James Gunn's Creature Commandos premiers on HBO Max
First Two Episodes Released
Some observations:
G.I. Robot talks in a phrase and grammar pattern just like Dobby the House Elf from the Harry Potter movies. "G.I. Robot would like to kill Nazis with you. Would you like to kill Nazis with G.I. Robot?" Voiced by Sean Gunn.
Nina Mazursky (the Gill Woman) reminds me of Abe Sapien in the Hellboy movie because of the water helmet. On the other hand the character is probably the most level-headed and consistently human of the group. Voiced by Zoe Chao.
The Bride (of Frankenstein) character has an English accent, which is a nice nod to the original actress to play the character (Elsa Lanchester). Otherwise the character is quite different (and considerably taller). Voiced by Indira Varma.
Eric Frankenstein is given good dialogue with Dr. Frankenstein in which they argue over whether to build, or not build, a mate for the creature. It is essentially a rehash of the situation from many previous works involving the characters over the decades (or centuries - the first published edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was in 1818!) but the good dialogue doesn't always last and gets, well, cartoon cliche´ but when it's good, it is good. Voiced by David Harbour.
Gunn's script writing is well done and provides an interesting parallel between The Bride and the Princess Ilana. Like Gunn's other projects there's a sad nihilism peaking from around the humor, but that also flips over into a sad humanity which keeps the stories (so far) from sinking into the morass of the usual cartoon writing.
The cartoon series is rated TV-MA and that rating is for real.
Some reviews:
Why Creature Commandos Is Not Safe for Kids – Yahoo Entertainment
"I greenlit my own show!" says James Gunn – IGN
"Creature Commandos is familiar but not awful" – MSN Indie Wire
"What makes it so weird?" – Washington Post
What makes it so weird? The series stars a Nazi-killing robot, an empathetic but feral weasel, a radioactive skeleton, a swamp creature, Frankenstein’s bride and, yes, even Frankenstein himself (the monster, not the doctor). If this sounds a little offbeat, that’s because it is..."
Original PageDecember 2024