The Cape (2011): My Initial Review

After watching three episodes up to “KOZMO,” including the pilot, The Cape on NBC has been okay so far. Vince Faraday, a cop played by David Lyons, is framed for murder by Chess/Peter Fleming (played by James Frain), CEO of the Ark Corporation in Palm City.  Peter Fleming essentially wants to privatize the entire police force of the city, but Vince Faraday attempts to put a stop to it. After a supposed death under an exploding fuel tanker on the train tracks, Vince is rescued by a Carnival of Crime, led by Max Malini (played by David Keith).  The most notable other character in the Carnival is Rollo, played by Martin Klebba. Vince wants to inherit the cape that was originally owed by performers, the Kozmos and eventually Max himself.  In a matter of time, he does and becomes the protagonist in his son’s comic book, The Cape.

The Good

  • The comic book chapters lend to a good presentation.
  • The dual characters of Chess and Peter Fleming is a very good villain.  He is capable of stopping the Cape as a superhero and a regular person.
  • The early confrontation with Kozmo establishes Vince as a good character.
  • The cape itself is an awesome weapon, similar to Batman’s batarangs.

The Bad

  • Both Max and Rollo overpower the main character, Vince.  Keith David has too much presence whenever David Lyons is with him.
  • James Frain as Chess or Peter Fleming has more presence than David Lyons.  His speech does not have not an opposing force in Lyons.
  • When Lyons plays as the Cape and talks with his son, his raspy voice, similar to Christian Bale’s Batman, has to go. Seriously.
  • Orwell, played by Summer Glau, doesn’t have much of a presence either.  For a Watchtower, similar to the one in the Justice League or Smallville, she doesn’t quite have the pull of Chloe Sullivan‘s character. They need to establish her character much faster.

Shows Promise

  • The development of the Cape as a superhero. More needs to be done.
  • The development of Orwell.  She also needs to take part in more scenes that involve either the Carnival or the Cape character.
  • The rogue gallery being planned to counter the Cape.  Some of these actors are quite charasmatic in their own right.  Vinnie Jones is a start as Scales.