Flash of Brilliance: Review of FlashForward
Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) in FlashForward
If I could describe FlashForward in one word, it would be: AWESOME. I had little knowledge of it except from glimpses on recent commercials. My only thoughts were “Wow, where has Joseph Fiennes been all this time?” and “Wow, that’s such a flagrant plot device.” However, after some good reviews I decided to give FlashForward a try. It did not disappoint.
The premise is that on one ordinary day, all of humanity passes out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, during which everyone has a vision of the future. Some visions are mundane, some are heartbreaking, and others are ominous. The world wakes to chaos, and Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) and his partner Demetri Noh (John Cho) must find out how and why it all happened.
Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) and Demetri Noh (John Cho)
It sounds like a mash-up of television and film clichés that reads like a joke (an FBI agent, a depressed doctor and a cheating wife walk into a conspiracy theory) but FlashForward borrows from the good elements of all the shows it copies. It has the global feel of Heroes circa Season One, the mystery of Lost and the threat of an X-Files conspiracy theory, as well as a feeling of sadness and futility as the characters adopt the Terminator 2 theme of fighting an inevitable future.
The cinematography of FlashForward is beautiful, and the imagery is poignant. Showing people fall to the ground is evidently in vogue, as seen on the trailer of Surrogates all summer, but here it takes on a haunting creepiness as it is glimpsed over and over on security cameras. The world in chaos after the black out is surreal and horrifying, with dead bodies and explosions galore, though this might be the only spectacle we see for the rest of the season.
Watch FlashForward on ABC...seriously, it's good
The cast is wonderful, the acting is good and the characters are intriguing (by the way, Seth McFarlane pops up in a surprising cameo). This is where the show gives us an emotional connection, a reason to care. The heartbreak, confusion and hope caused by the visions are palpable, and sometimes you wish you could just lean in and give the characters a much-needed hug. My personal favorites thus far are Demetri and Sonya (Olivia Benford). The scenes in which they describe their visions are riveting and poignant, and hopefully we’ll get to see them come to terms with their prospective futures as the season progresses.
I do foresee a lot of problems for FlashForward as it continues: it could become like the rambling Lost, forestalling any explanation in favor of more confusion. It could become like Heroes, solving the mystery by the season finale with no further idea of how to continue. However, I have high hopes for it: as long as it maintains a balance of action, mystery and heart, it could be one of the best sci-fi shows of the season.
Geek Verdict: I command you to watch FlashForward on ABC. That is all.
Tags: flashforward, geek reviews, television
This entry was posted on Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 1:11 pm and is filed under Geek Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
October 4th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Laura says:I also really enjoyed FlashForward. I wasn’t planning on watching it, but I wanted something to watch at one point, and this seemed like a good idea, which it totally was (I’m actually watching the second episode right now). I was really impressed with Joseph Finnes (I’m pretty much in love with that whole family) and I love Olivia Benford in pretty much anything she does.
Like you, I have my concerns of it going down the routes of Lost and Heroes (both of which I still watch because I hold out hope that they will rekindle the magic of their first seasons, which they don’t — but Lost is better than Heroes). I hope that they don’t go down that road — but only time will tell.