Review - Twisted Metal (2023)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Y'know, I didn't think I would find a streaming series that could possibly top History of the World, Part II as my favorite new series of 2023. But, I think I found it. Twisted Metal, currently streaming on Peacock, is based on the PlayStation video game franchise created by Scott Campbell and David Jaffe. 

         In this series, America has fallen into a post-apocalyptic hellhole called the Divided States of America. There are a series of Colonies like New San Francisco and New Chicago, which are walled off and protected for the people who live within their walls. Outside of the walls of the Colonies is the Wasteland, filled with psychos, vultures, and deranged individuals who live on the roads. Hell, even the people who are trying to bring back law and order in the Wasteland are batshit insane. However, a few brave individuals called Milkmen journey the open road making deliveries to the Colonies in exchange for much needed supplies. And, as a means of survival, those in the Wasteland usually drive cars equipped with missiles, machine guns, and all sorts of weapons. 

        One of these Milkmen, an amnesiac named John Doe, is our main protagonist, and he is given a job with a grand reward: pick up a package from New Chicago, deliver it to Raven in New San Francisco in ten days, and he'll be given a place to live as a proper citizen of New San Francisco. Now, on the road, John is joined by Quiet, a woman who doesn't speak much, and lost her brother Loud to the Lawmen. The Lawmen is a faction led by Agent Stone, who wants to bring some semblance of law and order back to the Wasteland, but with himself in charge. Other Lawmen include Agent Shepherd, Jamie and Carl Roberts, and even Mike and Stu. 

        Others that John and Quiet run into en route to New Chicago include the deranged killer in the clown mask himself, Sweet Tooth, a mobile community called the Convoy, led by Miranda Watts, an herbologist named Amber Rose, a deranged group called the Holy Men being led by a psychotic Preacher, the list goes on. 

         Now, one thing that I absolutely loved seeing in the series was some of the fan favorite cars from the games, like Sweet Tooth's ice cream truck, and cars like Twister, Outlaw, Flower Power, Shadow, and even Roadkill. There's even character cameos from characters throughout the various Twisted Metal games aside from the ones mentioned above. Among them include the likes of Pit Viper from Twisted Metal, Drag Queen and Pizza Boy from Twisted Metal 4, Bloody Mary from Twisted Metal Black, Mr. Slam from Twisted Metal 2 and Twisted Metal Head-On, and even the mastermind behind Twisted Metal, Calypso, gets a vocal cameo. Sweet. And yes, Sweet Tooth does have  Harold the Paper Bag with him in the series, as a nod to his wish in the original Twisted Metal game. We even see a version of Blackfield Asylum from Twisted Metal Black. 

        The cast of the series of absolutely phenomenal, with the three major standouts being Anthony Mackie as John Doe, Thomas Haden Church as Agent Stone, and Samoa Joe/Will Arnett as Sweet Tooth. Stephanie Beatriz is also a lot of fun as Quiet, and she has probably the most vulgar mouth of any character in the series. And the constant banter between Anthony Mackie as John and Stephanie Beatriz as Quiet is easily a major highlight. Both Tahj Vaughans and Mike Mitchell were both hysterical as Mike and Stu, and it was great seeing how their dynamic shifted over the course of the series. Neve Campbell was also an intriguing villain as Raven, and I liked how we meet her at a bar called Kelly's as a nod to her deceased best friend in Twisted Metal Black. And I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Jamie Neumann as Miranda Watts. And I will admit, I was pretty terrified of Preacher, played in the series by Jason Mantzoukas. However, as a fan of the Twisted Metal games, of course my favorite part of this series is Sweet Tooth, played on screen by Samoa Joe with voice dubbing by Will Arnett. Not only was he completely insane, but absolutely a joy to watch. Screw the Joker and Pennywise, Sweet Tooth is now the best clown ever put on screen, at least in my opinion. 

         The music in the series is also a lot of fun. While the score by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson is definitely good, taking a lot of cues from early 2000's nu-metal, the real highlights in the music is the song choices, which seems to consist of a lot of late '90s and early 2000's tunes, including songs from the likes of Cypress Hill, Hanson, Evanescence, and so forth. Now, for those hardcore Twisted Metal fans, unfortunately there isn't any Rob Zombie music in the series, but there's always another season. Although, Cypress Hill was featured in Twisted Metal 4, so there's that. 

        But, as any fan of Twisted Metal will tell you, the real star is the vehicular combat, and it is definitely featured prominently throughout the series. Seeing John in his car Evelin shooting at a bunch of vultures in a shopping mall in the very first episode is frickin' kickass, and I absolutely loved seeing Outlaw going up against Shadow in the first episode. I also loved the various nods to the different attacks in the games, like with the Lightning attack being showcased as the Watkins Storm, or even Sweet Tooth's special attack in the original two Twisted Metal games being used in the series. There are also a slew of fun nods and Easter Eggs for hardcore Twisted Metal fans to catch, and if you a fan of the series, definitely keep an eye out for them. And much like how the 2021 Mortal Kombat ended with a setup for a sequel featuring the actual Mortal Kombat tournament, so does Twisted Metal end with a setup for a second season which will most likely feature the actual Twisted Metal competition hosted by Calypso.

         Honestly, not only is Twisted Metal my favorite streaming series of 2023, but also my favorite adaptation of a popular video game franchise. Honestly, I loved the Twisted Metal games back in the day, and I absolutely love this series. The trio of Michael Jonathan Smith, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick absolutely did an excellent job bringing the world of Twisted Metal to life on screen. And the duo of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick definitely bring the same type of humor to the series that we got in such franchises like Deadpool and Zombieland, although I definitely get more shades of the style of humor from Zombieland than from Deadpool. But, then again, I do enjoy Zombieland more than Deadpool. So, I'm giving Twisted Metal a rating of 5/5. If you have Peacock, or are a fan of the Twisted Metal games, definitely check this series out. And you know what? I think that I might make a breakdown of the Twisted Metal games sometime in the near future. So, definitely keep an eye out for that when it happens.

        Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.