Of all the PlayStation properties ripe for adaptation, we’re going to hazard a guess that Twisted Metal wasn’t top of your list. And yet here we are, with Peacock’s ten episode series about to start streaming. We’ve watched the entire first season, and while the early trailers proved divisive, we’re happy to confirm that the show works – depending on your penchant for cheesy, gratuitous grindhouse gore. This is a silly, ostentatious slice of car crash television – but despite a wafer-thin plot and an unsatisfying conclusion, we enjoyed it overall.
Anthony Mackie stars as John Doe, an amnesiac first introduced in the PS2 game Twisted Metal: Black. That plot device continues here, with Doe having no memories of his childhood, aside from a partially destroyed photograph of his family. Working as a delivery driver known as a Milkman, he spends his life on the open road in a 2002 Subaru Impreza named Evelyn, delivering packages between walled-off settlements in a post-apocalyptic America ruled by various gangs from the games, like the Holy Men.
It takes at least three episodes for the show to really settle into a rhythm, and it’s only when he’s paired up with Stephanie Beatriz, who plays Quiet, that it’s able to truly capture your attention. We suspect many prospective viewers may fall off quite early, especially in Episode 2 where we’re introduced to Sweet Tooth, played by Joe Seanoa and voiced by Will Arnett – a psychotic masked showman whose biggest goal is to be appreciated by his audience. In one scene he acts out a Las Vegas hotel’s information video in its entirety.
While some of these early gags feel like nails on a chalkboard, the show eventually gets rolling through Mackie and Beatriz’s blossoming alliance. While it has a grotty, dirty aesthetic to it, there’s some sweet moments between the protagonists, and the pair have a decent chemistry which makes you want to root for them. Each episode also begins to layer in some background for each character, and while it’s paper-thin predictable stuff, it helps make everyone a bit more rounded.
This is particularly noteworthy with Agent Stone, another returning character from the games, played by Thomas Haden Church. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that he was a goofy mall cop with a power complex prior to the apocalypse, and so he takes his opportunity in the new world to enforce law and order. It’s not exactly dense character building, but it works, and he plays his part as a pantomime villain throughout.
The main thrust of the plot sees Doe attempting to pick up a package from Chicago and bring it back to San Francisco, at the request of Raven, played by Neve Campbell. The cross country roadtrip vibe provides plenty of potential for vehicular combat scenes, although there’s less of the fender-to-fender action than you’d perhaps anticipate. A climactic car park scene, where all of the cast comes together at last, is the closest the show ever comes to the games, with Twister, Darkside, Sweet Tooth, and more all battling it out in a pulsating face-off which likely demanded most of the show’s production budget.
There are many references to the games, and while the character arcs tend to deviate a lot from what you may be familiar with, the Easter eggs are plentiful enough to satisfy seasoned fans. Not every cameo lands, however: Mr Slam, for instance, is portrayed as a big d*cked bar man whose party trick is to break a watermelon with his sledgehammer-sized dong. If this kind of crass humour isn’t to your tastes, then give the show a wide-berth.
It’s violent, too – albeit in a cartoon, grindhouse style. You’ll regularly see decapitated heads, blown off appendages, and maimed bodies – all captured with low-budget plastic prosthetics that ensure an intended throwback feel. It juxtaposes this ostentatious violence with a saccharine sweet early noughties soundtrack, which includes MMMBop and Barbie Girl, to give the whole thing a kind of unhinged, off-the-wall vibe. Personally, we liked it, but it’s an acquired taste.
Perhaps our biggest criticism overall is that the payoff at the end of the tenth and final episode makes clear that it’s paving the way for a second season that’s more closely aligned with the content of the games, and considering it may never get made, it all feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to us. Twisted Metal is such a niche franchise, and the show’s mix of comedy and intense grindhouse violence is so unusual that we can’t see this capturing a large enough audience to justify further investment.
But it has its moments, mainly through Doe and Quiet’s chemistry, which really comes into its own mid-way through the season and gives you something to latch onto. You’ll chuckle throughout many of the 30 minute episodes, but you’ll also cringe – it’s that kind of intentionally awkward, off-the-wall humour that writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were going for. If you could stomach Netflix’s recent Resident Evil adaptation, then you’ll likely have mindless fun here – but if car crash entertainment isn’t your cup of tea, consider steering your interest in a different direction.
