X
- 2015
- TV-14
- AMC
- 2015
- TV-14
- AMC
Summary Loosely based on Journey To The West, warrior Sunny (Daniel Wu) and a young boy named M.K. (Aramis Knight) must travel across the Badlands controlled by seven barons in a post-apocalyptic America in this martial arts drama from Alfred Gough and Miles Millar .
Created By: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
- 2015
- TV-14
- AMC
- 2015
- TV-14
- AMC
Into the Badlands
Season 1 Premiere: Nov 13, 2015
54
8.0
Where to Watch
Summary Loosely based on Journey To The West, warrior Sunny (Daniel Wu) and a young boy named M.K. (Aramis Knight) must travel across the Badlands controlled by seven barons in a post-apocalyptic America in this martial arts drama from Alfred Gough and Miles Millar .
Created By: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 34 Critic Reviews
54
35% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
62% Mixed
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 34 Critic Reviews
54
35% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
62% Mixed
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Into The Badlands thrills in its nimble genre fusion a la "Kill Bill" and "Firefly" (though, it must be said, without the humor). Even more striking is its impressionistic world-building, skillfully painting a feudal society a few centuries beyond our own, outfitted with Studebakers and Saarinen chairs and dressed in bowler hats and bustles.
Yes, it's riddled with comic-book clichés. True, the dialogue is out of a Cracker Jack box, and most of its characters have less dimension than cardboard cutouts. But I'm a sucker for well-choreographed kung fu films. And Badlands--a Mad Max-ian postapocalyptic kung fu western that costars Emily Beecham as a killer beauty--has some wonderfully wigged-out fight scenes.
Wu does what he can, bringing a steely authority and mad kick-butt skills to the role. But the show is hampered by too many overly broad characters, genre cliches and the kind of groan-worthy dialogue that leaves one restless.
How I wish the rest of Into the Badlands rose to the occasion of the phenomenal choreography. The story lines and the characters aren’t disastrous, by any means, but they’re disappointing as they fall into the action, post-apocalyptic, and family-soap formulas we’ve seen many, many times before.
Though loosely based on the 16th century Chinese tale Journey To The West, Into The Badlands has no interest in folding in its folk mythology into the series that would distinguish it from an overcrowded television landscape. Instead, it adopts a cheap comic-book visual and narrative style that makes it just one in a crowd.
Sure, it's all very derivative. It's purposely so. That's not the problem with these scripts. The problem is that, despite all the blood, too many anemic characters fail to register on the flesh-and-blood scale.
Nothing could equal Kurosawa, of course, but the Americanization of the story was at least credible as seven hired gunfighters protect a Mexican town from an outlaw gang. With Badlands, though, credibility is all but completely lost in translation, replaced by unintended silliness.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 353 User Ratings
8.0
81% Positive
287 Ratings
287 Ratings
8% Mixed
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
10% Negative
37 Ratings
37 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 353 User Ratings
8.0
81% Positive
287 Ratings
287 Ratings
8% Mixed
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
10% Negative
37 Ratings
37 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company:
- Millar Gough Ink
- Double Feature Films
- AMC Studios
Initial Release Date: Nov 13, 2015
Number of seasons: 3 Seasons
Rating: TV-14
Awards
Irish Film and Television Awards
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
IGN Summer Movie Awards
• 3 Nominations
Satellite Awards
• 1 Nomination
