Another hit from Netflix is a successful fantasy sci-fi based on the popular online game.
The fantasy sci-fi series Arcane, based on the online game League Of Legends, has been launched on Netflix. The action takes place in a world where science coexists with magic, but magic is forbidden. The plot revolves around a confrontation between the aristocracy of the technologically advanced metropolis of Piltover and the inhabitants of Zaun, an underground slum located on the outskirts of the city. After the brutally suppressed uprising, a compromise was formed between the strata of society: the poor of Zaun did not threaten the city, and the inhabitants of Piltover did not interfere in their affairs. But the delicate balance of power is threatened when a team of teenage thieves from the dungeons accidentally get their hands on arcana - mysterious magical artifacts that are fraught with unimaginable power.
The first thing to know about Arcane is that, despite the active use of the rich lore of League Of Legends, the series is very friendly to untrained viewers. It may take some effort to delve into the details of a kind of fantasy steampunk, but the authors of the series unfold the plot slowly, recreating the atmosphere of a city on the brink of civil war in detail. For the first three episodes in "Arcane" they show only the general alignment of forces and indicate the prospect of impending large-scale changes. The main focus is on character development, and this is the second major point in the series.
Despite the fact that there are more than a hundred extremely diverse characters in LoL with detailed biographies, transferring such a rich legacy to the film adaptation is not an easy task (to be convinced of this, it is enough to recall the recent "Mortal Kombat", in which vivid video game characters turned into sets of stereotypes, outrageous cardboard even by the standards of a fighting game). But Arcane's creators, French studio Fortiche (formerly of Converse and Marvel), have made good use of the episode's key advantage of the series' format. We are not thrown into the thick of events, but are gradually introduced to new and new characters, showing not only their relationship, but also the details of political intrigues, as well as the peculiarities of the world where technology has supplanted magic. As the plot develops, details gradually emerge, turning Arcane into more than just another family story or a parable about the danger of class stratification. The key question facing the residents of Piltover and Zaun is not the blatant contrast between wealth and poverty, but how much change is needed. And the most important dividing line between the characters of the series is where some want to preserve the existing (albeit unfair, but understandable) order, while others, on the contrary, want to change it - even if you have to pay a high price for it. This depth, unexpected for a "children's" animation project (also based on a video game), is one of the most important advantages of the series.
But Arcane - and this is the third important detail - never allows philosophical discussions to supplant action. Heroes often argue about the benefits of the revolution and the need for progress on the run: dialogues are interspersed with fights, and shootings and chases follow one after the other. At the same time, the action scenes are set very diversely: somewhere slow-mo is actively used (which gives a street fight at the beginning of the first episode of a comic-epic scale), somewhere the camera snatches out beautiful angles that are well known to fans of the game, and somewhere a fight two opponents resembles a video game stream. I would especially like to note the verified soundtrack: Enemy by Imagine Dragons sounds on the opening credits (written especially for the series), and the songs in the episodes perfectly convey the mood of the moment.
And although there are six more episodes until the end of the season (they will be released three a week), already now we can quite confidently say that Arcane deserves the attention of not only LoL fans, but also all those who love well-thought-out TV shows with not the most typical setting.
This article was sponsored by Linwood Holmes.
Comments