I never watched the original "La Femme Nikita" or the movie so I'm not going to even try to compare the two. This modern update stands on its own so you really don't need to know the franchise's past. Maggie Q plays the titular Nikita who is forced into being an assassin by the mysterious Division and goes rogue after they kill her boyfriend. Another plotline involves young new "recruit" Alex who is being introduced to life at Division. She's more than just the audience surrogate, luckily, as lots of exposition comes from Nikita herself. The cast is pretty good so far, certainly better than you'd expect from the average CW show. I still love Maggie Q and she has the chops to back up her ass-kicking ways. Her acting is nothing brilliant, but it's not awful either. It was also nice to see Aaron Stanford, even if he is relegated to the obligatory computer nerd role as Birkhoff. I constantly need to remind myself lately that I'm one of, like, 12 people who actually saw (and loved) ABC's "Traveler" so I'll just say his best-known work is his role as Pyro in the "X-Men" movies. I'm glad he got to be a bit of a badass, although I hope his entire role on the show isn't to sit behind computers and track people. Melinda Clarke of "CSI" and "The OC" fame plays a leader in Division and seems like a good fit for the show. It took me forever to remember where I knew Xander Berkeley, who plays Division leader Percy, from - as George Mason on "24."The only actor I had a problem with was Shane West as Michael, the Division operative tasked with dealing with the Nikita situation. I think he was really miscast in this role, partly because he seems too young for it. West is 32, but I just don't think he looks mature enough for the part. There can't be too much of an age difference, I suppose, if they want to make a history between Michael and Nikita, but he just doesn't command the authority that his character requires. He plays assholes well, but a little facial scruff and a rough voice don't a gritty performance make.
My one problem out of the way, I have to say I enjoyed this show. Granted, my expectations weren't high because it's on the CW and it's a remake of an old show, but then again "Supernatural" is on the CW and "Battlestar Galactica" was a remake of an old show. It's just nice to be pleasantly surprised, especially after watching the bland "The Event" last night. The dialogue isn't a huge step up, especially with the cringeworthy "this is war" line from Percy, but the narrative is solid so far. I thought it was an good pilot that was a nice mix of action and set-up. I didn't actually see the big twist coming, that the new recruit Alex is actually going undercover in Division for Nikita. I was expecting Birkhoff to somehow become her mole on the inside after she captured him and voiced her ideas about taking down Division. But it's nice to have Alex as the mole since they'll underestimate the new girl. I'd like to know more about her history, especially after they threw in that random thing about her Ukrainian past. I also think they cast her well as she actually looks like a young kid acting tough.
I enjoyed the action, but I hope they get a little more creative with it. I'd love to see them do what "Chuck" does where they add flavor and character to their fight scenes, using different environments, objects, and styles to create unique action sequences. Maggie Q can certainly handle it. I'm not going to take the show to task for not being fun enough though since they're going for a more serious tone and I'm okay with that. As long as they have riveting stories and characters to go with it, and I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt there.
I still need to catch up on the second episode before the third airs on Thursday, but it looks like this will be an entertaining romp this season. It may be too dark or serious for some people, or not dark and serious enough, but this is the CW, not TNT or USA. I still highly recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment