Arrow is green and mean
arrow hits the bullseye with a multi-layered storyline and eye-popping, jaw-stopping fast-paced action scenes.
FACT is, Green Arrow is not as famous as, say, Superman. It’s not even a stretch to say that most non comic book readers don’t even know much about this guy, let alone his origin.
In that sense, show crea- tors Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim have the advantage of starting on a clean slate when coming up with the new series Arrow.
It revolves around Oliver Queen, a billionaire’s son who wears a green hooded outfit to fight criminals and is adept with the bow and arrow. (Strangely, no one has yet referred to him as Green Arrow on the show. Modern-day Robin Hood is the closest moniker he’s got so far.)
Our hero had been stranded on a remote island for five years only to return to civilisation with an awesome physique, a deadly skill with a bow and a mission in hand.
As the series progresses, we discover there is nothing simple about the transformation of this spoilt brat into a vigilante bent on taking down the people who are hurting his city.
What is immediately interesting about this guy – played with great intensity by Stephen Amell – is not that there is anything super about his superpower (his skills are honed the old-fashioned way) but that he has no qualms about actually killing baddies.
After years of watching Clark Kent struggle with keeping his strength in check (10 seasons’ worth of Smallville), even when dealing with the vile Lex Luthor, it’s shocking to see a protagonist break another man’s neck with the single purpose of taking the bad guy out of the equation. Doesn’t Batman usually maim his enemies to stop them or throw them into Arkham Asylum?
Well, it’s safe to say that Queen is not a conventional hero so one can never guess the extent of his actions to uphold his mission.
Even when the body count is kept to a minimum, Queen shows he’s not to be trifled with. He beats up a guy to a pulp on pure instinct.
In a series of flashbacks, it is shown how Queen turns into a killer to survive both the natural and unnatural elements on the island.
This grey area makes a strong foundation for the series. So, kudos to the writers for attacking it straight on.
The series gives the audience two sides of justice – Queen working outside the law on one end as well as a dedicated district attorney (Katie Cassidy) and an intelligent police detective (Paul Blackthorne) working within the system to bring down the same men Queen is.
While swift justice is understandable and necessary at times, the law exists for a reason.
The series also immediately deals with a big question mark – the hooded vigilante’s appearance coincides perfectly with the return of Queen from the island.
Any person with a brain can put the two together to come up with one conclusion. (Yes, I do have a big problem with Superman and the damn spectacles as disguise). This subplot is quite conveniently handled, but the suspicion is planted in some people’s minds.
Undoubtedly, there are all these earnest topics in the show, including the less interesting family and romance drama.
However, the real cool (really, really awesome) thing about Arrow is the action sequences and watching Amell workout on the show (seriously, he’d make a great poster boy for workout classes).
Amell is immediately likeable as Queen, ably selling a man who juggles being a bad boy in an expensive designer suit and then swings into full-action mode, fighting crime in the green outfit.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of the women in the show – each and every one of them is annoying, especially Queen’s sister. Teenage drama much?
Arrow hooks you with all the action, and in scenes flashback, it introduces Queen’s mentor on the island, which promises to up the action even more.
The show also offers nail-biting cliffhangers – into its fifth episode and it still manages to provide gripping endings that makes us wish next week would come sooner.
Other subplots involve the group of criminals in Starling City, one of which was overseen by Queen’s late father, and is now taken over by his mother.
Then, there is the mystery of the island itself – the island is shown as a port for some smugglers whose leader is interested in Yao Fei (Byron Mann). Unfortunately, some of these subplots work, while the others don’t.
Nonetheless, Arrow does make us want to find out more about the man underneath the green hood.
Hello, Oliver Queen, it’s very nice to meet you.
Arrow is shown on Warner TV (HyppTV Ch 613) every Monday at 9pm. Share your opinion with us via email at entertainment@ thestar.com.my or tweet us at @MyStarTwo.