Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone is worth a visit

As host and co-executive producer of CBS All Access reboot, Peele has closed the loop The twilight zone. He slips easily into the old message of Serling on the screen, highlighting both the weariness of the world and the compassion for the stories of the stories that will unfold. However, one of the many changes brought by the restart is to always place Peele in the episode settings. At each end of an episode, he remains calm and ironic, but also alert; it's not because the fight of a man with the monkey's leg is over that the match is over. And like Serling, the personality of Peele's guest does not seem to be invested in a particular result; there is a distance given by a multidimensional vision of existence.

The seemingly omniscient debonair narrator is not the only thing to keep from the original series, he happens to be the most coherent (with an empathic kernel). The twilight zone has had its ups and downs, both in its first five seasons and in previous television programs; although it has often managed to integrate its social criticisms in a transparent manner, the program could also be heavy in the presentation of its themes. And although even some of the 25-minute starters may seem a little light on the plot, the fifth season of the first broadcast of the series has doubled with episodes of 50 minutes. These same problems – prolonged episodes and reduced nuances – also manifest themselves during the restart, with a single payment covering both. It would be "The Comedian", one of two episodes that will be the first impression of the series on April 1st. Starring Kumail Nanjiani, "The Comedian" tells the story of a raging stand-up that makes up a Faustian market with an established artist (Tracy Morgan) as if he had never heard of Faust's markets, which no doubt explains why he is surprised by the high price he pays for the end of his contract. The moral is highlighted from the beginning, then telegraphed at regular intervals over a period of one hour. Like Nanjiani comics, she loses her power with each new, but the old Key & Peele The script of the writer Alex Rubens offers little else.

The first impression of this reboot is "Nightmare At 30,000 Feet", which updates one of the best-known episodes of the original. blurred area. Written by The X-FilesGlen Morgan and DaredevilS Marco Ramirez, this new "Nightmare" stars Adam Scott in the role of Justin Sanderson, a convalescent investigative journalist who is still recovering. Like previous incarnations of William Shatner and John Lithgow, Justin desperately clings to his senses as the flight crew and fellow passengers move briskly despite the seemingly imminent danger. But instead of being embarrassed by a grotesque vision in an airplane wing, Justin struggles with his Cassandra complex, fueled by contemporary ills, including the alleged loss of civility in political speech. Directed by Greg Yaitanes (Lost, Hero), "Nightmare at 30,000 feet" is a real disorientation – the design of the aircraft evokes the 1960s, but Justin is alerted by a podcast about the real crimes, which would place the episode squarely in the present . The twist probably will not yield more than a sign of recognition, but after about 28 minutes, "Nightmare" keeps anxiety at its height.

Restarting justifies longer run times as the season progresses. The ripping and timely "Replay" of director Gerard McMurray and writer Selwyn Seyfu Hinds lasts more than 45 minutes, but lasts a few centuries of oppression for his main characters. Sanaa Lathan is captivating as a middle class mother who strives to deliver her son (Damson Idris, faithfully charismatic) safely to the historically black college in which he is enrolled, to be arrested, threatened, thwarted and assaulted by a white police officer. which, with regard to racial inequalities, has all the tenacity (and remorse) of the T-1000. What draws the "replay" of the realm from a sharp drama is Lathan's camcorder. he has the ability to go back and give the family another chance to escape their pursuer. But as Replay points out, all over again and again is not progress, certainly not when the starting point is much farther for blacks. And even when progress is made, for example, thanks to the class transition, they prove to be illusory.

The film "The Traveler", directed by Ana Lily Amirpour, is also characterized by inequalities, xenophobia and assimilation. Some tensions rekindled by the cold war have been amplified. Morgan manufactures what could be a solid episode of The X-Files, but Amirpour appropriates "The Traveler" through a cultural pastiche – Inuit and American whites, animism and Christianity – and a cinematography that transforms all hallways and halls of this remote police station in Alaska in cell. Like Peele in get out, the A girl goes home alone at night Director treats tolerance as an outfit, a disguise, a disguise easy to lose when it becomes too heavy. Steven Yeun appears in the last of his roles in "this charming and devilish man", and Greg Kinnear is an avuncular bigot. "The Traveler" is not really innovative in his story, reminding Stephen King as easily as the records of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, but it's smart and moody. And, like every episode of the reboot so far, it offers several great performances.

This The twilight zone It's a mixed bag, although it's under the auspices of one of the new masters of horror and suspense, is not so surprising: even if it had to trace the exact path of the original he would suffer several more mistakes. The very nature of the series of anthologies makes it possible to reinvent and the restart quickly picks up again after an uneven introduction. Most importantly, the philosophy of the series, which was optimistic even though it highlights another of our weaknesses, remains intact. Disturbing and insightful, The twilight zone We strip off most of our bearings even though it offers a center to the ground.

Reviews by Noel Murray to run every week.