Krypton - Series Premiere Review
This review of the series premiere of Krypton is spoiler-free!
Superman. The Superhero. For the longest time, if you thought of a superhero, it would be the legend that is Superman, Clark Kent, or Kal-El. Throughout the years we've seen people take up the mantle of this character in so many different media formats that it's impossible to count them all. Along the way, we've experienced a multitude of takes on this characters who is considered the perfect being. But, what happens when you manage to hit what would be the theoretical limit for character versions? Well, you look at the world around that major player to see what can be mined from there. As was done with Gotham, a series based on a young Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon before there is Batman, Krypton was created to explore the time before Kal-El. For many, this may be an interesting premise but it is also a sign of an increasingly desperate industry struggling to find new ideas to spread to the world. Can Krypton quell the concerns of many, or is it another cog in the wheel of superhero television?
Krypton is the story of Seg-El, Superman's grandfather before Krypton came to ruin. He's on a mission of self-reflection and honor as he seeks to restore the honor of his family after they were ostracized due to their refusal to bow to the Voice of Rao. When his own grandfather Val-El is killed for his treason, his family is stricken from the record. But after saving the government from a bombing threat, he's given the opportunity to become one of the higher clans of Krypton. But, with this new found class, he's given a warning of a horrible future to come. I know that the story for this show may seem overly complex, but I promise that it is just my description that makes it sound so complex. There's a lot of moving pieces, but the ultimately come together to make the main story arc. I can see why the story could potentially get overly confusing, but if handled right the depth of storytelling could really be a strength for Krypton. Pilot's are always a difficult thing as they have to establish the story and world, so it felt a bit heavyhanded at times, but it's a good start in my opinion.
Our main character of Seg-El is played by Cameron Cuffe. Truthfully, if I was purely looking for the look of a young Clark Kent, this would be exactly the idea of who I would think should take up the role. He plays up alot of the heroic and honorable elements of the character. We don't see a ton of complexity yet, but as it is the pilot I didn't expect to get a truly deep dive into who he is right away. I will say though, Seg-El could end up being a particularly disappointing one-note character if all he is is a means to bring honor to his family. The other major character that should be discussed is that of Lyta Zod (yes that name should sound familiar), played by Georgina Campbell. Lyta's challenged by a family that sticks by the law of Krypton harshly, so she's treated to the standard many others aren't. Campbell is a great actress and I can see her playing this role great in the future, and her work in the premiere is great but I fear the potential of an overly dramatized series like that of the CW-verse shows. Good work from the cast so far, but there are concerns to be had.
Now, let's talk about the absolute best part of Krypton: the look and feel. For those of you who are fans of Man of Steel, you're going to get heavy vibes of that film here. Krypton's visuals are a thing of beauty and you get the feeling that this series is just as serious as a prequel made by Snyder and Goyer wanted it to be. This isn't a problem, but the look doesn't necessarily come off as beautifully as it does on a theater screen due to a lower budget. But truthfully, it doesn't need to as it's great to look at anyway. This is something I've come to realize with Sy-Fy television, just because the show is operating on a lower budget, it manages to create stunning visuals. As I mentioned, Krypton could have been an actual prequel to Man of Steel if it was chosen to be, and that's something to be said for the similarities between them.
My biggest concern from this show though comes from the feeling I had throughout the pilot. While it's a good opening for Krypton, I constantly forgot I was watching a show based on Krypton. It felt like a significantly generic science-fiction series that managed to find a way to connect the lore of Superman to it. There's a lot of potential for this show to step away from that belief in my mind, but in this opening, I guarantee there will be others who feel as I do and seek for it to deliver its own identity to audiences. As a whole though, Krypton is a good but not great start for a show that has the potential to be at the top of the class of superhero television. Moving forward I hope to see Seg-El stand on his own as a character outside of Superman and not just another inspiring individual. He needs to have his own ideas and as a TV main character and not film character there's potential to explore that. Regardless though, Krypton is off to a good start, and worth a look from any fan of Superman!
