The Boys review: Amazon's superhero series flips the genre on its head, but also feeds off it

Creator: Eric Kripke (based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson) Cast: Karl Urban, Elisabeth Shue, Erin Moriarty, Antony Starr, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Chace Crawford, Nathan Mitchell, Laz Alonso, Jack Quaid, Karen Fukuhara, Tomer Kapon [caption id=“attachment_7082031” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Jack Quaid as Hughie and Erin Moriarty as Annie January (aka Starlight) in The Boys | Amazon Prime Video[/caption] The Marvel and DC assembly lines have been churning out superheroes aplenty in recent years, with more new supes arriving each year in bookstores and cinemas. Previously, this pantheon of square-jawed men and scantily-clad women offered nothing more than power fantasies for adolescent boys. But with the superhero industrial complex having grown into a global enterprise, the corporate powers that be are introducing content that appeals to a variety of demographics. Now, Amazon gets in on the action with The Boys — a sacrilegious superhero splatterfest with the R-rated sensibilities of Deadpool and Kick-Ass. Eric Kripke’s adaptation of Garth Ennis’s comic book series distills the clichés and core tropes of the superhero genre into an irreverent send-up. It does this by flipping the genre on its head and giving it a much-needed kick in the balls — but it also feeds off it. The title doesn’t refer to its target audience but a secret group of vigilantes trying to fight back in a world where superheroes give in to their worst human impulses. It is a world where an evil vigilanteism-for-profit company named Vought International manages, monetises and markets these supes, like they were FMCG. The alphas among them, called The Seven and led by Homelander (Antony Starr), are possibly the worst of the lot. They abuse their powers with no regard to the collateral damage they cause. [caption id=“attachment_7082051” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The Boys is not just an indictment of our superhero obsession but the illness that is celebrity worship | Amazon Prime Video[/caption] We are introduced to a shy, unassertive young man named Hughie (Jack Quaid), who works as a sales clerk at a consumer electronics store. He is indecisive and unambitious, much to the dismay of his father (Simon Pegg miscast and underutilised) and girlfriend (Jess Salgueiro), who is giving him a pep talk when she is accidentally pulverised by a scrambling superhero named A-Train (Jessie T. Usher). When Vought offers Hughie hush money to keep the Seven’s image immaculate and A-Train gets away scot-free, he reluctantly teams up with Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and the other Boys — Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso),  Frenchie (Tomer Kapon) and The Female (Karen Fukuhara) — to get justice for his dead girlfriend. In a parallel plot-line, we get an insider’s view of the darker side of superhero mythology through the eyes of the Seven’s new recruit, Annie January aka Starlight (Erin Moriarty). Taking away the capes and masks, The Boys here turns into a corporate workplace satire and capitalist critique. Annie soon realises her childhood heroes are anything but heroic; they are all morally corrupt but simply hide behind a veneer of propaganda and PR constructed by Vought’s Senior VP of Hero Management, Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue). Annie unearths not only the trappings of idolising fellow humans but some brutal workaday realities of even a ‘dream job’. She is made to wear revealing outfits to maintain desirability within the industry and to the public. Her persona is carefully crafted in a marketing boardroom. Even when she is sexually harassed by a co-worker, a fellow supe named The Deep (Chace Crawford), she is forced to keep quiet and sacrifice her ideals because of a workplace culture which punishes women for speaking out. Amid all this chaos and cynicism, the two narrative threads somehow converge: Hughie and Annie meet, fall in love and offer a modicum of hope that things might work out. [caption id=“attachment_7082061” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Hughie joins the Boys to take down the Seven. (Clockwise from top left) Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), The Female (Karen Fukuhara) and Frenchie (Tomer Kapon) | Amazon Prime Video[/caption] The Boys uses the superhero-gone-bad gimmick to make some pointed observations about these ubiquitous icons of pop culture and our ongoing obsession with them. It reimagines the Superman myth to showcase a society which has lost all faith in democracy to deliver justice and equality to citizens. So, they are forced to turn to otherworldly beings capable of offering swift and effective frontier justice. Of course, trouble comes when we decide they must be held accountable for any collateral damage — and when we make them adhere to human regulations to keep their powers in check. After all, they can’t take matters into their own hands and decide for us based merely on the virtue of their superhuman strength. But there’s more to superheroes than their godly powers. What made Stan Lee’s caped crusaders more likeable and hence relatable was the fact that they were human first. Spider-Man is just a regular awkward teenager with insecurities. So are a lot of the X-Men. Similarly, The Seven are all too human despite their Übermensch complex. So, they too have hangups, emotional baggage and mommy issues of some kind. The Boys also makes some timely observations about modern geopolitical warfare. America and its weapons contractors continue to profit from the culture of fear that has been created by their War on Terror. Stillwell’s plans to put supes in the armed forces through a multi-billion-dollar government contract is symptomatic of not just a power-hungry country constantly looking to extend its global reach but also the capitalistic greed and corruption that feeds it. So, those empowering the well-oiled American war machine is as much a villain as the superheroes in The Boys. [caption id=“attachment_7082071” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Hughie and Annie are good-hearted young people pulled into opposing sides in the sleazy world of The Boys. Their blossoming human-supe romance throws a wrench into the Seven’s and the Boys’ plans | Amazon Prime Video[/caption] The series offers up some well-designed action set pieces, and a few funny visual gags in line with its satirical stylings. The Deep’s unsuccessful attempt to rescue a dolphin and Butcher using a super-baby’s laser beams Jack-Jack-style to take down enemy forces will surely raise more than a chuckle or two. However, for a show whose stock in trade are subversive reversals of superhero cliché, it often settles for the very tropes it parodies. Karen Fukuhara’s The Female is reduced to a mute and mysterious killing machine. The Middle East, as usual, becomes a haven for terrorists. The writers seem unable to decide whether to turn it into a full-fledged satirical series or silly parody and, as a result, they squander some quality performances of their cast. Jack Quaid is perfectly cast as the endearingly awkward Hughie, and he’s able to emote convincingly in the tragicomic range in which The Boys tries to operate. Erin Moriarty’s Annie is the show’s moral compass, inviting us to empathise rather than judge a character limited in her choices. It is delightful to see Elisabeth Shue get a role that unearths the layers of her skills as an actress. She maintains an emotional distance from her super-clients and keeps you constantly wondering what nefarious scheme she’ll cook up next. Karl Urban is not exactly a comedy powerhouse but thanks to him, there are laughs to be had. Anthony Starr plays Homelander, the menacing villain with an Oedipus complex, with cunning and thoughtfulness. However, Kipke doesn’t flesh out a broad enough backstory for some of his characters to justify the time he spends with them. [caption id=“attachment_7082081” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Elisabeth Shue delivers the standout performance as Madelyn Stillwell in The Boys | Amazon Prime Video[/caption] The Boys should bring together the fans of DC and Marvel comics and cinematic universes for once. It reminds you of the rush and joy of these comics — then turns everything you ever read or watched upside down. It’s a brazen deconstruction but nowhere near as subversive as it thinks it is. The Boys is not exactly a cure for superhero movie fatigue but it does leave you excited for HBO’s Watchmen later this year. The Boys is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.