Brash. Brutal. Brouhaha!
I have seen Superhero themed TV shows and movies in abundance by now. There have been amazing openings in numerous shows which hooked you from the word go. But there has been no show which opened like ‘The Boys’. Within the first 5 to 6 minutes, you are introduced to the Queen Maeve (Wonderwoman) and The Homelander (Superman/Captain America) in all their slow-motion glory. You say to yourself, okay another Superhero show, let’s see how it goes. Then all of a sudden, another Superhero A-Train (The Flash or the Quicksilver counterpart) runs through the protagonist’s girlfriend Robin. Read the last sentence again. Then you realize what just happened. One has to see it to believe it. It is like you are just served a good looking delicious plate of food. And as soon as you pick it up to take your first bite, it bites you instead.
You thought that Nolan’s Batman was quite realistic. Then you thought, no Snyder was more realistic. Then Marvel movies took you away from realism and bowled you over with fantastical imagery while their TV shows tried to keep the tone as dark and grittier, going the DC way.
Meanwhile, few other Superhero related themes were running and creating their own places as the undercurrent. Case in point: Watchmen. But then, there comes a new show based on Comics of the same name, which shakes every pre-conceived notion about Superhero movies/TV series.
The Boys, available on Amazon Prime Video, is a Superhero show in which Superheroes are people who have gotten immense power and that has corrupted them like anything. They are managed by a corporate ‘Vought’, they star in their own movies, and they use their powers to do anything unimaginable, utterly horrifying, and unspeakable. In fact, some things are even un-writable. They are pitted against normal humans without any superpower and the group which takes on the corrupted Superheroes is named ‘The Boys’, even when there is a girl in the team.
The Superheroes, led by Homelander (and the team is called The Seven like the Avengers or the Justice League) are almost unconquerable. They have power, money, people behind them, and access to all the possible ways to cover their misdeeds. On the other side, we have The Boys, led by the most-amazing Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), a group of underground, ex-convicts, ex-military/CIA, poor victims, and an Asian girl who like to talk with her hands instead of her mouth. Basically, a bunch of misfits. The fight is one-sided and the situation is pretty much a David vs Goliath fight.
That’s what makes it super-fun to watch.
The Boys is a gory and dark tale where humans take on superheroes and try to pin them one by one in unique ways. It is totally unwatchable while having food, and I mean it as a compliment. It takes blood spilling to a whole another level as they try to up the ante episode after episode. I am pretty sure that people who easily tolerated Game of Thrones’ violent scenes, just because everyone was talking about it, will not be able to handle The Boys. That actually makes the show more worth.
The ensemble cast is just brilliant. Homelander, the main superhero but also the main antagonist, played by Anthony Starr, is deeply menacing and he represents all the wrong political and social connotations that come with power. Billy Butcher, the main protagonist is a 100% scene-stealer, and each time he is on screen, you are bound to have deadly one-liners, in a Kiwi-English accent, are thrown at you with the speed of light. The CGI is top-notch which is a huge thing going in the favor of the series. BG music is easily worth saving as a playlist. Thank you for officially introducing me to Billy Joel.
There have been 2 seasons out yet and it demands all your attention, comic-book shows lovers. Go watch!
