The Bondsman” isn’t adapted from a comic book, but it appears as if it could be. This Prime Video series is created by genre powerhouse Blumhouse and features Kevin Bacon in the lead role as Hub Halloran, who used to hunt down common criminals. However, after being murdered and resurrected, his new employer is none other than the Devil, tasking him with capturing escaped demons instead.
Hub’s latest project is filled with over-the-top gory scenes and introduces a vibrant array of eccentric characters. He already has a harshly Bostonian adversary, Lucky (Damon Herriman, delivering a regrettable Australian accent), who is his ex-wife’s current partner; now he also has a boss, Midge (Jolene Purdy), who collects souls for Satan alongside her home bakery. This blend of the sacred and the profane brings to mind “Preacher,” the AMC series that was itself an adaptation of a Garth Ennis comic from the ’90s. The creators, Grainger David and Erik Oleson (“Daredevil,” “The Man in the High Castle”), are developing their own concept but draw inspiration for the tone from another source.
Initially, “The Bondsman” finds humor in the absurdity of Hub’s predicament. Once it sets up its plot during the first few episodes, there’s a routine to Hub’s hunting adventures as he pursues his targets – from a priest possessed by evil spirits to a Satanic cheerleader. At one point, some of Lucky’s henchmen slit Hub’s throat, but things get interesting when he wakes up inside a wall and lights a cigarette from the open wound on his neck. “The Bondsman” shines brightest when it uses dark humor effectively.
In its brief first season consisting of only eight half-hour episodes, “The Bondsman” must swiftly transition from establishing the story to resolving it, so it can delve deeper into a lengthy middle act. Hub is a second-generation bondsman, having taken over from his sharp-tongued mother, Kitty (Beth Grant), who also happens to be his middle-aged divorced roommate. Once Kitty learns about the miraculous recovery of her son, she reacts with surprising calmness, becoming an amusing ally as Hub attempts to capture runaway souls. However, as more people become privy to the situation, less engaging relationships are introduced, such as Hub’s lingering feelings for his ex Maryanne (Jennifer Nettles from “The Righteous Gemstones”). A side plot about their shared love of music, before Hub abandoned his aspirations, seems out of place, and Maryanne remains undefined beyond being an object of Hub’s longing.
Although “The Bondsman” primarily focuses on Hub’s occupation, it also delves deeply into his personal struggles, such as his forgotten artistic talents and his struggle for redemption from the transgressions that initially made him a target for Old Scratch. However, I find that the narrative often dwells too much on these aspects, detracting from the show’s initial quirky and twisted atmosphere. I wish more emphasis were placed elsewhere. Most episodes are titled after demons, but only a few are fully developed into the week’s monstrous challenges as seen in “Buffy”. Instead, they often remain indistinct digital blurs. The hosts of these demons also fall short, being underdeveloped characters such as corrupt police officers and school bullies whose villainy could be more substantially portrayed; others are children or innocent bystanders, raising questions about the show’s choice of victims that it seems uninterested in addressing.
In “The Bondsman,” the cosmic setting is often unclear, yet this doesn’t cause issues as the series maintains a fun and fast-paced tone. For instance, why does Hub receive his tasks via fax machine? It seems antiquated but adds an intriguing, slightly eerie touch because the Devil is depicted as old! However, the plot momentum ramps up too swiftly from simple errands in Hell to saving the world, and while Bacon excels at portraying a charismatic yet seedy character, his charm isn’t sufficient to sustain the entire production. “The Bondsman” begins strongly, but soon its vintage truck, symbolizing the story, runs out of narrative fuel.
All eight episodes of “The Bondsman” are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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2025-04-03 17:47