The Handmaid’s Tale: Review

The final season of The Handmaid's Tale is filled with confusing, inconsistent and rushed character arcs that highlights the pacing issues within the season, more so with the first five episodes. June and Serena Joy feel like they have overstayed their welcome while more dynamic characters are pushed to the sidelines.

Bounty hunter Hub Halloran (Kevin Bacon) comes back from the dead, resurrected with the instruction to track, trap and send escaped demons back to Hell otherwise he returns to the torturous fate. It’s a fun series with unique demon kills that never gets tired. In the eight-episode run there is never a dull moment. It's action packed, fun, gory and has heart with the potential to be another great series for Amazon if they renew. All characters are well developed and fun to watch but it is Kevin Bacon who brings more layers to Hub and delivers the cliffhanger of the series. 

Without Matt Bomer’s natural charm and charisma, Mid-Century Modern would be a loud, tired stereotype. There are some moments where the show makes some natural attempt at humour, but it fails to land especially when delivered and helmed by Nathan Lane. There’s no variety to the performance, if you’ve seen Lane in one thing then the same character will be in every scene with little to no difference. Linda Lavin is a great addition that lifts the show up with her quick wit and delivery and is a joy to watch with Nathan Lee Graham but the series feels like it drags on too long even with the short run of 10 episodes

The most interesting things about the movie is the score and the visuals. Without them, it would be a complete bore fest. The music never feels over the top despite its grandeur and ability to make the tired parts of Holland manageable but gives a classic nostalgia feel reminiscent of classic movies which pairs nice with the visuals however nothing much else helps salvage this movie. Kidman and Macfadyen do their best, most notably Macfadyen who treads a careful line between charming and sinister, but the writing tries too hard to make for an enjoyable plot.