Late last week the At the Movies team was invited to preview the pilot of Apple TV’s latest show. With that being said, I would like to start this review off by thanking the wonderful press team at Apple TV for giving our team access to this screening. Thank you so much for all that you do for press like us, and we look forward to working together again in the future!
When the lights dimmed, and the preview look of the pilot episode for Apple TV’s latest show began, I still found myself pondering a very serious question. No it wasn’t anything to do with my place in the universe or anything too life-altering. It was plain and simply this: “Who in their right mind thought putting a man who looks like Jake Johnson from New Girl’s younger brother on top of a ticked off raven straight out of Game of Thrones was a good promotional image for this show?” Well all kidding aside I can now safely confirm that the reasoning behind the hilarious absurdity of that very image has now become a lot clearer for this writer.
This is because I can now safely say that this is a show which will appeal a lot to 2 specific groups of people. The first is those who either play a lot of video games, have a familiarity with video games, or who have a working knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes at such iconic video game studios such as Ubisoft, Rocksteady, and Rockstar. I mean hell we are talking about a show where the game literally looks like God of War mixed with Forge of Empires with the leap of faith from Assassin’s Creed thrown in for good measure. You would have to be somewhat familiar with those properties to see the similarities. That being said, the second group of people is those who love comedy in the ensemble-oriented, and chaos and shenanigans-fueled vein of shows like The Office or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a comparison that actually works in this show’s favor particularly when one manages to take into account that Sunny alum Charlie Day is an executive producer on this and series lead/show co-creator Rob McElhenney was also on that hit show as well.
Yet even if you don’t particularly fit into either of these 2 distinct categories I do feel that you will still find quite a bit to enjoy herein even IF, and I say if mind you, a lot of the dialogue and concepts might be a little bit unfamiliar to you. That is because Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet definitely seems to have, thanks to a game (pun intended) cast of players (again pun intended) nailed it when it comes to being a tribute that is two-fold. The first fold consists of an appreciation, and respect for the pain, and just general insanity that one can only imagine must exist when making a lot of the video games we all have known and loved growing up from God of War all the way to Kingdom Hearts and Grand Theft Auto. Perhaps more significant, and thus more relatable however is the 2nd tribute fold on display. That is because this part is a true tribute not only to the general creative process that every artist, be they writer, designer, or wherever your passion may lie, goes through, but also manages to exist as a true showcase both for how far some people will go in order to be recognized for their work/achievements in the arts, and for other people to ensure that the work that they have created will not only stand the test of time, but that their legacy will last forever too. Excelsior to the cast and crew of Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet. I can’t wait to see where your journey takes you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMaPCYRPhY0
