Twisted Metal

Fans of the games will be thrilled by Sweet Tooth’s scene-stealing brio, if not the structure of the show’s premise; we have another Mortal Kombat (2021) situation on our hands, an adaptation that serves primarily as a set-up for more to come. But if low-budget and low-brow bloodletting is your thing, there are far worse roads to travel.

Twisted Metal – a Peacock series spun out of the PlayStation game – manages to start with a rush of zany energy courtesy of the writers behind “Deadpool,” before hitting potholes as it becomes too over-the-top to justify the ride.

There might have even been a better version of this show that wasn’t scared to really center Stu as the lead, a normal guy in a sea of abnormal weirdos. In that version, the writers wouldn’t have been so tied to a protagonist like John who thinks he’s charming but is really just bland. And it could have allowed other supporting players from the series to pop in and out. Instead, we’re stuck in a car with John and Quiet, wondering when this road trip is going to end.

Like so many modern streaming shows, Twisted Metal feels like it would work way better as a movie than a miniseries. Tricky as this tonal balance is, it's a lot easier to maintain for two hours than 10.