Twisted Metal Review: A High-Octane Adaptation

"Twisted Metal" is unique among the recent spate of video game shows. Unlike other examples of the genre — like "The Last of Us" and "Halo" — "Twisted Metal" doesn't have a well-developed lore. People know the wasteland, the weapons, and the drivers, including one with a clown mask and an ice cream truck, but there's no beloved story to live up to. So when Peacock said it was making a "Twisted Metal" series, the sky was the limit for what the showrunners could come up with. The original take by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and written by Michael Jonathan Smith is a blast. Like many video game series, it takes place post-apocalypse. Unlike many video game series, it's funny. It'll have you laughing even as you gag at the extreme violence.

The story is that of John Doe (Anthony Mackie), a milkman, one of the people who drive from walled city to walled city dropping off deliveries. The world ended in 2002 when the power grid died, and the world is now a wasteland of haves, who live in the walled cities of what was America, and have-nots, who live outside fighting for their lives. As a result of these parameters, the milkmen have to avoid all sorts of people as they drive, from vultures who want to steal from them to holy men who want to kill them.

It's a treacherous road to travel, but somebody's got to do it, so it might as well be John. But when he gets to New San Francisco, the leader of the colony, Raven (Neve Campbell), has a proposition for him: Pick up one package for her in New Chicago, and he can live in New San Francisco. He's never driven past the edge of California, but the idea of a life inside is too tempting, so he decides to take the job.

Along the way, he picks up a woman, whom he calls Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz), escapes the clutches of that evil clown (Joe Seanoa with the voice of Will Arnett) in the ice cream truck, and does his best to get away from the lawman Agent Stone (Thomas Haden Church) on his tail, among other exploits. The key is that "Twisted Metal" is mostly a road trip dramedy, so each episode deals with another adventure across the Divided States of America. Some are funny, some are serious, and some are both, but they all add up to a trip from New San Francisco to New Chicago and back again, and for the most part, that trip is a lot of fun.

The trouble is that the road trip conceit makes the show oddly episodic, and not all its episodes are created equal. In one episode John and Quiet are doing their best to try to get medicine for an old woman on a side quest, and in another, they're trying to save John's car, EV3LIN, from holy men. This is a problem with video game movies and TV shows as a whole, of course, but due to the fact that "Twisted Metal" is a TV show and its episodes aren't all equally good, its lack of consistency is particularly obvious. You may love one episode and then feel only so-so about the next.

That trouble is compounded by Beatriz's characterization. Her character is the most complicated of everyone here, but she's not directed consistently. At one point she's taciturn and barely speaks, at another she's angry, and at another, she's happy in a way that doesn't mesh with the way she was moments before. Beatriz is a great actress who's done complex comedic work in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and had a great, jovial, and anxious turn as the voice of Mirabel in Disney's "Encanto," but here she doesn't find that consistency.

Everyone in the show, including Mackie's John, manages to be dependable in their character development except Beatriz. Beatriz changes quickly, making it hard to understand how she can go from angry to happy to taciturn in so little time. It's a shame, because she's a capable and smart actor, but the direction doesn't let her make the most of her character.

That said, everyone else is very good — even Beatriz, when she gets to settle into an emotion for more than a couple of minutes. Mackie is gold as a guy who doesn't remember his past but knows what he wants for his future, and this is driven home by the way he says "Jello" like it means "good-bye" or doesn't believe Quiet when she describes Mickey Mouse.

Seanoa and Arnett are equally good as the body and voice of the clown, Sweet Tooth. He's so over the top that in any other context, he might overpower the rest of the proceedings, but in this series, he fits right in. Well, at least, as much as a large clown can. Church is also good as Agent Stone who wants to take out John and Quiet, and even the guest stars, like Campbell and Jason Mantzoukas, are first-rate.

The scenarios are fun for the most part too. From John and Quiet having fun in a ball pit to their enjoying a night in a big rig's club-like atmosphere, there's a lot to like here. While I could do without the bar with the other milkmen or the battle with the lawman in Episode 5, the storytelling tends to be solid. It's the perfect blend of brutal and funny. This is an apocalyptic wasteland after all, and everyone there is trying to get something for themselves. But even when things get harsh, they tend to be funny a few minutes later, and you never actually see that much of the violence, even if you see the aftermath of it. It's a difficult balance that "Twisted Metal" mostly gets right.

All in all, there's plenty to appreciate, from the performances to the twisted way the different scenarios play out. There are some problems with the pacing and the direction of Beatriz, and those issues sometimes take away from the show, but for the most part "Twisted Metal" has a lot to recommend it. Here's hoping Season 2 (if it happens) will be even better.

"Twisted Metal" premieres all 10 episodes of the first season on July 27.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being reviewed here wouldn't exist.