What a whopper this episode is! Not to mention the finest to come from both David Goyer and Mark Verheiden. Tonight's Constantine sees a devilish record that no one should play as it'll be the very depth of them....welll, death of them. With the mudersous record courtesy of the First of the Fallen wrecking havoc in Chicago and claiming multiple lives and that of a old friend, our blue collar magus and his associates are out to get the record before it spells the end of everything. Even admist the chaos, John's not the only one seeking the item....
The plot's a lot meatier compared to the previous episodes as he manages to go futher deep into Hellblazer mythothogy. The First, Mucous Membrane, Ace of Winchesters and Papa Midnite himself (who even coverted his own Twitter hashtag!) is plenty to entice and thrill fans old and brand new. The backstory on the record and its effects manages to raise the horror factor to where it feels right at home with the early portion of the Jamie Delano era and enough to the man himself proud. Even John;s description of the devil is all the more accurate. Now, I understood why the reference was omitted from the offical pilot. Especially when the legendary adversary would be vital to this episode's plot and hopefully future seasons. The song Reaper Man, co-penned by Verheiden, Goyer and Bear McCreary is at the heart of the plot as it and the voice of Mark Yarbrough is absolutely sublime.
Three Fridays in and Matt Ryan's hitting it out of the ball park in tonight's performance. I'll admit I was caught off guard by the new spell moves early in the episode before I realized how it reminded me of John doing the same with the Aboriginals in Australia in Paul Jenkins inagural debut two parter. Angélica Celaya throws her punchs here as we see her Zed prove all the more amusing especially with the visions of Jasmine, white tigers and holding her own again Midnite's goons. Charles Halford's Chas gets more to do as he does his part in both stopping the college radio broadcast and holding Ian Fell at knife point as he ate his contract with the First. Also we're treated to a small appearance from Harold Perrineau;s Manny as he came to pick up an ailing soul. Tonight's ultimate revelation comes in newcomer Michael James Shaw's Papa Midnite. Shaw, like Ryan, really excels in his performance as Midnite like he walked right off the pages, far-out jacket and all. Justified's Joelle Carter holds her own as Jasmine Fell who along with Ian are at the center of the high octane tale.
All in all, The Devil's Vinyl delivers another home run for the freshman series. I'd definitely wouldn't object to more episodes of the same caliber and pedigree. Next week, we're treated to an adaptation of Hellblazer's inagural two part debut and more of John's Newcastle crew. All I can say is get your bug spray ready, kids!
9.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment