Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Victor Garber, Brandon Routh, Arthur Darvill, Caity Lotz, Franz Drameh, Ciara Renee, Falk Hentschel, Amy Pemberton, Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Casper Crump. Martin Donovan, Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, Neal McDonough, Celia Imrie, Emily Bett Rickards.
Time, you never have enough of it, and you can never change what has been, the best you can hope for is to alter your perception of what has been and hope that the lie you tell yourself sits comfortably in your soul.
Time was when a hero was all you required to save the day, but even in a period of reality that is dogged by ill-fortune and disaster, heroes are very thin on the ground. “Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes”, but a legend, that is quite another thing, for legends are born from myth, and myth was once what was real, the oral tradition passed down in which exploits of the saviours of the oppressed were the hope made eternal by those in need.
The ever-expanding D.C. television shows that have made their way to the medium has taken the inevitable step with the large ensemble of outcasts, eccentrics and criminals that inhabit the eye-catching series Legends of Tomorrow; a step that binds the other series available together by tying up some of the ends allowed to drift endlessly in the past, but also with great humour which is vital in maintain the spirit to which the element of heroism requires.
They are not heroes, but the situation for some of the more fringe players within the D.C. Universe is such that they are given the type of scope which in ordinary times is reserved for the one shot or limited run of the graphic novel tie-in, and by creating a team of the disparate equal ranked, Legends of Tomorrow does not rely on the inclusion of for example a Supergirl or Arrow to keep the audience happy or invested in the action.
It is in the humour, the pace and the disparity of the show to which its success is deserved, the ability to show that even a criminal can fight for the right side when pressed into action, and with Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell adding that element of underused characterisation in Mick Rory and Leonard Snart, and with the excellent Caity Lotz adding depth and connection to Batman back story as a member of the League of Assassins, the series is one in which to not only lose yourself in, but to imagine life as myth, for myths and folklore have a lasting persuasion to which heroism fails to live up to.
You never have enough Time, but sometimes Time can have plenty of you, and for the Legends Of Tomorrow, Time has found its champions.
Ian D. Hall