Into the Badlands - Series 1

This is an Amazon original & I have Prime, so why the hell did I have to pay to watch it again? Don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant story, but paying has really soured the experience.

Well I‘m not one who like to see a load of spoilers in reviews as I like to find them out by watching a film/series for myself, so here goes my (hopefully) spoiler free review.Into The Badlands is a martial arts / mystic series with some impresive scenery, action sequences and enough cliff-hangers to keep you holding out for season 2 to come around. The story follows the character development of a struggling army chief set in future society where most modern life luxuries are no longer available. In the series we see this chief "solider" struggle with his moral compass, find love and seek redemption. It‘s an often used plot, which played out well can still provide a worth-while story to follow. In the background is a mystery surrounding a young boy, the power struggle between the rival "tribes", a lot of plotting and people up to no good, bad guys, not so bad guys and a huge amount of martial arts action.There are some very well executed, crouching tiger-esque, action sequences with some impressive weapons scenes whilst leaving enough intrigue surrounding key characters to leave you wondering what comes next. The last episode leaves a hell of a lot of open questions to keep you guessing for the next season and takes some of the key characters in "interesting" directions which I for one would love to see played out.There are a lot of 1 or 2 star reviews out there and I‘ve seen a lot of comments centered around the series being too far fetched or unbelievable.... I think the idea behind a future, post-apocalyptic martial arts film with large helpings of mysterious powers, is that you suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride of what‘s on show.Are the actor performances Oscar worthy? Nope, but they aren‘t awful either.Are the character developments artistic and deep? Not really, but there are enough mysteries to keep you guessing as to what comes next.Am I going to waste my time watching this? That depends on what you expect to get out of a series like this!Sit back and enjoy some decent film making, pretty good action sequences and some intriguing plot developments (some are obvious!). This is for me a good "throw away" series. Not too deep; not too shallow. Definitely worth a watch if you‘re into a little bit of action mixed in with a bit of mystic questions - Think Big Trouble In Little China but without the comedy!

no rental prices(strange)

I was mega excited to see this when I saw the trailers earlier this year, BUT I wasn't expecting it to be this good!It is pitched perfectly and the fight sequences are breathtaking... the only downside is Aramis Knight who plays MK, his acting and martial arts are so wooden that I keep thinking that someone has thrown a chair into the set when he's on screen. Even Tilda's eyebrows have more range.M.K.'s story is actually the least interesting of the lot despite being the main catalyst for all of the plot.There's one episode left of season one as I write this and in a discussion with my friend about it he says:"You do know this is a re-work? Like Battlestar Galactica!"I racked my brains and couldn't think of anything and called obvious BS"It's based on 'Journey To The West" by Wu Cheng'En. The main character is Sun Wu Kong = Sunny. M.K. is shortened for "MonK", who in the book is a priest called Tripitaka who is lost and trying to take the scrolls of enlightenment back to his city. Sunny rides the only motorbike in the series... it is a Zephyr. Zephyr = Wind/Cloud"My jaw dropped.... It's a remake of Monkey!

not sure why this is getting so many good ewviews, its poor. If youre 10 and think martial arts are cool then this is for you. If youre not a child or think martial arts are stupid and childish then this isnt for you. The entire cast are boring, the story is cliche-ridden tripe and the sword play is so fast that you cant see anything. Politically correct, boring story with more cliche than plot and kids going around thinking theyre interesting. Got very bored whilst watching the second disk but persevered and finally got to the end episode. Was a major relief as im a completionist at heart, and that was the only thing that kept me watching. Will not be sad to sell this on second hand and will not be buying any more of it. Youve heard the phrase "all mouth no trouser" ... this applies completely and utterly to this series. Very flashy, boring as hell after the first hour.

If you are looking for deep and meaningful then move on and look for something else !That said this is good solid mindless fun with an interesting premise, I found myself genuinely looking forward to the next episode which means on some level at least I seem to be invested in the characters. My only slight concern is that a series with potential does not see a second season, I think we are all getting tired of spending time watching something only to have the plug pulled V springs to mind with no season 3 (Amazon take note)I have been impressed overall with Amazons offerings as a production company with man in the High castle taking centre stage, although this is not as engaging as that I see potential for plot development that could yet see it grow beyond its high kicking martial arts beginning into something that could also be intellectually worth while.overall definitely worth an hour of your time once a week.