In a post-apocalyptic world, John Doe is making his living as a ‘Milkman’, driving between various walled cities to run errands for them, always looking for the next job. But the offer of a lifetime has him considering his nomadic lifestyle.

First things first, I never played the Twisted Metal games on the PlayStation so forgive me if I miss some references to it in these reviews – what I will say is that if you’re reasonably acquainted with the genre of post-apocalyptic fiction, then this doesn’t bring much to the table that’s innovative.

What it does bring is a likeable protagonist, though that’s more to do with Anthony Mackie’s natural charm and humour than it is with any character development done by the script. The trailer sold this one pretty much as it is – half hour doses of over-the-top action, lots of quipping, violence and some more quipping, all against a wasteland backdrop which largely whizzes by as cars chase one another through it, firing attached weapons at one another and getting involved in all sorts of carnage.

When Beatriz’s character is introduced, it’s in a fairly predictable way, and given her character’s apparent reluctance (or perhaps inability) to speak, much of the humour of her interactions with Doe rely on her facial expressions and Mackie’s natural ability to find the humour button in almost any scene.

Elsewhere, Thomas Haden Church chews every bit of scenery he can as Agent Stone, the head of a roving patrol of ‘Law Men’ who seem more intent on adding to the body count than limiting it, and Neve Campbell does a reasonably good turn as Raven, the head of New San Francisco who – alone among the cast – may be more than she appears on the surface.

It’s rollicking good, switch-your-brain-off humour for those who like their action fast, furious and violent. But there’s no denying the unoriginality of the core concepts and motifs, nor the fact that as of this opener, it’s being carried manfully (and successfully) by Mackie, with pretty much everyone else, including the writers, crew and his fellow cast, along for the ride.

Verdict: Fast, fun and delightfully puerile, the sheer charisma of its lead manages to pull it from derivative to actually fun in this pilot, but it’ll be interesting to see if he can maintain that feat over the course of ten episodes. 7/10

Greg D. Smith