Fallout with humor and racing. Review of the sci-fi series Twisted Metal

Have you heard of Twisted Metal? If it's a game, then you've probably heard something about it, and even if you haven't driven around in weird cars with rocket launchers, you've definitely seen at least the picture: survival races, explosions, and a hellish clown with a burning head. And it turns out that there's been a TV series based on this explosive post-apocalyptic series for over two years now. And at the end of this summer, its second season was released.

Now it would be logical to do a review of the second season and everything. But, as a short local survey of potential audiences showed, they either haven't heard about the series at all, or have heard something, or are not sure. We also found out about it late, but decided to watch it and tell you - here it's about games, and post-apocalypse, and a little silly humor. Everything, as we like.

Briefly about the game

The Twisted Metal series of games is an arcade fighting game/battle set in a post-apocalyptic world. You take a "wheelbarrow", attach rocket launchers, machine guns and other deadly iron to it, and then drive around the arena and try to destroy your opponents. The winner gets any wish granted by the mysterious Calypso – the demonic host of this crazy show.

The series flourished in the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, giving gamers unforgettable characters like Sweet Tooth, a psychopathic clown in an ice cream van, or the equally charismatic Mr. Grimm, a suicide motorcycle racer whose appearance was always associated with a skull and dark motives. Raven, a gothic girl with a tragic past who seeks revenge for the loss of a loved one, also took her place in the hearts of fans. And Dollface (Christa Sparks), a former top model in a mask, obsessed with her own complexes and the desire to prove her significance.

Each character had their own story, motivation, and unique vehicle. The series flourished until it went quiet after 2012. And now – a comeback. Only not on console, but on screen.

Season One: The Big Prequel

The events of the series Twisted Metal unfold in the world after a global catastrophe. The Internet is no longer there, the servers are disconnected, the familiar civilization has crumbled to pieces. Twenty years have passed. The surviving cities have surrounded themselves with high walls, turning into enclaves for the local elite. And behind the walls chaos reigns: sects, gangs, raiders, and those who are called "milkmen". These are couriers who risk their own lives delivering goods between cities.

One of these "milkmen" is John Doe (Anthony Mackie), the main character of the series. His name is the very embodiment of namelessness: this is what the police call unknown men without documents or with memory loss. And John really does not remember anything about himself. Only a half-erased family photo hints that he once had another life.

John loves his car the most in the world, and there is a separate story about why. He has been living on wheels for a long time and feels at home in a world of chaos. One day he is offered a deal that he cannot refuse: to deliver a particularly valuable cargo from New Chicago to New San Francisco in ten days. As a reward, he gets the dream of any outsider: the right to become a full-fledged citizen and live under the protection of the walls.

Along the way, John meets the mysterious Quiet (Stephanie Beatrice), a girl who has lost her family and lives only for revenge. Gradually, complex feelings arise between them: from distrust to sincere affection. Along the way, a temporary main villain appears, Sheriff Stone (Thomas Haden Church), a fanatic who dreams of the revival of police control. But the real star of the season is Sweet Tooth.

He is played by two actors: the appearance is by wrestler Samoa Joe, the voice is by Will Arnett. A crazy clown with an ice cream truck and a flaming head, he is the living mascot of the series. He steals every scene he appears in: charisma, black humor and pure madness. Without him and his friend Harold (a brown bag, if anything) it would be really boring.

In addition to the main characters, the series Twisted Metal winks at fans of the game with the appearance of several more familiar characters. For example, Raven and Dollface. In the first season, they appear briefly, but leave a noticeable mark.

So how did the first season of Twisted Metal turn out? On the one hand, there is a fairly coherent plot, atmospheric post-apocalypse, black humor and familiar images from the game. On the other hand, if you expected non-stop meaty action with cars, rocket launchers and explosions at every turn from Twisted Metal, you will only get a few bright scenes. And even those are closer to the finale. The main time is taken up by dialogues, strange relationships and trashy comedy. As a result, the first season received mixed reviews and looks more like a long prologue than a full-fledged adaptation of the game. Only at the end do we see the promise of the main tournament and the appearance of Calypso, the very details that made the series cult.

