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Paragon: The Shadow Wars
USA 2020
produced by Khu, Justin Price, Franziska Schissler, Charles Quinten, Jordan Fedge, Trey Byers, Spencer Katzberg, Dreward Rosenthal, Melinda Camtaker (executive), Jessica Katz (executive), Justiuna Chang (executive) for Pikchure Zero
directed by Justin Price
starring Danny Trejo, Franziska Schissler, Khu, Justin Price, Lisa May, Cameron White, Bambi Musick, Marcia Vargas, Oritsejolomi Edem Amuka, Johnny Fujikawa, Amy Jo Guthrie, Alexandra Cortes, Carolina Hilderbrand, Alisondra Alexander, Yukina Takase, Christoph Schissler, Matthew Simmons, Jordan Matlock, Deanna Graced Congo, JR Orvalle, David E. Cazares, Karen Carreno, Camilla Carreno, Danny Trevino, Tony Gomez, Robert Diaz
written by Justin Price, music by Project Zero, Gyro, visual effects supervisor: Joel Leliévre, creature design by Hadrian Palanca, Memmut Apoor, stunt coordinator: Matthew Simmons
TV-miniseries
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Jael (Franziska Schissler) has just experienced what might be the end
of the world - either real or imagined or even a premonition - when she
wakes up in a warehouse she cannot escape as every door out actually leads
her back into the place. She meets Kincaid (Danny Trejo), who's something
of a keeper of the place and who tells her she's in some kind of
purgatory. Quickly, Kincaid becomes her spiritual guide, teaching her to
tap into psachic powers she didn't even know she had. But she in turn
impresses him by actually being able to talk to the Wall of Silence
- and thus he gives her the key to return to the land of the living to
find her destiny. And earth really could need someone with special psychic
powers, as presently, Heaven is clkosing its gates, and without mankind
knowing it yet, Reapers and Overseeers of the High Order roam the world in
a fight for supremacy - and Jael, with unusually strong powers she is only
now learning to control, could tip the balance in either way, which means
both sides must act quickly. Now Jael's ambitions are comparably simple,
she just wants everything to go back to normal, wants her old life, which
she barely remembers, back, and wants to reunite with her sister Mindy
(Carolina Hildebrand). But that's not that easy, as the High Order tries
to recruit Mindy, and the High Order actually wants to re-set earth as
such, cancel everything that ever was. Jael soon realizes her best chance
to achieve her goals is to team up with Reapers Zion (Justin Price) and
Elle (Khu), even if she's almost sure that Elle has an agenda of her own.
But ultimately everything boils down to a death duel on the mythical and
ever elusive Elysian Fields between Jael and Kalypso (Alisondra
Alexander), the most ruthless fighter of the High Order, with nothing less
than everything at stake and Jael being of extraordinary power but lacking
in proper training ... Now I'll freel admit, I probably did not
catch the very complex narrative of Paragon: The Shadow Wars in its
entirety, what with its many key characters, convoluted mythology,
sometimes non-linear storytelling, and constant change of location - but
really that hardly matters, as even if some plotpoints will probably only
make sense upon repeat viewing, this miniseries manages to create a
fascinating world all of its own, and it moving as swiftly through the
plot as it does, it just pulls one in, with Jael of course being the
perfect identification point, as she's as new to the series' mythology as
the viewer - and Franziska Schissler most certainly delivers a strong and
relatable central performance, with a solid supporting cast by her side.
And thanks to a dynamic directorial effort, plenty of action and often
breathtaking locations from (literally) all over the world (including
Thailand, Japan and Germany), this series never gets boring and manages to
entertain throughout.
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