Into the Badlands: Fun with Feudalism

If that's not the look of a badass, I don't know what is.

"I will now light the pyrotechnics which are attached at the arms and back, and all over my pants. Totally and completely badass." - Mac, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, S04E04




Last night, right after The Walking Dead, one of the strangest, most action-packed shows debuted on AMC. Into the Badlands, a post-apocalyptic martial arts drama joined the fray.

Guy-Liner'd evil Barons? Check.
In the buildup to the premiere, several trailers for the new show aired, leaving me with a rather lukewarm taste for what was to come. Every trailer involved extended, rather cheesy martial arts fight scenes with almost zero insight as to what the real plot of the show would be. I watched the pilot, just out of interest, and was pleasantly surprised. Into the Badlands succeeds in a multitude of ways that other, more high-budget and anticipated series would wish to.

We begin with a short introduction by our main character: the man of action and few words known as Sunny. Years ago, ostensible nuclear wars ended much of the world, but six barons usurped resources and restored order to chaos, turning the land into one of blood. Also, guns are outlawed, meaning that everyone either uses a katana or their own fists to fight. Within a minute, Sunny has come upon a large group of Nomads whom he slaughters with his bare hands in quite an impressive action sequence. While many shows will bore me with sword fighting, fire-fights, or mindless deaths of red-shirts, Badlands introduced a scene so ridiculously fun it was hard not to immediately be on the side of the show. Sunny kicks people into trees, breaks necks, and throws halberds into his opponents, all the while flipping around and bouncing off of the ground and the trees to do so. I couldn't help but grin the entire scene.

After kicking the Nomads to death, Sunny finds a young boy in a chest in the Nomadic camp, whom he decides to take back to his baron. As Sunny, clad in red trench coat and sun-glasses, riding a motorcycle, wheels back into his lands, we get a look at the beautiful world that Badlands created. The rich color is the first thing that the eye is drawn to: red poppy fields echoing the Scarlet Field of Can-Ka No-Rey in The Dark Tower, white Baron-house reminiscent of 12 Years a Slave's plantation owner mansion, and green fields divided by a brown road. Though the Badlands may be bad, they sure are beautiful. Back at the Barony, we are introduced to Baron Quinn, the southern, warlike Baron of the area, played by Lord of the Ring's Martin Csokas. He eats up the scene when he's around, bringing a southern charm while still being the terrifying tyrant that he should be. Sunny is his right hand man, but we soon learn that he may want to start a family and somehow escape the Badlands, defying Quinn.

Hot female evil Barons? Check.
We are soon introduced to all of the essential players: Quinn's wife, a political schemer, his son, a douchey hothead who opposes Sunny, and his mistress who is having a secret affair with the son. Sunny also has a girlfriend who is pregnant, along with a cool tattoo artist named Ringo who is friends with our lead. Finally, we learn that there is another Baron, "The Widow," who opposes Quinn, and has some kind of connection to the boy whom Sunny found in the box. Speaking of M.K. (Box Boy,) he has a superpower wherein if he sees his own blood, his eyes turn black and he becomes a martial arts God, capable of catching shards of glass in mid-air and throwing them into people's eyes.

The climax of the pilot comes when The Widow ambushes Sunny in the rain with four of her best men. In a completely badass katana fight, Sunny manages to kill four of her "Clippers," proving himself to be the best fighter in the Badlands. Here, after dispatching the clippers, The Widow says that she is opposing Quinn, but seems to have some other motives as well. Perhaps there is a place beyond the Badlands wherein Sunny can lay down his sword and start a family?

In an overall sense, Into the Badlands delivers where it needs to. Though the characterization isn't huge, we understand the basics of every character, leaving them all open to further development as it goes on. The world is well-defined and beautiful, making the Badlands an interesting setting to learn more about as the show goes on. The performances are strong thus far, especially those of Martin Csokas and Daniel Wu, delivering a fun villain and a stalwart, mysterious protagonist respectively. And, most importantly, the action, the main set-piece of the show, absolutely delivers. The two main sequences in the pilot were as fun as possible, and much of Sunny's likability stems from the fact that he is totally and completely badass.

Fight scenes in the rain? Check.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that Badlands is AMC's next Breaking Bad or Mad Men, but the show certainly delivered in the ways that it should, far outclassing shows like The Bastard Executioner in just the opening moments. Badlands, as it develops further, could certainly use some expanse, giving us more reason to care about the characters and plot, but as it stands the show is already a step ahead of the curve.

We'll have to see how the rest of the season turns out now that we're past the pilot, but for now, I would certainly recommend watching Into the Badlands. If you're averse to violence it may not be a top choice, but for fighting, world, and overall intrigue, I'd recommend a watch.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,