Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: Austin Butler, entertainment, jon favreau, Manu Bennett, mtv, Shannara Chronicles, television

Diving Into The World Of The Shannara Chronicles

When it was announced that Terry Brooks book series Shannara was going to be adapted for television by Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, the team behind Smallville, and executive produced by Jon Favreau I was definitely intrigued. Favreau's Iron Man was what helped make Marvel Studios and Millar and Gough's Smallville opened the door to Arrow and all that followed. Then I heard the series was going to be on MTV… which doesn't logically make sense at all, but I'll go with it.

Last night I watched the first four episodes and figured I'd share my thoughts today. There series is kind of a mixed bag, sometimes feeling like an epic fantasy while other times more like something a dungeon master rolled up. I'll give you the quick setting. It's an Earth with Humans, Elves, Trolls, Gnomes and Dwarfs. Magic was once prevalent but is now thought of as a fairy tale. The Ellcrys is a sacred tree that the Elves protect… except it is now dying. And with each leaf that drops, a demon is released into the world. The only thing that can restore the balance is if the last of the chosen takes the seed to the bloodfire so it can then regrow Ellcrys. Or at least that seems to be the plot.

Our main characters consist of Will Ohmsford (Austin Butler), who possess three Elfstones and is just learning of his family lineage. Amberle Elessedil (Poppy Drayton), the last of the chosen and an Elven princess. And Eretria (Ivana Baquero), a rover who steals to survive and is trying to get away from the man who owns her. The chemistry between these three is pretty good right away. Butler is believable as the everyman pulled into the epic journey and Baquero plays the tough, street kid well. Drayton's character started off strong in the pilot then took a step back to damsel by the end of the third episode. Hopefully that will revert again.

One of the two standout things about the series is Manu Bennett as Allanon, the 300+ year old Druid who returns when the world needs him the most. Bennett owns the screen anytime he's on it, coming across as powerful and heroic. For Warcraft fans, he is basically Khadgar… for non-Warcraft fans, he kicks butt and brings the magic. My worry though is by the end of the fourth episode he is sending the above trio off to complete their task and he's not going. Reminded me a bit of Lord of the Rings when Gandalf sends Frodo and the ring out of the shire, and then goes to the library while the Hobbit and his friends risk life and limb to reach another town. The most powerful guy should probably go on the all-important mission… just saying.

The other standout thing is the look of the world and the special effects. For a television budget, the feel of the Shannara Chronicles is almost motion picture quality. The scenery is gorgeous and lush or desolate and sparse depending on the scene and the uses of magic and the creatures look great. One interesting note is that the world they live in is Earth, but it's not the past… it's the future. So every once in a while we see something like a rusted out helicopter sitting in a jungle or a ancient looking car at the bottom of a lake. It feels like Kamandi or the end of The Planet of the Apes.

The series has its flaws. There are times it feels like an epic drama while at other times it feels like a Syfy channel movie. But the story is engaging, the young actors are charismatic and make you care about them and Bennett carries the series when the supporting cast is weak. And the bottom line is simple: I liked what I saw and I want to see more.

The Shannara Chronicles airs Tuesdays at 10 PM on MTV.

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