(I watched it so you don't have to)
After the massive success of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, I started watching this show with huge expectations. Considering the fact that this show had an incredible cast of Samuel L. Jackson, Olivia Colman, Don Cheadle, Emilia Clarke, Kingsley Ben-Adir and the like, my expectations were warranted. Going halfway into the first episode the plotline started feeling very similar to the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special. Now, I've not read the Marvel comics, but I'm sincerely hoping that the story is taken from there, instead of Doctor Who, otherwise it would seriously be lazy writing on their part.
Nick Fury was finally summoned to the earth from his starship in the sky because the species he helped save in Captain Marvel (the Skrulls) has rebelled and aims to chase mankind to extinction and claim the earth as their own. This invasion is secret because, well, they could be anybody. You, me, your mother, who knows? Since they can survive in a radioactive atmosphere, they plan on starting the Third World War which will inevitably make use of nuclear weapons. And then, boom! Humanity is bye-bye.
Old Nicky has in fact become too old for this shit because as referenced in almost all the episodes, he has become too old for this shit. It's a little frustrating really. We get it. He is old. Despite his claims that to stay ahead of him you need to keep both eyes open, his all-knowing one eye could not stop his oversight. He is then reprimanded by a very suspicious Colonel Rhodes, who doesn't exhibit his usual patience and behaves erratically... hmm, what could be wrong with him?
Emilia Clarke plays G'iah, a Skrull rebel whose troubles and angst you're supposed to understand since the first episode, but not much has been done to warrant that empathy and understanding from the viewer, except for a few sentences spoken here and there in the whole series.
Kingsley Ben-Adir plays the villain Gravik, who is the leader of the rebel Skrulls. He does not seem as formidable because he is always accessible, he always gets his hands dirty, always comes up with predictable plans and he easily believes what he sees as true. His character does not make the viewers connect with him, even towards the end when he has this huge monologue in which he says how he has been wronged and how broken or traumatized he is.
Ben Mendelsohn's Talos is a good supporting character whose heart is in the right place, but strategies aren't. Although he does not support the rebel Skrulls, he does not have convincing reasons for helping humanity except for the goodness of his heart. However, his character was a treat to watch on the screen.
Olivia Colman's character is the only saving grace of this show. She's a woman you'd expect to be like Umbridge but turns out she's the right chirpy but intelligent person to compliment Fury's grumpy one.
The show's political thriller theme is a much-needed respite from the fantasy and sci-fi stories that Marvel has been putting out lately. However, the problem is that its characters have not been fleshed out well. This fault can be attributed to the duration of the show which is roughly 30-35 minutes for each episode. This format would have worked much better with 45-50 minutes per episode, as it did with Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The writers have especially dropped the ball in the finale which needed many more details, and a bigger episode length would have remedied the problem.
The CGI for the final battle is sloppy (but still better than She-Hulk). The need to show the real faces of the actors while they exhibit their powers takes away from the impactfulness of the situation. The ending seems rushed and anticlimactic, a little easier than you would expect it to go. It is also very predictable which makes you angry because the story had so much potential but was not fully utilized.
Overall, in my opinion, it deserves 3 out of 5 stars (⭐⭐⭐🌠🌠).
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