Critic Reviews
| 80 |
Orlando Sentinel Hal Boedeker
The special effects have wacky charm--not surprising for a series based on graphic novels. Yet the dialogue is even more special. Javier Grillo-Marxuach, creator of the novels and the series, gives his characters witty, distinctive things to say. |
| 80 |
The New York Times Susan Stewart
Middleman skillfully incorporates real-life details into its fantastic scenarios. Its characters aren’t just Manichaean warriors; they also live the kinds of lives that people read comic books to escape from. |
| 80 |
Variety Brian Lowry
Bright and breezy, The Middleman manages the increasingly rare feat of being knowing but not snide. It's a show, frankly, for people who love (and have probably watched too much) TV. By that standard, it's far from the middle, but rather rises straight to the top. |
| 70 |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
The plot of tonight's premiere is silly and campy, but because The Middleman is based on a comic book, that's not altogether out of place. Whether this tone wears well over time remains to be seen, but in its first outing The Middleman rises above the middle-of-the-pack of scripted cable shows. |
| 70 |
Boston Globe Joanna Weiss
The Middleman is so light as to feel almost weightless, and compared to much TV, that comes as a relief. If comic books are meant to be escape, there are far worse worlds to camp in for the summer. |
| 70 |
Los Angeles Times Mary McNamara
This is good summer entertainment, like a Saturday afternoon B-movie matinee transposed to Monday-night TV. |
| 70 |
Newark Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall
The Middleman is at once retro and post-modern, the sort of result you'd get if you threw "The Tick" and the '50s black-and-white "Superman" TV show into a blender. And it's quite a lot of fun. |
| 60 |
Hollywood Reporter Ray Richmond
The creatures are essentially designed as bowling pins for our protagonists to knock over with a well-placed shot and a quip, and Keeslar and Morales’ interaction is nothing if not playful and lively. But you’re left not really knowing if you want to come return and spend a whole lot more time with this quarrelsome twosome. |
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