The Pentaverate (2022) Review

The Pentaverate (2022)

The Pentaverate follows reporter Ken Scarborough, who, after getting fired, needs a big story to get his job back, stumbling upon a secret organization called The Pentaverate, who have been controlling the world since 1347.

Fans of So I Married an Ax Murderer will know all about The Pentaverate, as a hilarious one-off line his dad spouts off about one night to his son. Little did we know, Mike Myers, who made his triumphant return in this series, would stretch that one little reference into the basis for this show, an homage to 70s cult classics like The Prisoner. The problem is, this probably never should have been a show. Sitting at just under 3 hours through 6 episodes (with a lot of filler in-between), The Pentaverate drags us through a mess of ideas that never quite land. The humor feels dated, any ounce of genuine emotion fails to pack it’s intended punch, and it continues the trend of throwing some washed up big name actors into the mix simply for name recognition. 

For fans of Myers work, it’s admirable to an extent, with lots of in-jokes and references that feel like a stab at creating a Myersverse of sorts. It’s ridiculous, disgusting, and quite frankly stupid, but I never once hated it, and most of that is because of Myers efforts in bringing 8 characters to life, all so different and all so random as hell, as we’ve come to expect out of him.

We get a fair cast as well, starring Jeremy Irons, Gregory Hoyt, Maria Menounos, Ken Jeong, Keegan-Michael Key, Jennifer Saunders, Richard McCabe, Debi Mazer, Lydia West, and Mike Myers. Like I mentioned, Myers makes this quite serviceable, but I have to give credit to Mazer and West who were no question my favorite parts of the series. Their presence alone improved every scene and any long bouts without them made this a tough go. 

The Pentaverate, directed by Tim Kirkby, isn’t necessarily bad, just slow and selective, as you’ll really need to be a fan of Myers work to really get the most out of this, and even then, it’s still a mediocre stab at a comeback, though ambitious.

5/10