Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast; Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Victor Garber, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Franz Drameh, Amy Louise Pemberton, Tala Ashe, Nick Zano, Dominic Purcell, Arthur Darvill, Jes Macallan, Hiro Kanagawa, Adam Tsekhman, Courtney Ford, John Noble, Neal McDonough, Matt Ryan, Billy Zane, Bar Paly, Celia Massingham, Isabella Hofmann, Graeme McComb, Benjamin Diskin, Luke Bilyk, Geoffrey Blake, Lovell Adams-Gray, Johnathon Schaech, Wentworth Miller.
Passionate irreverence and satire are to be applauded when offered to an audience in the knowing wink and smile that is hoped to produce a smile. It is the acknowledgement that taking life so seriously can be harmful to the soul, and if that satire and cheeky impudence is aimed at yourself, then it makes the experience of the artistic intent, all the greater.
The third series of D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow is such a case of where self-knowing parody is an invention of class writing and heavily inspired wit, and one where the cast play with the narrative with genuine affection.
The series not only steps up a gear from the previous, admittedly superb, series, and brings the crew of the Waverider to its most crucial mission yet, and one that has the sense of genius send-up attached. Where else, outside perhaps of Doctor Who, would you find Julius Caesar invading the Caribbean island of Aruba, Helen of Troy becoming the darling of the film studios, the accomplishment of Hedy Lamarr threatened by anything other than the male ego, and all within the fearsome overriding arch that sees the consummate actor John Noble sending himself up perfectly in his role as Denethor in Lord of the Rings, as he provides the voice for the series villain, Mallus; arguably nowhere, certainly nowhere else in Time.
That is the point of Time, it is not there for us to be ground into the dirt, but to remind ourselves of the debt we owe to all that come after us. To enjoy life even in the midst of heartache and despair, of battles fought and disappointments met, we must see life as a journey which allows self-deprecation at times to be on show.
Legends of Tomorrow sums this up perfectly, and with tremendous performances from the antagonists of the series, especially Neal McDonough and Courtney Ford as father and daughter team Damien and Nora Darhk, the aforementioned John Noble as Mallus, and Melissa Benoist as the alternative Earth version of Supergirl, the Nazi’s pride and joy of Overgirl, the joy of every episode is matched only by the compulsive nature of making sure you don’t miss an episode.
A series that keeps getting better and better with every turn, inspiring, superbly observed, and that makes it an absolute stand out in the D.C. cannon.
Ian D. Hall