Surprise! Twisted Metal Actually Makes For Bloody Great TV
Hey, kids, remember Twisted Metal?
At one point in time, Sony was producing hit sequel after sequel of the competitive driving action series, which got its start on the PlayStation before moving on to the PlayStation 2 with the awesome Twisted Metal: Black.
We haven’t really seen a new game since, well, Twisted Metal on the PlayStation 3. There’s been talk about a series revival, but nothing official just yet. Fingers crossed we get something sooner rather than later — especially now.
That’s because Twisted Metal has made its way to television form, as all ten of the episodes from its first season are on Peacock. What could’ve easily been a badly adapted disaster is instead inspired — and hilarious — television, with just the right tone taken from the games and a whole lot of laughs. It actually leaves me wondering just when we’ll get a second season.
Anthony Mackie of Marvel fame plays John Doe, a delivery driver who picks up and drops off in a future where cities are walled up and the streets have gone all Mad Max in apocalyptic fallout. But rather than being all super-serious like that series, it’s tongue-in-cheek and filled with laughs. In fact, the series has no problem playing homage to the game series, even chucking a copy of the original game across the windshield while Doe drives away from baddies.
Anyway, Mackie is called upon by Raven (Neve Campbell) to pick up a special package cross-country, one that could earn him anything he wants. (Like 3-ply toilet paper — gasp!) So he sets out on his journey, unaware of who he’ll run into along the way.
That includes Quiet, played with an awesome turn by Stephanie Beatriz (NINE NINE!). She’s a great character here, one burdened by personal tragedy but not afraid to play her part as well. Her and Mackie team up quite well, and I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of them.
And of course, we get authentic characters from the video game series. Because why not? First up is Agent Stone, played by good ol’ Lowell himself (or Sandman), Thomas Haden Church. He’s a lawman that isn’t afraid to go above and beyond for his duty, and he has a lot of fun with his turn as well. It’s definitely borderline psycho.
But not nearly as psycho as, yes, Sweet Tooth. He’s played with panache by not one but two actors. AEW wrestler Samoa Joe is the body, and he’s got no problem getting physical and ripping into people like they were paper. But for some reason, the producers opted to go with Will Arnett for the voice. I’m not sure why this was needed, but he actually does quite well with the role, sounding completely nuts but still having fun with it. “WOMAN’S BODY!”
Along with the performers, there’s a lot of satisfying action, and it actually looks pretty wonderful for a TV series budget. A good amount of explosions, gunfire, and humorous carnage (yes, there is a thing). Credit showrunners Michael Jonathan Smith (Cobra Kai), Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland) for actually doing something pretty nice with the material and, er, rolling with it. They certainly do more inspired work than whoever was working on the Uncharted film, tell you what.
Like The Last of Us over on HBO, Twisted Metal works on its own chaotic level. Not all the jokes land perfectly, but enough of them do; and the performances keep rolling along with each bite-sized episode (running under 30 minutes or so). It definitely has me excited for the future of the series, because it’s all in good fun.
And that means the games, too. Who knows, this might just be the momentum it needs to come back. Hey, David Jaffe, you busy?
Have a great weekend, all! You can catch all the episodes from Twisted Metal over on NBC Peacock.
