‘Bass X Machina’ review: Exhilarating genre mash-up rides out boldly on Netflix
LOS ANGELES: Based on Bass Reeves, one of the first Black deputy U.S. Marshals, LeSean Thomas’ Bass X Machina is a fun mash-up of science fiction, steampunk, and western.
All the familiar archetypes are present and correct with a dash of an extra something that elevates the fast-moving six-episode miniseries.
Bass Reeves (Brian Tyree Henry) is the tough bounty hunter with a tragic backstory. The StoryIn Bass’s alternate history steampunk universe, all manner of machines are part of daily life. Rivenbark like all sadistic military scientists wishes to create super-soldiers and his method seems to be chopping off Black soldiers’ limbs and replacing them with aianhli, an indestructible metal sacred to the Native Americans.
The offer from the US Army is irresistible — find the missing inventor, Eugene Starr (Nick Thurston), and Bass will be made deputy marshal and earn $1000.
Storyline: A bounty hunter is given one last job that promises money and a Deputy Marshal’s badge but he gets more than he bargained for Thomas, the man behind celebrated shows including The Boondocks and Black Dynamite, has created a beautiful, blistering series which is not afraid to ask uncomfortable questions about race, justice, revenge and colonisation, against a backdrop of dusty streets, shoot-outs, dim saloons, a burning sun and lumbering automatons.
Animation by South Korea’s Studio Mir grabs the eye and keeps it. While the sequences featuring the giant war machine Colossus flattening Central City inspire shock and awe, the action aboard the train to Tuskegee is thrilling and visually spectacular. The train with its segregated coaches also presents the reality of the time while revealing crucial information about one of the characters.
The character work is gripping, from the warring emotions on Ahni’s (Cree Summer) face to Dana growing up from an inquisitive teenager into one facing a moral dilemma. The voice work is equally good with Henry revealing Bass’ world-weariness and Gabrielle embodying Dana’s spiky curiosity.
Bass X Machina is a comprehensive package of thrills and eye-popping visuals against the backdrop of a painful, powerful history.
