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PILOT REVIEW: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.













Starring: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge

Based on the Marvel Comic by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen
Written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, & Maurissa Tancharoen, Directed by Joss Whedon

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the highly anticipated new series from the makers of the many successful Marvel movies in recent years. In the show, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) from the movie assembles a S.H.I.E.L.D. team (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division). Made up of humans in the Marvel universe, the team works to try to figure out the superhumans in the universe. The rest of the main cast are the five agents working under Coulson.

THE GOOD: I think fans of the Marvel films will be happy with this show. It has some great visual effects, high tech gadgetry, and lots of humor mixed in. All those features are hallmarks of the movie and very evident throughout the pilot. Not surprisingly, Clark Gregg is very solid as the leader of the crew. The show started to build my interest as it went on and it had some good fight scenes and destruction of property which is an essential for a show like this.

THE BAD: I must admit that this kind of show is not my style. I have seen a few of the Marvel films but I never really love any of them and that's how I felt about the show, it was just fine for me. There was nothing about it that made me think it was far worse than the films. However, it's not my style so I found the whole thing a little dull. There was also an element of it that made me think of a modern-day Get Smart with its truth serum. Now I love Get Smart but I don't think that kind of humor really works in 2013. I don't know if it was just my lack of interest, but the whole pilot dragged a little bit. I didn't get sucked into the story the way I have with many drama premieres over the years, even some weaker ones.

BOTTOM LINE: ABC is betting big on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I'm really having a hard time trying to figure out if it will work or not. I really think fans of the movies (and there are many) will like this show but maybe more people found it dull like I did. Either way, this show is going to be revealing if a big tentpole scripted show like this can still work on TV. Let's see...
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