The first episode aired tonight, and so far it’s more than lived up to its promise. As a setup it’s nicely done, with plenty of mutant action and a story that keeps rolling along.
Visually it’s superb, and not just the effects; this is a finer grade of cinematography than your average superhero show. It’s directed by Bryan Singer, and the quality is there in spades. The acting is generally good, especially from the four family members, and the brother-sister dynamic is interesting in the context of developing mutant abilities.
This is advertised as being “in the X-Men universe,” although given the plethora of movies I’m not sure what that means. It’s certainly in a timeline where the X-Men have been; there are a couple references to the X-Men and the Brotherhood, although it seems to be modern-day or just around the corner.
Since I haven’t kept up with the comics, I’m not sure how many of the characters are established mutants and how many are new to this show. There are a few that look familiar:
SpoilerOne character is specifically called out as Polaris, although her abilities are a little different than what I remember from the classic X-Men. There’s two or three more who seem very similar to the Sentinel-fighting team in Days of Future Past, as well as an oddball assortment of others at the mutant hideout. I’m not sure if Laser Brains (my name for Polaris’ boyfriend) is a version of Sunspot or someone entirely new; likewise I’m not sure if the tracker is supposed to be Thunderbird, Warpath or another new mutant of vaguely Native American descent.
Speaking of which, the Mutant Underground Headquarters (sigh) is a surprisingly swanky setup—they even have an intake specialist who coordinates new arrivals. The name might be a little hokey, but what we’re shown of the underground mutant railroad is very well thought out, both in-story and on the writers’ part.
It’s hard not to compare this to the Inhumans miniseries, since they both premiered around this weekend, and Gifted comes out on top in just about every way. Its high-quality cinematography makes Inhumans look even more cartoonish and workaday; the fine mutant effects make the Inhumans themselves look almost goofy; and the dialogue, while occasionally a little flat, is still far better than anything from the far side of the moon.
I quit watching the Inhumans premiere halfway through, but watching The Gifted I kept wishing it had been the one with the two-hour special. Much of this is familiar ground, especially for those of us who grew up reading X-Men; watching mutants struggle with their powers in a world that fears and hates them is right in my comfort zone. But it’s done extremely well, and there were some scenes near the end that were genuinely tense and spooky. I’m definitely looking forward to the next one.