When Sony announced that it was dusting off the Twisted Metal IP for a TV show adaptation there was a collective sense of confusion amongst the gaming community. Why would Sony greenlight a TV show for an IP that it has largely ignored for more than a decade? Sure, video game adaptations are becoming more frequent (and successful), and after the huge win Sony had with The Last of Us, who can blame the company for thinking it can turn water into wine again, albeit, cheap wine this time (not quite goon cheap though). Peacock brought on Deadpool and Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, alongside Anthony Mackie (Captain America), Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Will Arnett (Arrested Development), Samoa Joe, and Neve Campbell (Scream) to bring this adaptation to life, and the result is a fun yet flawed 10 episodes.
For a game that is based on vehicular combat, it was always going to be interesting to see how they made it work given there’s very little source material to flesh out into a 10-episode season. But to their credit, the show’s premise is actually rather intriguing, despite the lack of car combat involved.
The show is set 20 years after a catastrophic power failure turned America into a divided post-apocalyptic wasteland. Cities still exist, but they are walled off and only for those who can earn citizenship, and even then there are some caveats. Everybody else on the outside is left to fend for themselves in a world ruled by megalomaniac law enforcers, gangs and crazy clowns.
Our main character is the quick-witted and yappy John Doe (Mackie), named as such due to the fact that he has no memory of his childhood before the world descended into chaos. Doe is a Milk Man – a driver who makes deliveries between cities in his trusty orange Subaru, Evelyn. Growing tired of life on the road, Doe is presented with a life-changing opportunity when Raven (Campbell) offers him a place in New San Francisco. All he must do is collect a package from across the country and bring it back within 10 days. How hard can it be?
Given the writers’ background, I expected several attempts at edgy humour, and some of it lands but most of it doesn’t. As Doe, Mackie is as compelling as he is irritating. His charisma quite often carries cringeworthy writing and jokes, and you can’t help but root for the guy. But there are times when the scenes can’t be saved and it’s almost painful to watch.
During his journey, Doe comes across a woman named Quiet (Beatriz), a character reluctant to speak and seeking revenge against Agent Stone (played by Thomas Haden Church – Lyle from George of the Jungle), the tyrannical law enforcer of the open roads. The two become travel partners but are constantly at each other’s throats, dishing out swears and insults in between jamming to 2000s pop music (a move that is overused) and making use of a plastic ball pit. Initially it’s a weird combo, but the chemistry between Mackie and Beatriz improves over the course of the season, and there are some genuinely enjoyable moments as the two engage with a group of truckers constantly on the move, a religious cult of sorts, and other Milk Men. However, I did find that for a show about making a life-changing delivery on a deadline, the show had a very loose relationship with time, with Doe and Quiet often seemingly lacking the urgency you’d think they’d have given the task at hand.
The pair will also cross paths with several other notable characters, including arguably the series’ most recognisable character, Sweet Tooth, who is excellently voiced by Will Arnett and whose physical presence is superbly matched played by Samoa Joe. This rendition of the Sweet Tooth is mad as a cut snake; a Neapolitan mix of sinister, goofy and unhinged. He’s a one-man army capable of eliminating entire outposts whose best friend is a paper bag. It borders on being so absurd that you wonder why Arnett would agree to do it, yet he never stops being entertaining, which is a testament to Arnett’s ability.
This rendition of the Sweet Tooth is mad as a cut snake; a Neapolitan mix of sinister, goofy and unhinged
Arnett and Mackie aren’t alone in delivering solid performances. Beatriz grows on you, becoming one of the stronger roles and somehow adding an extra layer of depth to a character that seemed rather limited and almost archetypal at first, even if it is all a little predictable. Church plays his role as Agent Stone brilliantly and Campbell, as usual, dominates the screen when she is involved.
The main issue with Twisted Metal is that it feels like it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. It comes across as a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously until it does. The writers want you to care about these characters, or at the very least understand where they came from, with flashbacks giving us context to the people they were before the collapse, but it’s hard to care when their backstories are so ridiculous, such as Agent Stone’s, where his whole schtick is justified because he was bullied into killing a child.
There’s a tonal whiplash to Twisted Metal; one moment someone is crushing a watermelon with their penis, the next we’re viewing a poignant moment from the past that is designed to elicit some form of investment in the characters before a dick joke or “fuck you” kills the mood. It’s a show that frequently takes one step forward and then two steps back. There are times when the jokes do land and it does things well, and it is genuinely a fun watch. But as mentioned, it never commits to any one theme or genre long enough to establish itself.
Disappointingly, for a game about car combat there’s very little action to be seen, with the main courses of guns and wheels being served at the beginning and end of the show. There’s certainly plenty of driving to be had and some action sequences sprinkled throughout, but there’s a distinct lack of Twisted Metal’s core DNA included. However, given the way it ended, a sequel would likely see more of this. If we ever get one.
Final Thoughts
For all my grievances with Twisted Metal, and I still don’t think it’s anything to write home about, I had enough fun with the first season that I hope we see a second. Purely, to see where the show takes its ending. It’s a show that you need to leave your expectations at the door – “it is what it is” feels like the perfect summation. If you are looking for something to fill a weekend on the couch, then Twisted Metal is worth checking out to see if it gets your motor running.
