Back at the end of 2015 the series Into The Badlands premiered on AMC and has for the most part flew right under most people’s radars. The show takes place around 500 years after a war that ended civilization as we know it and in a world where everyone shuns guns so that pretty much everything is settled with sword fights, think the matrix if it was a western where guns didn’t exist.
The world is now run by Barons who control different sections of what used to be The United States and each Baron has an army of men called Clippers who are under the control of a regent. The show follows one of these clippers/regents named Sunny as he strives to find redemption for past wrongs and all the people he has killed in the name of his Baron and while on this journey meets a young man named MK who has mystical powers that cause him to be unstoppable when he is cut and bleeds, this mysticism becomes a huge part of the show as it goes on.
One of the best parts of the series are the fight scenes, they have a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon feel to them and are just a blast to watch. If you like old school kung fu movies you will most likely love this show. When there is a full scale battle on the screen it’s almost magical to watch these fights as people gracefully float through the air doing bicycle kicks and whatever else you can dream up for crazy moves.
The main character of the show, Sunny, is played by Daniel Wu and he is joined by some great actors such as Martin Csokas, who is absolutely brilliant as Quinn, an evil and ruthless baron and main antagonist of the series as well as Nick Frost, who has been a favorite of mine ever since Sean of the Dead, his addition to the show in season 2 was the best decision they could have made because he’s just effin great.
The series was canceled early this year after the 3rd season and although it ended sooner than I feel it should have there are 32 episodes over 3 seasons to enjoy and sink yourself into for a few binge-worthy nights in bed. I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect show by any means but it is rather enjoyable if you just take it for what it is…A fun little show with fun little fight scenes. It’s a good series and a shame that it flew under the radar to the point of cancellation.
Get the final season on Blu-Ray here https://amzn.to/37c9DTZ
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The Listerzine 
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