Binge-r #245: Loki + The Unusual Suspects

Time After Time: Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Owen Wilson (Mobius) in Loki

LOKI

Streaming Service: Disney+

Availability: All six episodes now streaming

As with their blockbuster movies, Marvel’s spin-off television shows aren’t going to radically alter the comic book behemoth’s settings: January’s WandaVision [full review here] parlayed the history of television into a trauma-based thriller concluded with clean familiarity, while March’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier [full review here] put the sidekicks on centre-stage with an action template that never surprised. Now there’s Loki, a side story for a character from the Thor franchise who is one of Marvel’s best villains precisely because he had some grey areas. A capricious tyrant, jealous sibling, and possessor of a theatrically duplicitous streak around a redeemable core, Tom Hiddleston’s “God of Mischief” might be the tangiest foundation Marvel has for a self-contained series.

A few flashbacks to the fringes of the movies – which you don’t necessarily have to be across – set Loki on a new path: prisoner of the Time Variance Authority (TVA). An otherworldly organisation dedicated to keeping time on a straight line, their HQ’s retro mix of Wall-E and Brazil infuriates the arrogant overlord even as he realises that his powers are no match for those who administer time itself. There’s a lot of talk in the first episode, which works hard to shift Loki into a more sympathetic place, but thankfully half of it is handled by Owen Wilson, whose Mobius is a laconic detective – complete with Wilson’s wonderfully errant nose – who looks on his captive with considerable surfer Zen. “I like it – slap it on a t-shirt,” Mobius replies after one Loki rant. I’ve definitely seen far worse pairings in the mismatched partners genre.

Putting the two on a case that comes with a delicious twist is the primary focus of creator Michael Waldron (Rick and Morty) and director Kate Herron (Sex Education). Hiddleston has long since mastered his character’s mix of the impish and imperious, and Loki’s exchanges with Mobius have a push and pull that makes their wary evolution into unlikely pals easy to enjoy. The great Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Black Mirror) is also here as a TVA judge, but based on the first two episodes the show belongs to Hiddleston and Wilson. If Marvel and Disney+ are going to make variations on a theme for their large fanbase, this might be close to as good as it gets. If not, at least put Owen Wilson in a few of the movies.

Double (Cross) Bay: Miranda Otto (Sara) and Aina Dumlao (Evie) in The Unusual Suspects

THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS (SBS on Demand, all four episodes now streaming): Opening with a madcap energy that turns a children’s party into a crime scene and the adults present into kids, SBS’s new Australian production is a fizzy caper drama and society satire that has some rough edges but welcome momentum. The women at the centre of Jessica Redenbach’s limited series are desperately trying to stay ahead of their self-deceit: Sara Beasley (Miranda Otto) is a swaggering, privileged Sydney influencer whose success doesn’t quite match her image, while her Filipino nanny, Evie (Aina Dumlao), is trying to avoid being exploited even as the family she left behind fractures. There are wildly exaggerated supporting characters, scandalous events, and many dodgy husbands, with the theft of a valuable necklace the event that ties the narrative together, complete with investigatory flash-forwards. “I’m Goopier than Gwyneth,” Sara declares, and thankfully there’s a high level of self-awareness to the ludicrous poses and devious ploys that doesn’t preclude some insight about the roles women play and a level of solidarity that gets past them merely being adversaries.

>> Good Show/New Season: Netflix has added another batch of episodes to Lupin [season one review here], the slick but enjoyable French heist drama that’s headlined by the charismatic Omar Sy as a master thief trying to right the wrongs of the past.

NEWLY ADDED MOVIES

New on Netflix: A misfire from Spike Lee that might be germane only to action film aficionados and curious devotees of the original, Oldboy (2013, 104 minutes) is a remake of Park Chan-wook’s compelling Korean thriller about a vengeful exile let loose on the world; a mix of bleak comedy, pandemic musical and psychological unravelling, Bo Burnham: Inside (2021, 87 minutes) finds the comic and filmmaker venturing into the depths of solo lockdown in ways both fascinating and unsettling.

New on Stan: The House (2017, 89 minutes) has a madcap concept – broke suburban parents played by Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell open an illegal casino – that it can’t quite deliver on, despite the chaotic input of Jason Mantzoukas; I’m Not There (2007, 137 minutes) is Todd Haynes’ take on the many songs and identities of Bob Dylan, artfully bending the singer-songwriter through incarnations played by Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, and Heath Ledger.

>> Missed last week’s BINGE-R? Click here to catch up on Netflix’s bittersweet fantasy tale Sweet Tooth and Apple TV+’s star-studded supernatural drama Lisey’s Story.

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>> Check the complete BINGE-R archive: 312 series reviewed here, 162 movies reviewed here, and 40 lists compiled here.here