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| Always liked the look of the title! |
Back with a review and this time it will be on the Pilot episode for one of my favourite TV series Revolution (I still believe it will be back!) and I will continue to review other episodes. I have already reviewed the two seasons overall but I always wanted to review the episodes separately, I started this blog halfway through season 2 so there was no point then. The reason I am doing this is because one of my favourite reviewers on Youtube, Trevschan2, is going back and review old Walking Dead episodes so I thought why not Revolution? One more thing I would like to point out is that these reviews won't be that regular, they could be weeks apart, and that is because I have other stuff I need to focus on. MAJOR SPOILERS, this review is for people who have already watched the series.
The year is 2012 in Chicago, Illinois and Rachael Matheson (Elizabeth Mitchell) is watching her two kids in her house when her husband Ben Matheson (Tim Guinee) bursts in with canned goods and frantically fills up bottles of water. Rachael, looking worried, asks Ben if it is finally happening. Meanwhile in Port Royal, South Carolina, Miles Matheson (Billy Burke) is driving with his friend Bass (David Lyons) when he gets a call from his brother Ben who quickly tells him that it will all turn off and it will never come back on, while this is happening something is being downloaded on Ben's laptop. Before anything else could be said the power in America slowly begins to shut off, leaving Miles and Bass stranded on a highway while Ben and his family watch planes fall out of the sky.
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| The event known as The Blackout |
In the year 2027 Aaron Pittman (Zak Orth) is explaining (to some beautiful shots of post Blackout landscapes) how the government collapsed, cities where looted/destroyed and how Militia rose up to take over what was left. Humanity has managed to survive but no one knows exactly how the Blackout started or how to fix it. The main characters Ben, Aaron, the doctor Maggie Foster (Anna Lise Phillips), teenage Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos) and Danny Matheson (Graham Rogers) are living at a closed community in the Monroe Republic, one of the biggest Militia that controls half of the Eastern Seaboard. We get some background on the characters lives; Danny suffers from asthma, Rachael died many years ago and Charlie is frustrated by her sheltered life and storms off. However while she is away Captain Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) of the Monroe Republic arrives to take Ben away, there is a gun battle shortly after Ben secretly gives Aaron a pendant to kept safe and Ben is shot. Tom however takes Danny with him and Ben, in his final moments, tells Charlie to get help from his brother Miles in Chicago, she leaves with Aaron and Maggie.
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| Tom Neville; you will learn never to f**k with this guy |
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| It is Post - Apocalyptic scenes like this what makes Revolution one of my favourite shows |
Meanwhile Danny manages to escape from his captors and faints in a field due to his asthma but is rescued by a woman named Grace Beaumont (Maria Howell) who claims to be a former algebra teacher. However Tom manages to track Danny down and, through intimidation, forces his way in to Grace's house and takes him back.
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| Tom can force the truth from anyone. |
Back in Chicago the Militia confronts Miles and an epic clash of swords and gun ensures, with Charlie and her group joining in on the fight.
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| My favourite character in Revolution has the most epic fight scenes |
After the fight Miles agrees to accompany Charlie in her quest to go after Danny and leaves Chicago with them but not before having a flash back to the day of the Blackout. We find out that Mile's friend Bass is actually Sebastian Monroe; Leader of the Monroe Republic and General of its armies. Back in the present day Monroe has just received word from a rider that Ben is dead and Tom is on his way with Danny. The episodes ends back with Grace who uses the same kind of pendant Ben gave to Aaron to power up a computer and send a message to an unknown person.
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| You will find out just how important these things are |
There is the summary of the first episode, might have been a bit long but I wanted to cover all major points.
The Pilot of Revolution is probably one of the best first episodes I have ever seen and that is because it does such a great job of establishing the new world that is created here. Humanity today is so dependent on electricity that if it would go off the world as we know it would cease to exist and they show that within the first few minutes with the falling airplanes. I really liked that scene because not only did it look good but it establishes the overall tone that will be in this series; it is dark, mature and serious. There may be some light hearted moments in the journey of Revolution but there are few laughs for the people living after the destruction. That is also what drew me to this series because it is a realistic take on what could be a possible event for the world.