Season Two: The Calypso Tournament and True Madness

The second season finally throws the heroes into the main event – a deadly tournament organized by Calypso. John Doe is now not just a courier, but a participant in a large-scale race, where the main prize is the fulfillment of any wish. But no one is in a particular hurry: the plot starts slowly, introduces the audience to new characters, sprinkles flashbacks, and after just a few episodes, real chaos begins.

The arenas feature characters familiar to fans of the game: the duck Axel on his giant wheels, the creepy Mr. Grimm, the mysterious Dollface in a mask (not the same as in the game, but here with an important role) and the updated Raven. Really updated: she is played by a different actress, and John even jokes that he liked the previous one better.

Among the newcomers, the young rebel Mayhem stands out, who adds drive to the main duet of John and Tikhonya. And, of course, a separate song is Licorice. He dreams of becoming the greatest maniac of all time, so that the rest of the thieves won't even stand next to him, and this dream is gnawing at him from the inside.

The style in the second season of Twisted Metal has changed noticeably: instead of a road movie, we have a comedy action. But no one canceled serious topics: the characters lose loved ones, face betrayal and risk their lives at every turn. However, humor and drama do not always fit harmoniously: sometimes it is funny, sometimes sad, and sometimes it is simply strange. Some of the additional storylines break off in mid-sentence, never having had time to touch.

There's more action, but it's not always about cars, and it's a bit of a departure from the classic Twisted Metal formula. The tournament includes a variety of challenges, from frantic car battles to quirky contests that feel more like a comedic Battle Royale.

The series continues to wink at gamers: activating nitro or a shield feels like pressing buttons on a gamepad, and the final boss Minion recreates his iconic demonic image from the game. The soundtrack rocks with hits from the 1990s and 2000s, and Licorice steals the show once again.

But despite the scale and crazy pace of Twisted Metal, some scenes look truncated. Maybe the budget wasn't stretched. Or maybe there weren't enough ideas, who knows. The finale hints at a third season, which may return the series to the road movie format and finally show the spirit of Twisted Metal to its fullest.

As a result, the second season turned out to be driving and spectacular, but less coherent: the show constantly balances between brilliant trash and potentially cool action. The Calypso Tournament roared back, but… the finale, in my opinion, is a bit strange and a bit far-fetched, although it paves the way for a sequel.

Overall conclusion

It so happened that I watched Twisted Metal for 11 days in a row, two episodes at a time during lunch. It caused a strong sense of deja vu: after studying, you come home, hastily warm up some Mivina, turn on the TV and... watch something like that! Twisted Metal, in its vibe, form, manner of shooting and even pace, is very reminiscent of TV series from the late 1990s – early 2000s: short episodes, but long stories, drive and not a very large budget. It is easy to imagine how the series could be stretched not to 22, but to 122 episodes, add even more races and reveal the fates of secondary but interesting characters.

It's unlikely to happen. It's not known for sure whether there will even be a third season, although the second season left a bold hint of a continuation and the ratings of the second season were higher than the first. But the marketing of the series clearly let it down: not even all gamers have heard of Twisted Metal.

As for the actors: the main character is likable, but at times he seems a bit too much like Will Smith from the early Men in Black (1997) or even The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996). Quiet doesn't always convey emotions clearly, but Licorice is just perfect, exactly how you imagine him. His sidekick Stu is also wonderful, but Calypso as an antagonist falls a little short of an almost all-powerful demonic entity. The finale seems illogical in places, some plot twists leave questions, and some lines hang in the air, but...

...but it's worth remembering: this is not a Shakespearean drama. Twisted Metal is a fun and entertaining series with a very specific sense of humor and war machines. And in this paradigm, it works perfectly. It has its flaws, but it's still a pleasure to watch, especially if you're ready for a chaotic post-apocalyptic drive, witty humor, and vivid characters that are hard to forget.