azeemnavarro

For those who don't know, this TV series is an adaptation of a comic book written by the mad genius Garth Ennis. The comic book is nothing short but a masterpiece, with some of the most memorable characters ever put on paper and a history that is provocative but delightful. As a fan of the comic book, I was skeptic of a TV adaptation, because most of the comic just cannot be adapted for multiple reasons (mainly because of the extreme violence and tabboo themes presented on the source material). Knowing beforehand that I would not be able to see a page-by-page adaptation, I decided to give the series a chance. The first episode let's you know right off the bat that the series will be a very, almost extremely loose adaptation, changing most of the plot points just as it starts. The diferences at first may seem odd and unnecesary, but as the first season progresses, you become more enchanted with the idea of something different, parcially because of the amazing cast, and mainly because of the great blend of humor, horror, drama and fantasy aspects of the show. Overall, Preacher starts very strong, with a promising great first season, that if not for some filler stuff, it would be a 10. Unfortunately, as the series goes on, the charm and quality deflates, and not even the characters can save the series from exhaustion. The problem, in my opinion, is that because they wanted to go on such a radical direction, they ran out of ideas and had to: fill the episodes with plot lines that go to nowhere and doesn't have any purpose, create new characters and change existing ones just to create conveniences for the different direction the series wanted. The second season lacks focus and goes nowhere, to the point is almost unnecesary to watch. Yeah it is still entertaining and fun, but doesn't do anything for the history. On the third season, the writers and producers tried to connect the show with the comics, adapting one of the most beloved archs of the source material: Angelville. It was a good idea as we got to see some of the greatest characters of the comic (like Jody). But the problem of the third season is that it has to merge with the changes that the show made before, resulting in a lack of cohesion. Also, the series lacks even more focus, as it tries to cover more ground than it should, making half of the season pure filler (especially the Cassidy arch, it really sucks). The only great aspect of the 3rd season is T.C., that manages to become such a sympathetic character on the show; and also that we got to see more of Herr Starr. After the 3rd season, Preacher got cancelled, as it never trully found it's audience. But a last season had to be made. And oh boy what a disaster that was. The last season has to be one of the worst endings for any TV show ever. It tried so to cover so much, but it didn't succeed in anything. Watching the ending was such a sad experience, because the series had so much potential and somehow ended horrendously. With more focused and cohesive writing and more ambition, this series could have been amazing. Sadly we got just a great start and nothing else. Maybe someday Preacher will get the adaptation it deserves and more people will get the chance to discover such an amazing story. On the meantime, I'd recomend you to pick up the comic book and give it a read, I promise it is a better ride than what the series depicted.

Watching an anthology movie is like playing the russian roulete: you can get killed (watch a terrible piece of trash) or you get to survive (watch something thats actually worth your time). Mostly, you shoot yourself in the head with this kind of movies, and unfortunately this first installment on the v/h/s franchise is no exception. That's such a shame because out of the 6 shorts (if we count the tape 56 one, because it only serves as the frame narrative), only 2 are worth it. Those two are the first (Amateur Night) and the last (10/31/98), as they are entertaining, clever and actually use the found footage technique in a meaningful way. It's such a shame that the other ones suck so badly, none of them are worth checking out. You may say some try to do some interesting stuff, but man, why would I care if everything else is so poorly constructed? If you want you can watch this with some friends to make it a more bearable experience, but don't expect to get thrills out of it.

*Review for season 1* When Garth Ennis said that The Boys would "out-Preacher Preacher"... well, he was right. Maybe not in quality, but The Boys sure was a sick series, amazing and crazy also. The Boys was a different (but not that original) take on superheroes, presenting them as a bunch of psychos ('cause Ennins hates them), with an underground CIA team ready to take them off the map if they cross the line. The series managed to be horrifying and hilarious at the same time, developing a great history through it's almost 100 issues; and for me, a must read to all comic book readers. So I was quite amazed when this TV adaptation was announced because the trailer was pretty bad, and certainlly they wouldn't be able to be really faithful to the source material (because of the dark nature of it). Well, I certainlly was right... but also wrong. No, this is not a faithful adaptation, maybe not even a good one. One thing the show mantains is the name, but not that much else. The characters are different for the better (Hughie, the Female, the Deep, A-Train) and unfortunately also for the worst (Stillwell, Butcher, Homelander, MM, Frenchie, Queen Maeve...), with some of them being totally erased (the Legend, Terror, Jack From Jupiter). Not blaming the actors, all did a great job (especially Karl Urban and Antony Starr), but most of the characters were great from the start, so why change them that much? Maybe because this shows differs totally story wise from the comics. Now, I admire the risk of taking a different path, and so far this 1st season the history is great, but man, how tf they're going to continue it? They closed all the doors they could take if they followed the comic arcs, I think none of them will be used in the 2nd season (as almost none were used in this one), so i'm really worried for how the show is going to continue. I'd also like to mention how this show is lacking some blls. One of the hallmarks of the comic was the extreme violence. The show has some, but not really that much. Some people may say is better because the violence is the comic was pure shock-value... well that's true, but it was also used for a bigger impact in you, and for making you laught. The characterisic sick humour of the comic is also totally gone, maybe laughed 3 or 4 times, could they change that? Don't let my complaints intimidate you, this show is quite great. The timing for this to be released is perfect, considering we're living in a time were superheroe movies are the most successful and 90% of them suck, this show is a breath of fresh air, just as the comic was back in the day. Still hyped for season 2, let's see if they manage to not ruin this. 1st season rating: 7.8/10