‘The Franchise’ Review: Finite Jest At The Current State of Superhero Movies
HBO’s new workplace comedy, The Franchise, offers a behind the scenes working of a superhero movie, satirizing the fickle nature of studios whose bosses are of the notion that superhero fatigue is just a scam. It revolves around a bunch of competent cogs fit into an unfair machine, serving the production of Tecto—a film about a guy who can generate earthquakes. The unsung heroes—ADs, art department, PAs, script supervisors, VFX Artists etc.— trying their best to endure what they can’t cure, helping shoot a superhero film stuck in time and doomed in space, helmed by a visionary director stuck in his delusions.
The production boss Pat Shannon, a personification of work overload, dresses up like Kevin Feige, who just like a studio coffee lacks any taste, drizzled with the manic energy akin to that of Cruise’s Les Grossman. Driving the bus full of skilled, overworked and undervalued craftsmen like a suicidal maniac, shifting deadlines, surreptitiously changing the scripts and exceptionally devoid of any respect towards the craft of filmmaking.
Penned by Succession and Veep alumni, conceived by Armando Lannucci and Sam Mendes (who also directs the pilot of the show) alongside Jon Brown, the satire is sharp but not cynical in a typical Lannucci fashion.
While the studios bend over on every turn to appease the fandom, the internet or the Chinese market, the director they enlist is a “visionary” Darren Goldstein (Daniel Brühl), a friend of Christopher Nolan. Brühl is incredibly funny in fitting the archetype of a visionary lad incapable of telling elbow from arse. Fulfilling the cracked vision of the visionary is the cast and crew, hiding their frustration with a mask of conviviality. The humour borne out of these situations hits the right notes. Connoisseurs of Armando Lannucci can sense his presence all over the show.
Himesh Patel leads the show as a 1st AD on Tecto, Dan Kumar, a cinephile, and an Eraserhead fan, who naturally wants to make and is capable of making a good movie, even though the odds are against him. Every day is a new battle he’s thrusted into, a new test of patience and endurance. So beyond saving is the movie they’re shooting that he decides to save the production from an impending ship-wreck by secretly recutting the film. Accompanied by a sweet and funny 2nd AD played with a charm by Lolly Adefope, the duo effortlessly puts it into perspective for the audience, the chaos on set and the effort to tame it, within the first three minutes of the pilot directed by Sam Mendes.
As the show unfolds, we’re introduced to more players of such a fantastic ensemble. Anita (Aya Cash), a debutante producer torn between her loyalty to the doomed production and ambition to make something coherent out of it, turning down the offer one can’t refuse by choosing Tecto over working with Sofia Coppola. Jessica Hynes as Steph elevates the humour in the show, acting as an assistant to the visionary director.
“The Sexless Potato” Adam (Billy Magnussen) is the lead actor of Tecto, capturing the ridiculous nature of performing around CGI elements. The burden of a well defined body-image associated with superheroes eating him inside out, acquiescing to various kinds of Performance Enhancing Drugs (some of them used to fatten up livestock), he realises that he’s only as valuable as his lean body mass. On the other hand, the number #2 on the film, Peter is just out there having fun with no fucks to give. Richard Grant brings in a devilish energy and he’s an absolute joy in the show.
Dressing up great actors as Mormons is nothing new for superhero franchise films. In one of the episodes, the studio tries to “fix” its women problem, by inculcating the stick of maximum potency, a canonically powerful weapon to be wielded by a female superhero upsetting the Reddit fans, and leading incels to send death threats to the actor Quinn Walker (Katherine Waterston) herself trapped in this studio system by the contractual obligations, well that rings a gong.
While these franchise films may or may not be killing cinema, they definitely are however, killing the spirits of VFX artist, by treating them like cattle. Overworked to death, their blood being sucked by studio executives like a vampire for whom there’s no cross, these sentient beings locked in a crude suffering state until the studio is satisfied. The show depicts the exploitation through the perspective of (Franken) Dave, the most tormented person on set, the misery of timelines shenanigans bequeathed to VFX fellas.
The Franchise covers a wide spectrum of issues that goes behind the production of such films, it satirizes the situation and does not lose its comedic edge in favour of making a certain point. It reflects the desperation of studios trying to unlock nostalgia with their attempts to make memorable superhero films as they did in the past. This nostalgia however is like a plastic bag, choking not only the studios but the essence of cinema, and it is ironic that a satire like The Franchise happens to be produced by Warner Bros.
The Franchise stars Himesh Patel, Daniel Brühl, Billy Magnussen, Richard E. Grant, Jessica Hynes, Aya Cash and more. The series was developed by Armando Lannucci and Sam Mendes and will begin streaming on HBO and Max on October 6, 2024.
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