Thank you to Peacock and Sony Pictures Entertainment for providing us with an advanced screener of the Twisted Metal television show. The entire season will start streaming on Peacock in the United States from 27th July, 2023. Will you be buckling up for this explosive ride? Lock-on to the comments section below.
Comments 77
Warra subtitle
One insane thing I’ve found is that those who were decrying Resident Evil Netflix as being ‘woke’ and nothing like the games are defending this as though it’s the second coming of Elvis.
Did anyone else ever see a show called Blood Drive? This review made me think of that - shlocky car related apocalyptic future nonsense. Could be fun.
Calypso is one of the best things about Twisted Metal and it seems like he's nowhere in this.
I liked Twisted Metal games for it's dark and disturbing story mixed with dark and "twisted" humor, while everything shown from this series seems like just dumb "haha Sweettooth is a crazy clown!!!! This is silly like Deadpool!!!" kind of humor.
Pass.
@Ooccoo_Jr Yeah, it's got a similar feel to that!
@Cherip-the-Ripper Thank you!
Nice. Sounds like they accomplished what they set out to do for the most part. If it was on one of the streamers I sub to I'd check it out. Had way too much to watch before getting that apple tv trial. Woe is me 😞 lol
That Thong Song trailer was so catastrophically awful that this show could come with a lifetime's supply of pizza and I doubt I'd watch it.
Honestly, this show will fail mainly due to launching on Peacock.
Who has peacock?? And this isn't TLOU level of great to draw in subscriptions.
If it was on something most people had already like Netflix it probably would have done OK. Can't see it faring well on here.
Lets be honest. Rob Zombie was the highlight of twisted metal.
For the music of course, then he had a character based on him.
Does the show at least have a Rob Zombie song ?
WHERE IS ROB ZOMBIE.
Isn’t the phrase “dark humor”? Hopefully you didn’t say black humor because the main character is black.
@Wakozako black humour is correct. Stop looking for problems. All you had to do was look it up if you werent sure instead actually making a comment and insinuating racism. Ridiculous.
@Wakozako I assume it's a reference to Twisted Metal: Black
@riceNpea pretty sure it’s dark humor tho….The phrase is dark humor or black comedy.
@Wakozako so what are you saying, the author is racist because you can't be bothered to get your facts right? Black humour and dark humour are synonymous terms but 'black' is more common. At least it was until dumb people read it and decided its use is racist when taken totally out of context and forced into a different context that supports their determination to find it offensive.
@riceNpea Use Google.
@Wakozako use your brain. The author isn't racist.
How do you know? Your friends?
@Wakozako @riceNpea the correct term in this context is probably 'Black/Dark Comedy'
@Wakozako *you're
Says it all, really.
@riceNpea Sick burn….
@theMEGAniggle either is acceptable. It's the insinuation he made that the author may be racist that isn't.
Ugh, here we go again. Can't have a Push Square article without two people in the comments pointlessly whining.
@nessisonett Without touching the real reason many internet trolls had a problem with the series. Resi has an established plot and with well defined characters that fans have come to love. The show didn't respect the source material at all, it's unrecognisable car crash that just borrows Resi's name for promotional purposes. Compare that to Twisted Metal, a niche game with an almost bare bones narrative. As long as it has combat in cars and Sweet Tooth they could go in literally any direction and still claim it to be "Twisted Metal".
@HotGoomba I agree, and I apologise. But for someone to bandy racism about is not something I was able to ignore.
@riceNpea How do you know tho? You’re personally acquainted with them?
This sounds amazing! Love me some grindhouse cinema!
Removed - flaming/arguing
@AgentMantis yea Twisted Metal can do whatever they want story wise as long as there's cars and violence. They should still keep the characters because they need nostalgia views to help out since it's understandably not well known.
Removed - flaming/arguing
Removed - flaming/arguing
Removed - flaming/arguing
Removed - flaming/arguing
@Wakozako Sammy is from the UK, we use the word Black before comedy/humour and always have done, it's the most common way of saying it. And it's not even a consideration for being a talking point. I assume it comes from Black as pitch. Pitch black. Pitch being the darkest substance known to man. This is why we use the word, because we have history, and come from an island where Pitch was used aplenty, because boats needed to float. It's an ancient substance.
People started to get dumb and assume the word black has to relate to people and nothing else a good few years ago, yes. But you can't just randomly change the way you have always spoken and written because some people are stupid now.
I've never said dark comedy (bleurgh) and honestly it sounds stupid to me, like it actually makes it seem like you're trying your hardest not to say black.
