I genuinely don’t know what to make of Peacock’s Twisted Metal. A loose adaptation of PlayStation’s long-running but largely forgotten car combat series of the same name, the first three episodes of the show offer a window into an unhinged and scattered production that is seemingly both parody and drama.
Starring Marvel sweetheart Anthony Mackie as protagonist John Doe (we’ll get to that), Twisted Metal lifts elements from its source material but looks to be telling its own story. John is a Milk Man, a delivery driver who transports just about anything across dangerous stretches of untamed, post-apocalyptic USA. Certain cities have been converted into walled safe zones that selectively dole out citizenship, but the vast majority of the country has reverted to a Wild West of sorts, filled with roaming gangs and violent law enforcers. John is quickly recruited by the mayor of New San Francisco, Raven (Neve Campbell), to complete one last job, earning him a place in her pristine city and a chance at a life away from the endless dangers of the open road.
As far as adaptations go, it’s not a bad premise at all. The core question of “how do you turn this silly car combat game into a ten-episode series?” still looms fairly large over what I’ve seen of the show so far, but a delivery man going to war with goons and self-appointed cops after the world goes dark is pretty fun. There are hints of the original Mad Max in here, a thoroughly off-putting commitment to the violence of such a world, especially as it relates to Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz’s character, Quiet. Named as such because she chooses to barely speak (a relatively tired trope that’s crept up around these archetypal women in violent, masculine-dominated shows), Quiet is placed in direct opposition with the show’s most confusing character, Agent Stone (Thomas Haden Church).
Stone has appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner of a merry band of highway patrol men who enforce their specific sense of justice on the world. At one point we see two men recruited by the force having to prove their loyalty by gunning down civilians, their superior officer revelling in the violence while one of the men doubts and the other gleefully leans into the moment. The show seems to have a colourblind approach to casting here but a narrative about the inherent danger and corrupting power of a police force requires more thought than what we’ve seen in its opening episodes. Stone is the heart of this issue though; a cruel and imposing figure, we soon learn that his pre-apocalypse origin story is that of a dude who was just trying to do his job but was eventually bullied by everyday citizens so much that he snapped, gunning down a child in the process before tripling down and buying into his self-heroic narrative.
To the best of my understanding, all of this is played incredibly straight-faced, smashing headfirst into the show’s mission statement of action-comedy. Because for every dead child, there’s a giant hairy clown performing show tunes, for every citizen brutally killed there’s Mackie wisecracking about shoes. At one point the show transitions from John and Quiet having to fill out paperwork with tiny pencils as torture, to them getting waterboarded without missing a beat. It’s just fucking weird. The driving forces behind the series coming from places like Deadpool and Netflix’s Cobra Kai goes a way to explaining the intentional dissonance I think the show was aiming for, but its comedy and drama both fall short of making you truly laugh or care.
It’s hard not to love this guy
This isn’t to say the show doesn’t have its moments. Campbell is, as always, immensely watchable and her character introduces a fairly strange energy to events, wielding power and femininity in fascinating ways that directly run interference on John. Mackie himself is a charming screen presence, and here he’s allowed to lean into his chaotic, charismatic undertones, bouncing well enough off of Beatriz. With a bit more time I could see myself really warming up to this cast, with even supporting roles showing up for work here. Will Arnett would also have to actively try to be anything other than a good time, his voice work as the franchise’s iconic clown landing pretty well and able to deliver the more absurd elements nicely. Flowers for Samoa Joe too, whose raw physical presence elevates every single scene he’s in.
That I’ve gotten this far into my impressions without mentioning the car combat is relatively telling. It’s fine, functional at best and a little dry at worst. The pilot’s mall sequence, a protracted and mid affair, is thankfully upped fairly quickly with the introduction of Sweet Tooth and his ice cream truck. There’s a fun little clash in the desert between Sweetie, John, and Quiet that involves some decent action and character work, but the first three episodes were otherwise pretty light on the car carnage we’re all craving.
Which is where we land with Twisted Metal for now – kinda light on the things it does best and the rest is…just plain odd. There were a couple of smirks, and some mildly intriguing character beats we wont spoil here, but the show’s utterly inscrutable tone and writing are keeping me at arm’s length for now. Asking around the office I know impressions will be varied so be sure to check back in for our full review and poddy discussion after the show premieres on Stan on July 27.
Episodes supplied by Stan Australia
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