Pros: An unusual take on the superhero theme; black humor and satire; brutality; Karl Urban Cons: The authors sometimes go overboard with the black stuff; slightly predictable ending to The Boys
Genre comic book series
Creators Eric Kripke, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Cast: Karl Urban (Billy Butcher), Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell), Laz Alonso (Mother’s Milk), Tomer Capon (The Frenchman), Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko), Antony Starr (Homlander), Erin Moriarty (Annie January / Starlight), Dominic McElligott (Queen Maeve), Jesse T. Usher (A-Train), Chace Crawford (Deep), Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir), Alex Hassell (Transparent), Elisabeth Shue (Madeline Stilwell), Simon Pegg (Hughie’s Father) and etc.
Amazon Prime Video Channel
Year of release 2019
Episode 8
Site IMDb
To be more precise, The Boys is more of an anti-superhero series. The positive characters here are precisely people who have suffered in one way or another from the actions of the supers and dream of taking revenge on the heroes who imagine themselves to be celestials. Embittered, vindictive, weak, but very inventive people who want the death of the idols of millions.
But the superheroes in The Boys are bastards. No, they sometimes save people and protect their country… but they only do this under well-staged lighting and according to a pre-written script. They are more interested not in saving someone’s life, but in profit from the sale of merchandise and the box office receipts of films with their participation. And what is outraged, accordingly, is not the suffering of people, which often becomes collateral damage in their “adventures,” but the sale of pirated CDs and toys with their brand. I wonder who the authors are referring to?
So, the girlfriend of Hughie Campbell, an ordinary salesman in an electronics store, becomes an accidental victim of a superhero. The indecisive and weak-willed Huey falls into depression when suddenly FBI agent Billy Butcher appears in his life, who promises the young man the opportunity to avenge the death of the girl and get even with the supers. Huey agrees to an adventure that will lead to a confrontation between a small group of people and the most powerful superhero organization in the United States – the Seven.
The superheroes that make up the Seven are easily recognizable as well-known Marvel and DC characters. The arrogant leader of the Homelander group, who considers people just trash underfoot, is a kind of hybrid of Superman (in his dark version) and Captain America. Queen Maeve, who long ago forgot what it means to worry about someone else and has obvious problems with alcohol, is Wonder Woman. The drug-addled super-fast A-Train is Flash. The goofy and horny The Deep is Aquaman. Able to become invisible and spy in women’s restrooms, Translucent is the Invisible Man. The mysterious Black Noir ninja, who does not utter a word throughout the entire film and mindlessly carries out all of Homelander’s orders, can be compared with several characters at once. Well, the new member of the Seven, naive and really dreaming of helping the people of Starlight, is most likely Supergirl.
The author of the original comic that formed the basis of the series is Ennis Garth, known for his work on Preacher, Hitman, The Darkness and Punisher. Knowing these comics, you can imagine the amount of blood and sex in The Boys. A lot is not the right word. From the very first scene with Hughie Campbell and his girlfriend Robin, The Boys seems to be trying its best to outdo Garth’s other series, Preacher. Severed limbs, entrails splattered on walls and ceilings, leftovers shoveled into a trash bin – no question. The scene in which Butcher’s team tries to find a way to kill a captured invulnerable superhero is generally one of the most disgusting in comic book series. Well, sex, it’s also there and… it’s not exactly the kind of sex you’d like to see. Yes, the authors did not forget about the trendy hashtag #MeToo. In short, The Boys is not a series that can be recommended for family viewing.
For those over 18, we strongly recommend that you get acquainted with the series. The Boys makes rather vicious jokes about modern comics and media, about corporate culture, about ordinary people and their preferences, and about pop culture in general. At the same time, the series is good not only as a satire; it is interesting to watch the development of the plot and characters. Leading the way is Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), who transforms from indecisive daddy’s boy (the most wasteful use of Simon Pegg ever!) into a man who can kill a super; and for Annie January/Starlight (Erin Moriarty), who is gradually losing her illusions towards her idols. In addition, we recommend paying attention to the Frenchman – the actor playing the role of this half-mad killer and genius actually served in the Israeli special forces. And, of course, Billy Butcher is good, Karl Urban’s character, blinded by hatred, ready to do anything to get his way.
Even before The Boys premiered, in early July 2019, Amazon Prime renewed the series for a second season. And this is just wonderful, because we already had a very cool series with Karl Urban, which was canceled after the first season. We are, of course, talking about Almost Human.
Well, we’re actually wondering where the show will go after such a dramatic (albeit somewhat predictable) season finale. We’ll see in a year. In the meantime, we strongly recommend that you check out the first season of The Boys. The show is clearly a contender for the title of best superhero series of the year and may be among the contenders for the title of top series of 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06rueu_fh30
Conclusion:
One of the most exciting comic book series in recent memory