People that aren't racist, don't need to act with caution incase someone thinks they are, because they aren't. People that try too hard to not be seen as something, are the ones that you need to watch out for.
Or those projecting traits onto others...
100% if anyone put that subtitle as a comment here they’d be banned 😂
This sounds terrible. It’s a weird TM fan fiction. Sony needs to be careful with its IPs. The moment this didn’t have Calypso running a tournament it should have been canned. It could have been new, instead it’s a generic pair apocalyptic story that steered clear of doing something more interesting because the show writers didn’t have the talent for it and they knew it.
@Jacko11 Black humour.
If I disappear tell my wife and family I loved them very much, but don't touch the PS5!
@Wakozako 140% overthinking this. As several others have explained, black humour is used in place of black comedy (does it REALLY matter whether Sammy used humour or comedy, they mean the same thing), and it's probably meant to double as a reference to Twisted Metal Black, cause you know... it's a Twisted Metal TV show? You had to reach so hard for this racism angle I'm inclined to think you're just ragebaiting/trolling.
Been looking forward to this since they announced it. Looked like fun to me.
Joe's gonna to kill you. Joe's gonna to kill you.
This show is getting some good reviews out their and the fact that it's 10 episodes and their only 30mins makes it way easier to watch. Sweet Tooth being cool also is good, hopefully he gets the flames somehow in Season 2 if it does well enough to warrant one.
Neve Campbell. I used to well fancy her in Scream.
The only thing worse than this show is this comments section
@nessisonett this and netflix resident evil are about the same on metacritic, though I do think RE was mainly bashed by the audience on pure prejudice with most people not even having watched it.
The RE show actually had quite the intriguing story and great special effects, but by far not top tier television.
I don't know about twisted metal, but the only sweet tooth I care about is Gus and he's on netflix... fantastic show.
@Itachi2099 I don't want to give anything away but Calypso is in this, albeit not prominently. I can't say more without spoiling it, though!
Just to address the comments above, I was playing on the Twisted Metal: Black name and the fact that this is a comedy.
According to Dictionary.com: "a form of humor that regards human suffering as absurd rather than pitiable, or that considers human existence as ironic and pointless but somehow comic."
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/black-humor
As the review contextualises, this is the exact type of humour the show is going for.
Man! Anthony Mackie really isn't a lead man material, like at all. He should stay as side character, always!
@Stragen8 Plus, a lot of people who played Twisted Metal in it's prime are probably also old enough to be grandparents now, including myself. Who is this marketing to?
@tselliot I'd posit that Twisted Metal was always very silly, though. Intentionally so. I know it got a bit darker with Black and the PS3 one, but it was still knowingly dumb.
I think they went the right direction with this. Trying to make it "serious" wouldn't have worked. They're still more or less targeting the original fans I think, but you do have to be able to stomach the cringe in some scenes.
@KundaliniRising333 Ah yes, the parts where I said it's "wafer-thin" and "cringey" and "crass" and if you can't stomach those things then don't watch it — everything I'd expect them to say in their marketing for this show!
There's plenty of criticism in the review, even though I admit I personally enjoyed it. (But as I said, I definitely don't think it's for everyone!)
@KundaliniRising333 a paid advert that ends by saying if you're the type of person who doesn't like car crash entertainment maybe don't watch it....yeah that makes sense for a paid advert....'hey, I've been paid to tell some of you not to watch this show!' 😅🙄
@riceNpea @get2sammyb alright i concede, that was a bit harsh. my apologies. I think I'm just venting my frustration that we have yet to have another twisted metal game for over a decade. It's time, and yet we get a peacock series.
I'm sure its fine.
Give us a new game, you cowards!!!
@get2sammyb So when it ends setting up a 2nd season that we’re probably never going to get is it at least an ending to the storyline or is he only halfway where he needs to go with his car jumping off of a cliff for a true cliffhanger midpoint? I’m used to first seasons being slow setups for a 2nd season but I hate when the first season really feels like it’s only half a season ending halfway thru the plot. Which is what happens these days w/ all of these single digit seasons/series. 😝
@riceNpea yeah was just trying to show that either is acceptable, thus my comment. The guy calling the author racist is tripping. When I was in the UK and even US that genre has always been 'Dark/Black Comedy' dark jokes are always 'Dark/Black Humour'. Coen brothers are even described as experts in that field.
