A group of misfits and losers find themselves brought together to fight the evil master of the Cluster, His Shadow.
There's been so much talk about LEXX being unlike anything anyone's ever seen before. And it's no idle boast. This first TV movie looks like it has a really huge budget, and manages to utilize what it does have to the fullest effect. And what it has is scope and imagination.
Starting off with a rousing last stand by the Brunnen-G against His Shadow, the tone is dark and unpleasant. This effectively being a pilot means it has to introduce and bring together the main cast, and it does so extremely well. There's Stanley Tweedle, a fugitive from termination ordered because he did his job properly, Zev, a woman forced to become a love slave who receives the body but not the attitude to match, 790, an amorous head robbed of his body who gets Zev's love slave programming, and Kai, the last of the Brunnen-G, reanimated by His Shadow to serve his will.
The way all of these character's lives dovetail is beautifully worked through as they become beneficiaries of the work of Thodin, a man not too keen on His Shadow, and determined to steal the LEXX, a ship that can destroy nigh-on anything. Aside from the intricate plotting, LEXX also manages to tread the borders of taste, humour and drama simultaneously, with some extremely funny scenes of people who'd come for an execution being eaten by Cluster Lizards as Thodin is given a medal of honour thanks to some reprogramming gone wrong.
There are some visceral moments relating to brains which sit disturbingly comfortably in the whole movie, and some quite terrifying moments showing His Shadow at his evil best. What makes this work so well is the ability to tell a totally new story in a new universe and not make everything seem ridiculous. Travelling in organic craft based on insects is perfectly acceptable, and fits this dark and disturbing universe. The characters are nicely drawn and acted, especially Stanley, and you finish up taken aback by the wash of spectacle you've just seen. LEXX really is like nothing you've seen before. So watch it.
*****
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