‘Marvel’s Inhumans’ IMAX Premiere is Beautifully Underwhelming

Marvel’s Inhumans makes the unprecedented move of premiering its first two episodes in IMAX theaters, an event that should deliver a Marvel Cinematic Universe experience that is literally beyond the scope of anything we’ve seen before. Unfortunately, Inhumans expanded format doesn’t serve the show or the fans all that well, and ultimately starts this new MCU TV series off with an uphill battle to fight.

That’s not to say that it’s all bad: In its initial episodes, Inhumans offers Marvel fans a very mixed bag and a lot of possibility for growth. Below you can find our breakdown of what about the show works, and what doesn’t – or you can watch our full video review above!

What Works

What works best in Inhumans is the central triangle between Black Bolt, Medusa, and Maximus. Hell On Wheels star Anson Mount makes Black Bolt a thoroughly compelling lead character, without the use of speech. Mount makes Black Bolt work in all aspects of the show, from the subtext of his interactions with family members, to his “fish out of water” encounters on Earth. It’s a testament to Anson Mount’s gravitas that the silent Black Bolt is by far the deepest and most intriguing character on the show. 

Following close behind Mount is Ken Leung as Karnak, Black Bolt’s trusted adviser. Karnak’s powers (extrasensory perception, especially of flaws and weaknesses) are realized in a very cool way onscreen, and Leung crafts the character’s personality to fit perfectly with those abilities. 

Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon similarly plays the role of the scheming Maximus with a subtle menace that separates him from his Ramsay Bolton character. Maximus is an intriuging villain, one who hopefully has room to grow as the series progresses. 

What Doesn’t Work

What doesn’t work in Inhumans is the narrative direction that showrunner Scott Buck takes with this initial part of the story arc. Buck was the same showrunner behind Marvel’s Iron Fist Netflix series, and a lot of what fans disliked about Iron Fist is exactly what they’ll dislike about Inhumans. 

For starters, the show does a poor job of introducing a lot of its principal characters, or giving fans depictions of those characters that make them worth attaching to. Some characters are very poorly adapted for the screen: Serinda Swan’s Medusa never looks right with her living hair; Eme Ikwuakor’s Gorgon never sits right on his hoofed feet; and Mike Moh’s Triton looks downright bad, and starts the show off on the wrong beat.

After a lot of clunky early ensemble scenes, Buck decides to separate the Royal Family and scatter them across Hawaii, while simultaneously taking away everything that makes each character extraordinary. What we’re left with is a “fish out of water” storyline that doesn’t offer very exotic or interesting fish, essentially negating the primary appeal of the Marvel brand. 

Finally, the IMAX premiere is a disappointing use of the visual scope. IMAX scenes set on the lunar city of Attilan fully expose the budgeted effects and makeup the show is working with. Conversely, the scenes set on Earth are gorgeous advertisements for Hawaii, but since little to no action takes place in the second half of the two-episode premiere, pretty pictures are all we get. In short: IMAX is not worth the ticket cost or production effort that Marvel put into it, as television screens will be kinder to the visuals and cheaper for fans – in addition to offering additional scenes cut from the theatrical version.

Evolutionary Potential

Inhumans establishes some nice ties to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe in its first episodes, setting up the potential for the show to carve out a prominent place of importance in the future events of the MCU, while making good use of past events to bring it closer to sibling series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Inhumans doesn’t start off on its best leg, but like with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., there’s enough potential for the show to grow into something worth watching. It just needs to find its footing, quickly.

You can catch Marvel’s Inhumans in IMAX theaters now; it will premiere on Friday, September 29th on ABC.

• IMAX Premiere Score: 2 Out of 5 Stars
• Series Score: 3 Out of 5 Stars