As anyone who is reading this review surely knows, Arrow debuted with its premiere episode last night titled "Pilot". Ever since the series was green-lit, the show was met with mixed feelings of how the series would be. Would people watch it? Did it look true to the comics? Could a character like Green Arrow carry his own show? Would the actors in the show be good enough? After last night's premiere, I've been hearing some mixed opinions of the episode, so I thought that I would throw in my two cents and write an in-depth review of the episode.
STORY/PLOT:
Anyone worth their salt in the comics world knows the story of Green Arrow, a.k.a. Oliver Queen. Billionaire playboy who is marooned on a deserted island for years, becoming a self-taught master marksman with a bow and arrow as a means of survival. Through the years on the island, Oliver swore to himself that if he ever made it off the island, he would do good with his life and bring justice to a world that he had previously been apathetic towards.
In this regard, the story is VERY true to the comics. In the show, Oliver is stranded on the island for 5 years and is found by a fishing boat off the coast of China. When he comes back, he is clearly a different man. The two people he is most excited to see are his sister, Thea, and his ex-girlfriend "Dinah" Laurel Lance. He is relatively unemotional towards his mother, Moira, and his best friend Tommy Merlyn. It is quite clear that by the end of the episode which of these people are friends and which ones will be season long foes. The best way that I found to describe the dynamic in Oliver's family/friend circle is Shakespearean. The moments in the Queen mansion are very "House of MacBeth", and by the end of the episode, we are given some insight into the cause of Oliver's shipwreck and cause of the problems in Star City.
The main plot in this first episode consists of two parts: Oliver coming back from the island and establishing his new identity of Arrow. The second part is Oliver going after mobster Adam Hunt, a man known for conning people out of their money and possessions. Oliver's first "mission" as Green Arrow is going after Adam Hunt and threatening him to wire $40 million dollars into an account that Oliver would disperse to families he affected. When Hunt refuses, Oliver infiltrates his penthosue office and takes out his security detail. I must say as a single episode plot, it's very good. It's simple, it's to the point, and it's effective.
ACTING:
Headlining in this series is actor Stephen Amell in the role of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow. While Amell is a relative unknown, he has some skill. Most would argue that Amell's greatest strength as an actor lies in the physicality of the role. Amell is fantastic in the fight scenes and action scenes. I feel that while he is wearing the costume or when he is by himself, Amell makes a very convincing Oliver Queen. The biggest issue that I have with Amell is his public persona/party boy disguise. That part of his acting was a bit weak and definately needs some improvement. Now, this could have been because of the script he was working with, but hopefully this part of his character will pick up more as the series goes further.
Katie Cassidy as "Dinah" Laurel Lance was decent. I can't give a fair evaluation of her skill in the role as the character is a bit different than she is portrayed in the comics and, also, Cassidy does not have a huge part in this first episode. In her scenes with Stephen Amell, they were both able to convey that they had a rocky history and some chemistry, but I would say that if the writers want to make their relationship one of the corner stones of the series, then they really need to pick up in that end of the writing department because the dialogue between them was a bit dry.
Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn was actual a really good casting. I'd never heard of Colin before this series and seeing him in the role was pretty entertaining. The man has charm, wit, and great chemistry with Amell. You can tell these guys are close friends. This may be due in part to the fact that they're good friends in real life.
Willa Holland as Thea Queen is much like Cassidy as Dinah Lance: She wasn't in the episode enough to fairly judge. But from what I did see of her, she is a likeable character. She clearly has some issues and is clearly the person Oliver cares most for in his life. During Oliver's 5 year absence on the island, Thea went down a pretty dark path with drugs and alcohol, trying to be like her brother to feel more connected to him. I think with more appearances, she has the potential to become a fan-favorite in the series.
Susanna Thompson as Moira Queen was a perfect casting in my opinion. She definately has that rich/socialite vibe that I think is required for her role. She also has the cunning, deviousness that her character needs. SPOILERS HERE, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW, STOP READING TILL NEXT PARAGRAPH!! It is made quite clear by the end of the episode that Moira will be a main antagonist for Oliver throughout the season. After realizing that she ordered the kidnapping of Oliver that nearly got him killed to find out what his father told him about the corrupt people in Star City, it isn't a stretch to think that she may have even organized the ship wreak 5 years ago. Her role reminds me very much of John Glover as Lionel Luthor in "Smallville". She can be classy and sophisticated, but you can also clearly see that she has a dark side and is even willing to sacrifice her own son to achieve her goals.
ACTION/FIGHTS:
The action and fight scenes are arguably the strongest part of the show. There are two major fights in the first episode: One when Oliver is kidnapped and the other is when he infiltrates Adam Hunt's penthouse office and takes on his security detail. Amell went through rigourous free-running and parkour training before the series started filming, and his efforts CLEARLY show. The action and fights in this series are very much like the style seen in the Jason Bourne movies. It's very accurate, fast-paced, and pretty gritty. If nothing else, the fight scenes and action sequences make watching the series pretty worth-while and entertaining. You will NOT be disappointed with the level of action and physicality in the episode/series in the slightest.
EDITING:
This may be the weakest part of the episode, in my opinion. While I know that a big story-telling element of this series is going to be revealing different pieces of Oliver's time on the island in flashbacks over the course of several episodes in the season, but the editing in this first episode did make things feel a bit rushed. Now, this could be due in large part to the way the shooting script was written and the fact that the writers really want to leave some elements of Olivers time on the island to be told in future episodes. I think that there are a lot of people who will say that Oliver makes the decision very quickly to become Green Arrow and creates his base of operations far too quickly. While I'm sure that we will be seeing more of Oliver's decision making and planning process in the flashbacks while he is on the island in the forthcoming episodes, I would have to agree with people who watched the first episode last night and said, "Yeah... this is happening a bit too quickly and conveniently." Overall, the flow of the episode is good and the way that the shots and scenes are edited together are very well done.
OVERALL REVIEW:
All things considered, I think that "Pilot" was a good first episode for the series. They proved that they can achieve the hardest part, which is in my opinion, creating high-level action and fight scenes. Knowing that they can have Oliver/Green Arrow doing the things he would be doing in the comics is a great relief to me. I think that they have a very skilled and talented cast that, with more episodes, will be able to develop deeper characters and much better acting sequences. The other big element that I think gives the series strength is the fact that they have introduced a very compelling season long plot: How is Oliver going to take on all the high-level criminals and corruption within his city? Can he save his city from the corruption that his own father helped induce? How will his family and friends factor into this equation? Who will help him and who will plot against him? I think that after the next few episodes and seeing where the story starts to lead, I think we will all have a much better grasp on what this series is now and what they are trying to achieve for it to become.
My overall rating for the series premiere: 4/5 Stars