The Boys S1 (2019) Review

 

The Boys S1 (2019)

Set in a world where superheroes are the norm, The Boys follows Hughie as he joins a group to take down The Seven and Vought, after the accidental death of his girlfriend.

So, The Boys essentially poses the question of “what if superheroes were dicks?”. Sure, sometimes they’re good, but when they go rogue and abuse their power, what then? It’s an interesting premise that works phenomenally in Season 1. We get motive from our protagonists, to fight for the powerless against the super powerful. The world is very fleshed-out and fully imagined, creating an accurate look at what our world would look like with superheroes in it, and the invincibility that comes with them. And frankly, it’s batshit insane.

The cast is perfect, featuring awesome performances from Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, and Elisabeth Shue, with the two huge standouts being the always badass Karl Urban and Antony Starr, who does so well as the psychopathic and villainous Homelander. The two, only really meeting twice, channel such a high octane energy off of each other and the rest of their cast mates, that even though they’re both rough around the edges, the very likable. It was great seeing each character get a little slice of story dedicated to themselves, branching into Annie’s life, Homelander’s past, The Deep’s struggles, and the equally tough backstory with Butcher.

Season 1 is all about revenge and the truth, climaxing spectacularly with the boys reuniting, Butcher and Homelander’s shocking reveal, and The Seven seemingly shattered from within. My only qualm is the low-fi, grimy, cold filter the show gets, which feels like it was pulled straight from 2002.
Nevertheless, The Boys brings such a crazy, bombastic, and dark energy into the superhero genre, something we’ve never really seen since Watchmen (which this captures a lot in it’s tone). Just when you think they can’t out-due how ridiculous something is, they go and divert expectations and always add more crazy to the mix. This isn’t the MCU; it’s adult and horrifyingly grim at times, which is what makes it stand apart so well, going where few superheroes properties dare to go.

8.8/10