Titans (2018) - First episode

Fuck Batman! - Robin

Titans (2018) is the very first series from the new DC Universe streaming service. In the United States broadcast on this new service, in the rest of the world on Netflix. Nowadays when people discuss DC movies or series – exceptions are The CW series like Arrow and The Flash – you will mostly hear: 'DC is dark, gloomy and sombre.' Big movies, such as Batman vs. Superman, were heavily criticised because it was too dark. Is Titans (2018) any different?

Briefly put? No.
Is that necessarily a bad thing? Also no.
Why? I will explain.

First, a brief introduction of the characters. Titans (2018) revolves around a couple of well-known superheroes from the DC Universe. Robin (Brenton Thwaites, Sea Patrol) the younger version of Batman, Starfire, (Anna Diop, Bosch) an alien with superpowers, Raven (Teagan Croft, Home and Away), a possessed teenager and Beast Boy (Ryan Potter, Supah Ninjas), a guy with the power to shift into animals.

[image-109680]

Based on the first episode, you can't tell what these four 'superheroes' will do this season. So the pilot feels like an origin story. Slowly, we are introduced to all the characters and soon it is apparent that some of them are longer 'in the business' than the others. The only downside is that the pace of the pilot is quite slow. This could mean a possible pitfall in the future.

One thing that immediately stands out is that, yes, the show is dark and gritty. Quite a few bones are broken and faces are cut open with pieces of broken glass. But what the show does well is that on the one hand the atmosphere is consistent, but on the other hand the tone of the series fits quite well with the characters.

These are no childish superheroes who live in a nice, agreeable, cheerful world. These are seasoned people because of everything they have been through. This justifies the dark tone of the series and does this quite well.

The acting is a bit shoddy here and there. I mean, Brenton Thwaites has a pretty face, so in this respect he has a real superhero face, but his acting is still somewhat flat. Anna Diop, who had to deal with a barrage of criticism just because she doesn't look like Starfire, manages to surprise. She performs wonderful in this first episode.

[image-111049]

The cinematography, camera work and music are also really excellent. It's clear DC put a lot of effort into making a visually attractive series as a stepping stone for their streaming service. Still, it doesn't compare to the Netflix/Marvel series, yet. All things considered, Titans (2018) made a decent start. Although the pilot was a bit slow, visually it's great and the acting is okay. I can't wait to see what happens next.

For now, a 7.5!