Unfortunately, my screener for Kings has not arrived, so it will be a while before I'm able to offer my own review of tonight's NBC premiers. There are plenty of others around, however, for those wanting to read about it before or after tonight's showing. Kyle Smith at the New York Post is similarly impressed. His four out of five stars review calls McShane's performance "titanic" and notes how the "show sparkles with imagination, but he ends with the eternal dilemma for biblical adaptations:"Kings may be too campy for some, not campy enough for others". Entertainment Weekly gives it a B+, admiring McShane's acting, but still seeing it as a "work in progress". EW's review also speculates as to whether the show will succeed, a concern taken up also by Variety. A handful of reviews find it fascinating even if they are ultimately not particularly taken with it. Time calls it "fascinating pretentious hoo-ha" whilst USA Today settles for "a fascinating mess".
But some reviewers don't even find it's curiosity factor sufficient to gain their approval. The New York Times finds it "plodding" in spite of it's "bold" reinterpretation, whilst the Los Angeles Times goes for "corny, ponderous, literary, ambitious, obvious and... as slow as molasses".
Christian reviews seems a little hard to come by, but Christian Cinema suspects that the writers "couldn’t decide whether to be philosophical, politically correct... or corny". But Hollywood Jesus's reviewer is impressed - "The performances from all involved are top notch, the direction is superb".
Meanwhile, my friend Peter Chattaway has posted a few additional comments about the pilot. His interview with series creator Michael Green has also gone up at BC Christian News.
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