DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Two episodes in, and the show is already proving that it knows when to slow down and expound on plot rather than brush over it on the trip to the next action sequence.

In actual practice, Hunter’s invitation necessitates a great deal of discussion and debate. ... But once said conversations have been had, after the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed, the times ahead promise to be spread across the ages and a whole lotta fun.

Action is nicely balanced with sense of humor, and characters (most of whom have been seen in other contexts, including "Arrow" and "The Flash") are developed well from the beginning.

Familiar though they may be, that’s still a lot of characters to reintroduce while also establishing a premise that is sort of a Doctor Who meets Guardians of the Galaxy--with a touch of The Mummy Returns thrown in for good measure. But the show carries it off, setting up its time-travel parameters (they can change events, but not ones in which they’ve participated) as well as its hero/villain conflict.

The production values are alternatively spectacular and chintzy, the tone is wildly eclectic, the time-travel logic is whatever.... Still, the charming cast and some poignant, surprising turns hooked me. [22 Jan 2016, p.62]

The whole concept--fleshed out by producers Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Marc Guggenheim--has the potential for amusement, especially in its mix of motivations.... [But] There are elements that weaken the show. The dialogue is stilted (“Grant me the permission to change the timeline just this once!”), the acting, with the exception of the fluid Garber and the amusingly tough slouching of Lotz, tends to be stiff

Unlike The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl, there arguably are too many characters to service here. Add a lot of attendant gobbledygook and mostly shopworn banter.

Legends simply feels too loose, too campy.

The groan-worthy dialogue’s a head-scratcher, as Legends Of Tomorrow was developed by the team responsible for Arrow and The Flash, while showrunner Phil Klemmer is a veteran of quippy favorites Veronica Mars and Chuck. But the bigger mistake here might have been creating a show starring characters who wouldn’t be compelling enough to anchor their own star vehicle.

My basic reaction is--meh.... The show suffers from the illogic of time travel. (Why not go back to when Vandal Savage was born and either kill him or set him on the right path?) And it suffers from too many characters and not enough plot to go around.

Legends still has a ton of potential, largely thanks to its talented cast. Before it can realize that potential, however, the show will have to course-correct from some seriously clunky, scattered missteps.

[Arthur Darvill's Rip Hunter is] definitely the best part of the show. Which is all the more aggravating when he gets sidelined for long stretches in favor of the more familiar characters.... Some things work great, though. A 1975-set bar fight involving Lotz, Miller and Purcell is quite fun, and the action in general scenes genuinely work, helping the fledgling series come together. But when the characters stand around and talk, things start to feel silly.

There is a family-hour charm among the many wooden performances and something to be said for the show's unapologetic comic book overtones. DC's Legends of Tomorrow wears its intentions, like its future tech, on its sleeve--you're either in for the ride or you're not, no character deconstruction or cinematic analysis required.

The superhero cheesiness that is often endearing on The Flash and Supergirl goes into overdrive here, and while some of the action is impressive, it’s in service of such silly, borderline nonsensical storytelling that even hardcore geeks might find it a bit much.

The problem is that Berlanti and Co. just seem to be falling back on a template at this point, and not paying enough attention to the kind of details that have made “Arrow” and “The Flash” so good. If they want or need to fix the show, casting should be at the top of their to-do list. Most of the actors are acceptable; a couple are not.

What Legends of Tomorrow hasn’t mastered, at least as it races to establish its premise in the two previewed hours, is the elusive and vital chemistry among these characters that’s necessary to transform an ungainly assemblage of costumed heroes into more than just a group that randomly kicks as much butt as the budget allows.

After the characters try to explain the timeline once too often, it gets confusing and you just stop caring about what's going on. So even if the cast is pretty good, which it is, and even if the show has some excitement at times, Legends--so far--comes off as something of a mishmash of a mash-up.

The many mismatched parts make Legends feel like several different shows competing for supremacy, with some more engaging than others.

Cheesy dialogue, poorly choreographed fight scenes and weak characters can’t be hidden by this series’ impressive CGI budget.

The prospect of jumping from era to era to stop Savage holds promise, but there isn't enough interplay between the characters to add any dimension to the early episodes. If only they could go back in time two hours and make a different show.