The concept of "show, don't tell" was completely lost on the writers room. Every character had to describe every other character as "the best of the best", "the best the agency ever had", "the best I've ever seen".
If you have to tell your audience someone is the best, then they are probably not. The writers are just getting in their own way with excessive dialogue when some simple staging would allow viewers to come to their own conclusions., Instead, we're being TOLD everything.
Also, Queen Latifah is a good actress. She is, however, remarkably miscast in this series. The writers aren't writing to her strengths-- rock solid persona and strong delivery. Instead, they're trying to portray her as a seasoned fighter and are putting her in scenes where she's shown being physically violent. Those scenes fall flat due to the excessive jump cuts needed to compensate for the actress' lack of natural physicality. The classic 80's series did this well-- writing for McCall as a seasoned veteran in his late 50's vs. a modern spec ops warrior. As such, the original McCall used intimidation more than direct physical violence as his key weapon.
This series could be saved but it needs some heavy reworking. Right now it feels like "Equalizer in Name Only". Branding this as a remake of the original series is a disservice to all involved. Instead, create a brand new character for your very talented lead and stop trying to retread the past.
If you have to tell your audience someone is the best, then they are probably not. The writers are just getting in their own way with excessive dialogue when some simple staging would allow viewers to come to their own conclusions., Instead, we're being TOLD everything.
Also, Queen Latifah is a good actress. She is, however, remarkably miscast in this series. The writers aren't writing to her strengths-- rock solid persona and strong delivery. Instead, they're trying to portray her as a seasoned fighter and are putting her in scenes where she's shown being physically violent. Those scenes fall flat due to the excessive jump cuts needed to compensate for the actress' lack of natural physicality. The classic 80's series did this well-- writing for McCall as a seasoned veteran in his late 50's vs. a modern spec ops warrior. As such, the original McCall used intimidation more than direct physical violence as his key weapon.
This series could be saved but it needs some heavy reworking. Right now it feels like "Equalizer in Name Only". Branding this as a remake of the original series is a disservice to all involved. Instead, create a brand new character for your very talented lead and stop trying to retread the past.