Deathmatches, Usher, Nokia phones, Radio Shack, and calculator watches, Peacock’s newest series Twisted Metal adds context to the popular Playstation original and plenty of nostalgia for fans of the OG vehicle combat 90s hit series.
But does it deliver a satisfying experience for fans of the popular shoot-em-up? Oh yea.
Twisted Metal starts fast
When John Doe (Anthony Mackie) is given an impossible mission by a dubious New San Francisco C.O. (Neve Campbell) to drive east and pick up a package in exchange for citizenship in New San Fran, he’ll meet the cast of Twisted Metal one by one, starting with none other than Sweet Tooth (Samoa Joe/Will Arnett) himself and wow does this clown have anger management issues.
To put it mildly, Sweet Tooth hasn’t been out in a while. Marooned in Las Vegas for two decades and alone, the clown longs for “meat smacking” (clapping) for his performances, but admits to John that no one he’s captured has ever made it through his show. However, despite being suspicious of John’s motives and outclassing him physically, he agrees to let John go if he can survive all three acts of his performance.
Sweet Tooth’s act is terrible, of course. Surrounded by dead bodies, manikins, blood, and filth, Sweet Tooth performs for John and Quiet before asking for their feedback. When John lies to Sweeth Tooth he’s almost killed for it, but Quiet steps in with some much-needed truth bombs, “it sucked.” Appreciative of Quiet’s honesty, Sweet Tooth asks John if he agrees, which he reluctantly admits to as well, “get out there, man,” says John.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Sweet Tooth does in Twisted Metal.
John and Quiet’s next stop leads to a run-in with the corrupt and murderous police force led by Agent Stone (Thomas Haden Church) and his group of hungry and desperate LEOs who have a mysterious relationship with Quiet.
Fans of the original game may remember the questionable motives of Agent Stone (everyone knew picking the police car didn’t necessarily mean you were the good guy) and Peacock’s original series Twisted Metal immediately capitalizes on the motivations of the LEOs whose sirens blasted while launching missiles and spraying automatic bullets at anyone brave enough to brush up against the the “white and blue.”
The tone is set early on for Stone, as we’re introduced to his force in Twisted Metal via an initiation ritual for LEOs where new officers are required to kill scavengers; this is where we meet new agents Stu and Mike.
Mike is hungry and willing to kill to join the force, while Stu is apprehensive about taking a life. Ultimately, they are both allowed to join after Mike takes a shot for Stu. Their first task is to interrogate and likely kill John and Quiet after they’re captured by Stone’s agents.
Both John and Quiet end up on the wrong side of a barrel and are about to be pushed off a dam in Nevada before they talk Stu into leaving the force and joining them. The trio doesn’t last long, but the game is set; John and Quiet are on a race to outrun the LEOs and pick up their package before all hell breaks loose.
We won’t spoil the rest of the season but rest assured, all your favs get the screen time they deserve.
Twisted Metal is fun
Admittedly, we expected this series to be terrible; however, Anthony Mackie nails his whimsy and comical role as John Doe and the writers seem to have found a nice rhythm. After all, this is a show about a world where vendettas are settled shoot’em up style in vehicles rather than a courtroom.
Yes, the humor can be a bit over-the-top sometimes, and we doubt anyone who wasn’t a fan will appreciate the efforts made to flesh out popular characters from the 1995 hit PS1 exclusive. But for folks who relish the days when skipping school to play Twisted Metal was possible – before voicemail existed – Peacock’s newest rom-com/horror/action series gets the job done.
Sidenote: If you can teach us how to play Twisted Metal on Twitch without a PS1; we’re ready to ride. Email: streamingthisweekend@gmail.com.