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| Poor souls didn't get to see what it was like after the Blackout |
I am a big fan of the Post - Apocalyptic genre (along with Fantasy for video games) mainly because writers are creating a whole new world; it's leadership, rules, currency, military etc. So much detail is needed to make it a convincing one and that is exactly what they have done here. We have the Monroe Republic as the antagonists who impose crop taxes and use murder and intimidation and we also have its citizens who build walled off small towns and who are scared of the no mans land in between which (that Charlie found out he hard way) is full of thieves and rapists. But we also have a look at the big cites and we see that most are destroyed because nature took it back or seemed to have become rough, massive market towns like Chicago.
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| 15 years later nature has taken back the cities |
We also have to thanks the excellent camera work, we get some long shots of the ruined lands and cities. Most of it is probably done with green screen and digital effects but it is done so well but I can tell the rest is man made like the peaceful farming village at the beginning and the busy Chicago. They are so different, thanks to the great set design, and it really makes you want to see other places in America and how it has changed. That is what is so good about this Pilot, the plot of tracking Danny gives you just that opportunity.
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| The series main antagonist; Sebastian Monroe |
What I was surprised about this episodes was just how violent it was when it came to the sword and gun fights (and it defiantly increase later in the season) and that is a good thing. The cerography is done really well, especially with Miles's fight at the Grand. It was kind of like swash bucklering pirates and it was just epic how Miles managed to hold off that many soldiers. We also get to see the weakness of guns because most soldiers are reduced to using muskets that have a long reload time, so expect to see a lot more sword action.
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| Three of the main characters; Charlie, Aaron and Maggie |
Now has for the characters I think we got a great cast and some well thought out parts for them. Charlie is the main protagonist and I a really good one at that; she may start out as a bit naïve and selfish (probably because of her sheltered life style) but you can tell she is strong willed and this journey is sure to change her. I have heard some criticism that that maybe it should have been a male lead but I have no problem with Charlie and besides Miles defiantly takes care of that. He may come across as detached and uncaring but that is because of his military background and he had to do a lot more to survive in the 15 years Post - Blackout and as you can tell from his fight in the Grand he will provide some epic fight scenes. There is also Tom and he is just plain creepy, he can sound dangerous even when the conversation might be pleasant (like when he was talking to Grace).
We also have a lot of interesting support characters such as Aaron the computer genius who feels out of place in the new world, Maggie the doctor, the mysterious Nate and Monroe. We can see just how the Blackout has effected them in different ways, like Aaron who was a millionaire and worked for Google. I will talk more about these characters when future episodes focus more on them.
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| Ben, we hardly knew ye! |
Lastly what I also liked about what this first episode established is that flash backs in almost every future episode will tell what it was like for the characters during the terrifying first years of the Blackout and before. It is a very interesting way of telling the story and I haven't seen it used like that on anything else. This also leaves the viewer with many questions; How did Ben know about the power going off? Will they get to Danny? What is the Monroe Republic after? And what is the deal with the pendant? I will talk more about the pendant in the next two episode reviews.
Overall this Pilot started something that I think was truly ground breaking, maybe some of you will think I am going over board but that is truly how I feel about this show. I know that this review has reviewed more on the setting and world that is created but that is exactly what first episodes in series like this are supposed to do. In my next review I will talk more and base the score more on the events on what happens in the episodes but like I said this first one was an introduction to everything.
SCORE: 10/10
I may seem obsessive with this show but I like something with a well thought out creative story and I really hope it comes back for more seasons. With it gone the only thing on like it that I watch is Falling Skies (Game of Thrones and Walking Dead are based on pre existing material so not counting them right now). When Falling Skies finishes what will I watch then? No way am I watching generic comedies and reality TV!
Thought I'd mention that the great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;
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