This is the first new show I've seen this fall that I've really liked. The story was pretty bland but I don't think that was the point as they wanted to grab the viewer's attention with action. That second fight scene was as good as any action you'll ever see on TV this year not named Daredevil. I noticed on another write up the fight choreographer also did Crouching Tiger and Kill Bill and it showed.

    My only fear is they don't have anything more than that. After it ended I couldn't remember any character's names except Sunny and Widow but that's ok for now. They've created an amazing world and I hope they use it.

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  7. SInce I like well-done martial arts scenes I wanted to check out this show, but I was so exhausted last night I fell asleep on my sofa. I'm such a wimp. So I'll have to watch it later. But I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

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  8. Sounds exciting! Here in CuraƧao we're limited to the amount of stuff we get on TV (even with cable... we seem to be on South America programming—which sucks), but we have our ways around it. Thanks for the recommendation! (And for the visit over at Julie's blog yesterday for my guest post... Much, much appreciated :) )
    Guilie @ Quiet Laughter

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  9. My grandson goes to learn Karate but he is only ten. I am sure as he grows older he will want to watch good martial art shows. As for me I get really tired from long commute and barely am able to eat dinner before falling a sleep. LOL
    I will mention the show to my children who are always surprised at my sources for learning about TV shows. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. I saw the first episode and agree that the fight scenes were superb. I will be watching more soon. Seems to be a very interesting show.

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