For
a variety of reasons, translating comic books into movies and TV shows
is a minefield of difficulties. For a variety of reasons, none of that
applies to "Witchblade: The Series," debuting June 12 on TNT.
Some
comics-to-film efforts have worked out beautifully. The 1978 "Superman:
The Movie" really did make you believe that a man could fly, largely on
the strength of Christopher Reeve's wholly sincere and believable Man of
Steel. The 1989 "Batman" was a tour de force, partly due to the presence
of Jack Nicholson as The Joker, but mostly by virtue of the edgy vision
of director Tim Burton. Last year's "X-Men" was a pretty good movie, with
credit going to director Bryan Singer's ability to pound tons of information
into our heads without us really noticing.
But
the failures far outweigh the successes. Need I mention any of the "Captain
America" movies? The 1978 "Dr. Strange" TV movie? Dare I even breathe the
words "Howard the Duck"?
Let's
be fair: It's tough to turn a comic book into a film. Most successful comic-book
series are ongoing soap operas, with years (if not decades) of backstory,
which is hard to compress into a couple of hours of film and still keep
the magic.
Spandex
costumes, which look so spiffy and dynamic in the comics, often look just-plain
dorky on real people. Comics have a special effects budget limited only
by the artist's skill; Superman can fly to the moon and back in a comic
book in the time it takes me to type this; in a movie that one scene would
bust the budget. And the automatic fan base for comic-book characters,
when applied to movies, represents a very difficult audience to please.
None
of which applies to "Witchblade."
For
one thing, "Witchblade" doesn't have a huge backstory - the character/concept
debuted only six years ago in a 1995 Image Comics one-shot called "Cyblade/Shi:
The Battle for Independents." ("Witchblade" No. 1 debuted shortly thereafter,
in November 1995.)
For
another, "Witchblade" doesn't require much in the way of special effects.
The main character has a metal blade-cum-armor that only appears occasionally
and spends the rest of its time as a bracelet.
Further,
none of the major characters in "Witchblade" wear anything other than street
clothes. No Spandex problems.
And
as for the "Witchblade" comic-book audience - well, I don't know many of
them, but they seem a pretty forgiving bunch.
That
may be because - and this is wholly my opinion, take it for what you will
- I never thought "Witchblade" was a very good comic book. It seemed predicated,
at least initially, on a mid-'90s fad in comics that starred zaftig, tough-talking
women who inevitably ended up in a PG-13 state of undress before any given
issue ended. The comic-book term for this is "Bad Girl" books, but I think
of it as mindless eye candy.
So
I never thought much of "Witchblade," and read it only sporadically. Didn't
expect much when I heard about the TNT movie, either, which debuted Aug.
27 of last year.
Boy,
was I surprised.
"Witchblade:
The Movie," starring Yancy Butler as NYPD detective Sara Pezzini, was quite
a movie. In fact, it was head and shoulders above the comic book. It was
"The Matrix" mixed with MTV mixed with "The Matrix" mixed with Hong Kong
action flicks mixed with "The Matrix" mixed with the comic-book plot mixed
with "The Matrix" mixed with a hard-boiled cop show. And did I mention
it owed a lot to "The Matrix"?
And
it kicked.
A lot
of credit goes to director Ralph Hemecker, who kept the movie hurtling
forward with cuts so quick they barely registered on the retina - but avoided
being art for art's sake and actually conveyed information.
Credit
Butler also. She took a sketchy character - I told you the comic book wasn't
real deep - and managed to convey brittle hardness with underlying insecurity
and confusion. Not many actresses could have pulled that off, particularly
with some of the dialogue she was forced to utter to explain what the heck
was going on.
So
the movie worked, and has now spawned a series. Which is another recipe
for disaster.
Usually
when a fantasy movie turns into a series, there's a drop-off in quality,
since a series has less time to film, and the budget is smaller. In addition,
usually by the time a movie turns into a series, the principals have moved
on to other projects and you get some familiar "B"-list creators carrying
the load. (See: "Stargate.")
Again,
"Witchblade" ruins the curve.
Director
Hemecker is back, as is Yancy Butler, David Chokachi, Anthony Cistaro and
even Sara Pezzini's dead ex-partner, Will Yun Lee. Hey, you have to get
points when even the dead guys come back for the sequel.
And
all of them are doing a whole lot with very little. The comic book hasn't
built up a backlog of usable material, and the first episode of the series
("Parallax") is - when you get right down to it - a fairly pedestrian story
about renegade members of a black ops team who are being killed by one
of their own who's gone nuts.
But
you know, I didn't even notice that while I was watching. The actors pull
off their roles with such panache, the underlying themes (which mostly
go unstated) keep your mental gears turning, and the gut-clenching direction
(coupled with the acid-rock soundtrack) is an adrenaline high all its own.
"Witchblade"
the comic book has actually become pretty good lately, having hired top-flight
writer Paul Jenkins to chronicle the adventures of Sara Pezzini & Co.
But, for a change, the comic book is playing catch-up to the film it's
spawned.
"Witchblade:
The Series" is much, much better than it has a right to be. I guess I'll
have to get my VCR repaired after all.
Andrew
"Captain Comics" Smith, who feels like he's had too much coffee every time
he
watches "Witchblade," can be reached at [email protected]