Guy is tripping. However, don't use that to judge people that advocate against racism. They're causing an argument for the wrong thing right there though.
This looks and sounds dreadful.
@theMEGAniggle agreed.
I think racism is one of the most disgusting things to accuse someone of and doing so so casually and without a care or thought should have consequences.
@riceNpea yet racism is a more horrible thing to face. People on the internet are always sly with it, yet easily feign ignorance. The person was sticking up for black people in an unfounded way. The consequences were that you stuck up for the wrongly accused author and others (me included) tried to show them why it wasn't racism. Shouldn't need to go further.
Education is always key. They don't need to make it something it isn't. And you don't need to escalate it beyond reason
Should’ve done better
I don't know how many people are a fan of cringe comedy. I mean, it can be done right, but you need very good writers to make it work. I can't see this pushing through to a renewal.
@theMEGAniggle the person was not sticking up for black people, he was insinuating that the author was making a potentially racially charged comment without fact checking the reason he jumped to a conclusion before he made the egregious accusation.
No Rob Zombie, no watch
Not my thing anyway, but for a silly 30 minutes I can see some people enjoying it..
@riceNpea @theMEGAniggle the account was created just to post that comment so I wouldn’t worry too much
@PsBoxSwitchOwner and in that case they're a stupid troll lmao
@riceNpea the first comment "Hopefully you didn’t say black humor because the main character is black" was not insinuating that at all. All good tho, stay blessed ✌🏾
Tell me that Samoa Joe uses a Muscle Buster or a Coquina Clutch at least once
@theMEGAniggle that is insinuation to say that the subheader may have been made purely based on the colour of someone's skin. That can be viewed as racism as the insinuation is prefixed with the hope that that isn't the case, which affirms that the commenter views such a comment as having an undesirable negative connotation. The inference made is that basing a subheader on skin colour is deliberately derogatory, and a cursory check on the phrase 'black humour' would've instantly dispelled that notion but the commenter chose not to do that. I find that kind of behaviour destructive and should be challenged.
I wish you good health and happiness Mega 👍
@PsBoxSwitchOwner I didn't know that. Thank you.
@riceNpea definitely should have been challenged which I think we all did, you especially. I do agree that after being challenged if they weren't trolling they would've backed down from the stance but now we know they seemingly just made the account for that
Thanks Rice, all the best, wish you the same
I started watching it tonight, currently on episode 3. I'm really enjoying it so far, its chessy, violent, & quite fun. Switch your brain off & enjoy the ride!
Removed - off-topic
This show season seems to be a prequel of sorts to the game and next season seems like it will be closer to the game. Problem is next season is not a guarantee. I really hate it when a show leaves it open for another season, only to never get another season.
@Titntin
The best games had nothing to do with Rob Zombie. Yes, he’s awesome, but objectively the best Twisted Metal games were TM1, TM2, and TM black where the original team was behind it. Arguably the original team was behind TM 2013 but the online was so bad for so long until it wasn’t a good game and got sank into mediocrity.
I love Rob Zombie, but those were the worst TM games that ever came out. This is speaking from a fan from the beginning.
But seriously Rob Zombie kicks ass in everything else. Just not game design. Lol
@Phranctoast I'm sure you are correct my friend, I cannot argue otherwise! I have never enjoyed Twisted Metal games regardless of which ones and who was involved, I just never get on with car combat games and feel 'drive aiming' is not at all intuitive for me.
However, I like Rob Zombie, so my comment was simply to point out that would be the only thing that would get me watching the show, certainly not the games! I'd be better off just watching some old Rob Zombie videos on Youtube I reckon. Ohh.. Dragula has a remasterd HD version, time to headbang like I'm in my twenties
Peacock isn't available in my country but it's apparently coming to HBO Max here - not until September though
@Titntin
If you like Rob Zombie I want to recommend an animated movie he made called The Haunted World of El Superbeasto.
@Phranctoast Cheers pal, ill definately check that out!
Absolutely love this series. I'm 7 episodes into my 10 episode binge. The show is pretty damn good to be honest. Humour is spot on, acting and special effects are decent. Unlike typical streaming shows, something fun and interesting actually happens and moves the plot on! The 30 minute run time seems to have helped tighten things up as well.
Some of the characters / vehicles from the original games are there but have been revised to meet the reality of an alternative 1990s.
My only query is why this isnt linked to a new Twisted Metal Game? Sony missed a trick but i suspect they just wanted to farm out an old IP for a quick easy buck!
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