More Mixed Reactions To The 'Inhumans' Pilot Surface Online

Last week, a report of ours covering a strikingly negative pilot verdict of the upcoming Inhumans series from IMAX upset and worried fans who had been clinging to what few strands of hope they had for this show. And since the original report, more reviews of the pilot have surfaced online giving mixed accounts of the pilot. While the one we originally covered described the show as Scott Buck’s worst work, two detailed reviews from Reddit had more elaborate things to say about the show. Here’s an excerpt from the first one.

So… It’s not awful. If this show premiered on the CW as part of the Arrowverse or as an original property, it would be really impressive. Heck, even compared to some episodes of AoS it wasn’t bad. But when you factor in the fact that this show (a) carries the Marvel name, (b) is being touted as an epic IMAX event, (c) is finally bringing a huge Marvel property to the screen, and (d) replaced a movie, then…yeah, it’s a travesty.

The first review does acknowledge that “a lot of the effects, sound design, and even the pacing” may be improved upon in the final version. Still, some of the acting, action, and effects are described as “silly,” and characters are labeled as “bland,” with the shows’ depiction of Karnak (Ken Leung) apparently disappointing. The main points of praise have to do with the family dynamics of the characters, and the chemistry of some of the pairings. Ultimately though, this Redditor’s final verdict is that the show is “watchable” and “enjoyable” once you lower your expectations, with some interesting character pairings.

Now, all that being said, the show isn’t entirely without merit. Iwan Rheon is great, and there are some interesting pairings with great chemistry. Gorgon and Karnak, Medusa and Black Bolt, and Black Bolt and Maximus all share conversations or scenes together that really sell the idea that they’re all one big family. Also, Atillan looks pretty decent, and the Inhuman society that they establish is fairly interesting. There are also a few moments in the episode that genuinely surprised me, and the humor worked for the most part.

The second review on Reddit is just as elaborate as the first but is significantly more critical of the pilot, describing some aspects of the pilot a kick to the privates of longtime Inhumans fans. The user then goes on to criticize the groundedness of the show and how characters resemble “sad shadows of who they should be.”

I understand that this is only the first of eight chapters and that there’s a lot more to come, but it’s also clear where the plot is headed and I don’t see any fix for the characters when they’re already so far away from the source material. As it stands, it’s right up there with the recent Fantastic Four as an example of how ignoring decades of fantastic source material when making a comic adaptation isn’t really a good choice. It was bad enough realizing Black Bolt wouldn’t ever interact with the rest of the MCU, now I just wish I hadn’t seen him at all.

On top of these unfavorable reviews from Reddit, a new pilot description has surfaced from the OG source of the OG report (which has since been taking down as of this posting), Spoiler TV and while it doesn’t refer to the pilot as the Buck’s worst, it’s still being described as disappointing.

There was a lot of hope for this pilot and it did not live up to expectations. Not even a strong cast could breath life into the cringe worthy script they were given. There are some decent moments, but they are few and far between. For the most part this is a big miss for Marvel. There is still hope subsequent episodes can save the series, but the pilot is massively disappointing. 3/10 (Aimee Hicks | 8/4/2017)

Overall, while these comments pertain to one single episode, they are undeniably disappointing. The first episodes that will be shown on IMAX are the ones that should be able to bring in an audience for the rest of the season. And if they drop the ball this early in the game, it’ll be hard for them to see returns for the amount of effort they poured into the project.

Source: Reddit