Revolution: Pilot Review

My personal theory is that the blackout was the result of a Dharma Initiative experiment.

So, the new Eric Kripke (creator of Supernatural) created, JJ Abrams (creator of LOST) and Jon Favreau (director of Iron and the pilot episode) produced sci fi series Revolution doesn't premier for a few weeks, but NBC has released the pilot episode online for advanced viewing. Terrible marketing strategy if you ask me, but I'm pretty sure no one is, so yeah.

No spoilers, don't worry.

Fifteen years after all the world's electronics have stopped working, a militia of the dictatorship running part of America comes to a town looking for a guy who might know something. They wind up killing the guy and taking his son, prompting his daughter Charlie and compatriots to go looking for his brother Miles in Chicago, who can help get brother Danny back. And the adventure begins.

I was excited for the show when I saw the first trailer awhile back, and I jumped at the opportunity to watch the pilot early. It's Kripke, man! I'll start by saying that I think this is a really good premise; I also think it was a good idea to flashforward fifteen years instead of showing the immediate aftermath. It lightens things up, which the show needs to do to differentiate itself from those other post-apocalypse shows. And if you're upset they didn't give you the morning after, they're obviously gonna give it to us in flashbacks.

I also really liked the journey the people were going on; it was cool, and did feel like a mythic quest! Plus, there's swords (and for those of you who've been bitching about how it doesn't make sense that guns don't work in a world without electricity (you know who you are), it's not that they don't work, the government has made it illegal for citizens to own firearms)! As for the characters, so far... not terrible. The main characters is Charlie, and I really liked that they decided to go for a female protagonist (though you can't help but feel it's in vain of the Hunger Games...) because it's cool when they do that. Her character is fairly interesting, though some of her lines felt really cheesy (shame on you, Kripke!). The actress who plays her does a good job with the whole wide-eyed, headstrong thing, but she also overacted/just didn't say right some of her lines. If this was made four or five years ago, I would've said Summer Glau should've played this part, just because it's perfect for her, but these days, it would be a bit of a stretch for her to play a 19 year old.

The supporting characters whose names escape me were good for what they were, which isn't saying much given how little screen time they got, but I like em' for now. The real talent on this show though is Uncle Miles and Captain Neville. Captain Neville, played by a guy whose name I can't spell, is, at the moment, an awesome and thoroughly badass villain, and the actor who plays him nails it. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him. And then there's Billy Burke (yes, the dad from Twilight. I groaned too, don't worry) and his show stealing role as Miles. He is the man! He is a total badass, and he's actually really funny, too. He's the biggest character I want to see more of as the show goes on.

The directing of the awesome was pretty darn awesome. I give mad props to Jon Favreau making what looks like movie designs on a TV budget. He made some awesome sets, landscapes, and sword fights. Seriously, the fight at the end was epic. And there were some pretty awesome twists that'll get quite a few of you automatically on board for at least the next episode.

This was not a perfect episode, don't get the wrong idea. It honestly felt kind of rushed. I personally think they should've done a two-part pilot, but maybe that's just me. There was one or two poorly written parts of the episode, and like I said above, some cheesy lines and bad delivery. I will say this is a good episode; I like what they have so far, and I think they can do some really cool stuff with it, but there's room for improvement. The question still stands: will this be the next LOST, or the next The Event?

Final Rating: 79%