I have a habit of checking out source material before diving into a new show. Most times it doesn't pan out because I'm not interested enough to invest time or I prefer the medium of tv. Sometimes the universe gifts you with a little nugget that you keep around for the rest of your life. In this instance, it was a big beautiful shining nugget.
I took a gander at the first book before watching the first episode and at that point, I knew that this was one of those series that you were better off reading before watching. Before series one came to a close I'd finished the first two books, which the 8 episodes covered. By the time the year was out I had finished the first 7 Poldark books.
I'm so grateful for stumbling upon these, immensely human and, deeply flawed characters that often falter and fall from grace but aren't so far removed from us, the viewer, as to be unrealistic or inherently Literary. Demelza and Ross are some of the best-written, well-developed characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
The show is great on its own; enjoyable, interesting without being gimmicky, and importantly, heartbreaking without being cheap. I recommend the books if you're even remotely interested or have ever entertained the idea of maybe one day having a skim through one of them. It's worth your time and will increase your enjoyment of the characters and storylines tenfold.
It hurts my soul how pure Steven is.
Thoughts after leaving the cinema but before reading critics reviews: The plot actually very coherent, I had no problems following it whatsoever. Things happened for specific reason, they were deliberate choices that moved the plot along as opposed to randomly contrived events. Not only that, the narratives that were occurring concurrently made for a comprehensive movie that was multi-faceted and set up the future movies well. Complaints on my end were negligible, really not worth mentioning.
Thoughts after reading some critics complaints: I'm sorry that you don't have the brain capacity to sit down for 2.5 hours and pay attention to a movie with multiple narratives to tell a story. I'm sorry that you don't like films that deviate from common Hollywood narrative structures. I'm sorry that you keep comparing it to summer-blockbustery Marvel movies that are meant to reel in everyone and their dog and have become so formulaic and vanilla that my 9 year-old brother is getting sick of them. I'm sorry that you're not comparing it to Watchmen. I'm sorry that you wanted to hate this movie from the beginning.
My reconciled thoughts: All of this aside, I thought it was a comic book movie through and through. It's a real service to the fans who pay for comics and keeps the industry alive (also see Amy Robinson's review on BvS). Despite some deviating creative choices, for me, the essence of the characters stay true and pure to the heart of who they are and what they represent. Henry Cavill's Clark Kent/Superman rings to what a modern day iteration of him would be, not whatever New 52 has done with him. They really captured the depth and breadth of 75 years of Lois/Clark's love in the movie. Even the tension between Bruce and Diana is right on the money and calls back to the awesomeness of the pairing that is Batman/Wonder Woman that we all got a taste of in JLU and Blackest Night. Batffleck's Batman/Bruce is the Bruce after Jason's death, before Tim came along, y'know? The movie leaves a whole lot of room for the future Justice Leaguers and maybe even beyond to legacy movies where mantle is passed on.
Also, if we got like 5 minutes of Jason Momoa's Aquaman instead of 10 seconds I would have died and gone to heaven right there on the spot.
This show's strongest point is the O'Neal family. Each character is well fleshed out, 3-dimensional and, most importantly, defy their archetype. It's a great show with strong characters and exceptional family interactions. Totally recommend if you love character driven shows.
Mike Schur keeps creating my ideal show. I keep thinking I've reached my peak of how much I could love a show; of how much joy a television show could bring me with Parks and Rec, then Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but I was wrong. I was so wrong. It's smart, hilarious, and endearing, but mostly importantly, it's got that Mike Schur touch.
This show was good once upon a time. Now... it struggles with it's storytelling, often pursuing something in the background over the course of multiple seasons or episodes, only to flounder with it in the space of 10 minutes. It's time to go gently into the night, Adventure Time.
This series has a lot of "cute" and/or hipster appeal but ultimately lacks substance. Idk, there's just something missing.
Worth a watch if you like the series, if only to see all the nods the series makes to its forebear. Decent film, but the series is a must watch.
Endearing with lots of heart. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
