Rent The Boys: Series 1 (2019)

The Boys: Series 1 review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

The Boys represents a bolder step forward in taking more of a postmodern edge to comic books and superheroes. Based on the comic book of the same name, this series takes place in a world where superheroes are not only common but an entire business model. The primary superheroes all work for the Vought Corporation. And it’s corrupt as hell by focusing more on its image and capitalism than anything else.

Huey (Jack Quaid) is someone who experiences first-hand just how sinister this hero-based company can be. He was hoping to have a wonderful life with his girlfriend. That was until she was killed by the speedster A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) in an accident. The compensation for Huey in this incident is pitiful. He is given a check and told to just forget about all this. But how could he?

Seeking revenge, Huey ends up working alongside the anti-heroes of Butcher (Karl Urban), MM (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capone), and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara). With the exception of Kimiko, none of them have powers. All of them, however, have a burning desire to kill the superhero ensemble known as The Seven and reveal Vought for being a highly corrupted organization. They go on a spree of killing superheroes in absurd and incredibly gory ways, sometimes by accident as Huey doesn’t fancy himself a killer.

We also get stories from the inside of Vought as well. Starlight (Erin Moriarty) is the latest superhero to join The Seven as a being who can manipulate light into a weapon. She believes that life as a superhero will be exciting. Yet she’s horrified to learn how grotesque this business can be. It doesn’t take long for the heroes to sexually harass Starlight and forcibly try to make her have sex with them. Some of these heroes have compromised their values, as with the likes of the comical aquatic-based hero The Deep (Chace Crawford). Others are on the fast track to fascism, as with the nationalistic leaning Homelander (Antony Starr). Some struggle to walk the line as with the conflicted Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott).

What makes this series work is that it always poses the heroes as phony and capable of far greater terror. Sometimes this is quite blatant, as when Homelander willingly lets a hijacked airplane crash with all its occupants cover up the fact that he accidentally killed the pilots while stopping the terrorists. Sometimes it’s more systemic, as when Starlight and Homelander are forced into attending a Christian festival with unhealthy amounts of worship for superheroes representing their values exclusively. Everything about these many allegories are as darkly comedic as they are profoundly punching back at pop culture and modern times.

I’m sure this won’t be a surprise for anyone who has read The Boys or any Garth Ennis comic book for that matter, but The Boys is highly adult. It goes beyond just Butcher being a UK cusser or Homelander occasionally melting someone’s face with his heat vision. Right from the first episode, when you see Huey’s girlfriend instantly transform into a bloody mess of meaty chunks, you know this show isn’t going to hold anything back. And it really doesn’t. This entire first season is filled with brutal scene after brutal scene. Even the sex gets pretty wild, especially when you consider the odd Beastiality habits of The Deep.

The Boys is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea. It’s perhaps best suited for those who are tired of the trends in superhero cinema and want to see it both skewered and feel like a more relatable story. For its first season, The Boys comes out swinging and leaves you salivating for the next season just to see how much more wild this world can get.