DC's Legends of Tomorrow Pilot Review (NO SPOILERS)

After my rant on my displeasure with the projected direction of the CW’s DC shows, you might have been surprised to hear that I’m giving DC’s Legends of Tomorrow the time of day. But there was a lot to be looking forward to when this show was announced: a team-up with your favorite secondary and tertiary characters from both Arrow and The Flash with the backdrop of saving the world by traveling through time sounds like complete and utter pandemonium, but in the most fun of ways. So, after seeing the pilot and getting a sense of what the following 11 episodes have to offer, I believe it’s safe to say that this show will be just fine.

East Londoner and Time Master Rip Hunter

For novices out there, the show revolves around Time Master Rip Hunter’s quest to stop the immortal tyrant Vandal Savage from taking over the world by the year 2116. To do so, Rip travels to 2016 to recruit some heroes and villains he knows will become legends in history: the dashing Ray Palmer/The Atom, the dynamic duo of Professor Stein and Jax Jefferson/Firestorm, the reincarnated assassin Sara Lance/White Canary, the lovers from ancient history Carter Hall/Hawkman and Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl, and the super-criminals Leonard Snart/Captain Cold and Mick Rory/Heatwave. They will follow Rip throughout all of time to try and end Savage’s reign of terror before it ever begins, while at the same time learning how to work as a team. It’s nothing foreign if you’ve paid attention to the comic books genre, but it is genuine fun to see these fan favorites get a little more screen time.

And that’s probably where the show starts off the strongest. White Canary, The Atom, the Firestom, Cold and Heatwave have all been here for a good year now and stuck out as fan favorites. To see these actors flex their muscles in an environment that focuses solely on them is a genuine pleasure to see, and it makes for some amusing moments. Who would have originally thought that seeing Professor Stein and Ray Palmer trade their quips by means of one-ups would actually bring a chuckle for me? One of the best parts of the pilot still remains the scene where our resident gray-area protagonists Canary, Cold, and Heatwave stop for a drink in 1975 and cause a commotion. The actors show that they’re having genuine fun on the show, and they dig deep into their characters. It’s not as nearly as dramatic a soap opera as Arrow still strives to be, but it’s also more ridiculous than The Flash.

Lovers from an ancient time, Hawkgirl and Hawkman

As for newcomers like the Hawks, Savage, and Rip, there’s some work to be done. They’re all interesting enough on a base level, but I have particular issues with each. My favorite one out of the bunch is Rip, and he’s certainly the most promising. He’s essentially the leader of the show, even though almost everyone gets equal screen time, but what Arthur Davill is doing with Rip is promising. He’s got a wide range, which I think will play well as we see what else is in store for the Time Master. The Hawks, on the other hand, seem to be stuck in a rut. Kendra continues to express disbelief of her role, hindering her character progression; and Carter isn’t exactly moving it along as well as he should. Not that the actors are necessarily bad, but they’re very limited in terms of what they have to work with. One of the biggest mistakes the show has already made, in my opinion, is the casting for Vandal Savage. The actor himself definitely looks the role (although I prefer to see Vandal Savage on the same physical level as Superman, just as a staple). My issue with him is he doesn’t exactly have the voice of what I would expect a live-action Vandal Savage to be. It’s foreign-sounding, with a very heavy accent, and it’s just an octave higher than I prefer to hear. I had this same issue with Ra’s al-Ghul last year, where the actor just didn’t sound the part. While the way an actor sounds isn’t a large enough reason to not cast him or her, Savage’s delivery has also been awkwardly handled thus far. I just don’t find him naturally acting when I see him on screen, especially when compared to the actors who have portrayed Deathstroke and Damien Darhk. Because of his wooden delivery and peculiar sound, I don’t find the villain intimidating, no matter how much the pilot tried to convince me he was.

The immortal conqueror Vandal Savage

But this show isn’t just about acting and the characters. This show has some of the best special effects I’ve ever seen on television outside of HBO. It just goes to show where networks are putting their budget, and they’re really giving their audience a spectacle. The time-travelling spaceship reminds one of the Millennium Falcon, and seeing it travel through the fabric of time and space is a marvel. The colors are vibrant and ecstatic. The battles here are bigger and better than they ever have been on the CW, and the choreography for each character’s distinctive fighting methods is fascinating to watch. Canary kicks ass when she’s literally kicking ass, Firestorm’s flaming flight is fantastic, and Rip Hunter’s futuristic pistol is especially cool to see in action. These set pieces for combat or special effects showcases are some of the best I’ve seen on TV.

All in all, the story is simplistic enough for people to jump on the train without thinking. There are references to the other shows here and there, but DC’s Legends of Tomorrow benefits from their time travel that they don’t have to rely on the events taking place on Arrow and The Flash, letting loose the shackles that the other two have been crutched to for quite some time. The acting is good enough to grab your attention, and it never hurts to see fan favorites get a little more time in the spotlight. Newcomer Rip Hunter is a fun change of pace from the usual cast of characters, but more will need to be done with the Hawks and Vandal Savage to convince me they’re worth investing more interest in. The special effects are almost in it of themselves a further main character, as it’s some of the best you can see on television. If you’re a fan of DC comics or the CW shows, you’re probably going to enjoy this one. From what the pilot has shown us, this story is going to be very focused, which is good since 13 episodes doesn’t leave you much room to deviate. Let’s just pray that this doesn’t go off the rails anytime soon.

Pilot Rating: 7.5/10