The first two episodes of Tim Kring's remake of his own cult classic TV show were screened at the Toronto International Film Festival last week, allowing critics to share their own "Heroes Reborn" reviews. Did it pass the standards for a superhero series?
The remake has been garnering interest from both former fans of the original series and new interested spectators since it was announced last year. It has also been getting a lot of attention and affection from NBC, even getting online prequel episodes to set viewers up for the upcoming 13-episode mini-series.
It will also get a two-hour back-to-back special premiere this Sept. 24 which would give the show better traction and satisfy old fans' curiosity.
However, the first two episodes didn't seem to catch critic's attention based on recent "Heroes Reborn" reviews.
According to Variety's Brian Lowry, "The two-hour premiere plants plenty of potentially interesting seeds, while offering scant guidance as to how many of them will actually bear fruit."
He added that the show "faces a formidable challenge" contending with "The Big Bang Theory," further pointing out that "the show must seek to recapture its early days while establishing new threads to reach beyond that core."
"All told, the premiere isn't a bad step in that direction, but it's unclear whether enough untapped power resides in the premise to ensure that the series can save itself, much less the world," he concluded.
The Hollywood Reporter, meanwhile, questioned Kring's previous promise of the new series having a "firm beginning, middle and end."
"Right now, it's big and busy and slickly packaged but dramatically diffuse and a little soapy in its portentousness," the review continued. "That probably makes it unsuitable for grownups."
The "Heroes Reborn" reviews aside, the show remains one of the most anticipated series this Fall. Outer Places tagged it as one of the season's "future hits."
Check out the trailer here before it premieres next week.
