时间:2025-07-11 18:18:13 来源:网络整理编辑:探索
Every handful of years, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys get their stories revamped for the screen. Las
Every handful of years, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys get their stories revamped for the screen. Last year, it was Nancy's turn. She set out to solve a ghostly murder in a soapy Riverdale-style CW series that ended up with mixed reviews. This year, it was The Hardy Boys' shot at a comeback. The brothers got a Hulu reboot in which they attempt to sleuth out the secrets that led to their mother's murder in the mysterious fictional town of Bridgeport.
Unlike the CW'sNancy Drew, the new Hardy Boysis not an edgy, melodramatic teen series. It aims to be a more wholesome, curious small-town drama for a general audience and not just young adults. Does this work? Well, kind of. The Hardy Boyshas a fun, classic mystery feel, but it also has a tendency to feel tedious.
Right away, The Hardy Boysintroduces us to Frank (Rohan Campbell), an athletic 16-year-old who thoughtfully looks after those around him; Joe (Alexander Elliot), his snarky 12-year-old brother with the handy ability to pick a lock; and Laura (Janet Porter), their warm-hearted mother, who is murdered within the first 15 minutes after getting mixed up in a dangerous journalistic investigation.
Laura's untimely death has the boys' dad, Detective Fenton Hardy (James Tupper), setting out on a secret mission to figure out what happened to his wife. Meanwhile, Frank and Joe move to their parents' hometown of Bridgeport, where they are to stay with their Aunt Trudy (Bea Santos) for the summer while they await their father's return. Rather than just sitting on the sidelines, the boys seek answers with the help of the new friends they make in the seemingly sleepy town.
The best feature of The Hardy Boys is its old-timey sleuthing aesthetic.
The best feature of The Hardy Boysis its old-timey sleuthing aesthetic. Though the series never specifies what decade it takes place in, there are strong '80s vibes. The diner is the hot hangout in Bridgeport, everyone drives vintage cars, and there are no smartphones. The choice not to modernize the series fits the small-town-full-of-secrets narrative and gives it a sense of style. Plus, the plot makes full use of its setting.
The boys uncover clues all over the place — at the high school, the library, the carnival, the movie theater, the police station, the beach, the underground tunnels, and so forth. This keeps the scope of the mystery feeling big. While they're running out and about, vibey tunes like '80s bops "99 Red Balloons" and "I Want Candy" boost the mood. It's all very fun. But while the story world is large, intriguing, and super retro, the characters and plots working inside of it feel second rate.
If you want to enjoy The Hardy Boys, go in knowing it's not smartly plotted out like Knives Out.
If you want to enjoy The Hardy Boys, you have to go in knowing that although it features plenty of twists and turns, it's not smartly plotted out like Knives Out. Characters who refuse to give out clues one moment change their minds later with little convincing. Others happen upon convenient answers to puzzles. (For example, Officer Hooper [Jennifer Hsiung] figures out the sheriff had been lying about his whereabouts by finding brick dust on his tires). Even Frank and Joe make some decisions about whom to trust and what to do that are illogical and seem simply for the purpose of upping the tension. Many things that happen are crazy convenient.
There's an even bigger flaw of the show, though: Many of its characters are just not particularly compelling, with clunky dialogue and loose development. There were a few I liked — for instance, the boys' grandmother, Gloria Estabrook (Linda Thorson), whose persona blends together elegance and power. I was also entertained by the sarcastic charm of the youngest Hardy brother, Joe. But others, like con-man J.B. Cox (Atticus Mitchell) — a supposedly a good thief who really just lucks out a lot — are hard to get behind. Then there's Callie (Keana Lyn), who gets twisted into a catty subplot with the new girl at school and blames her jealousy of the incoming student on the newcomer's apparent suspiciousness. Their ongoing teenage tiff feels kind of dated and makes Callie come off as unlikeable, even though I doubt the writers intended this.
Perhaps cutting down the number or length of the episodes would have also helped. There are 13 episodes, all of which are over 40 minutes long. The mystery really didn't need thatmuch time to be solved. Tightening up the series would have made it less monotonous, especially because the middle dragged at times.
The Hardy Boyshas a lot of strong elements that it never makes full use of it. But if you can suspend your disbelief and don't mind the slow pace, you might be able to enjoy its cinematic B-level mystery. Just don't expect it to be anything more than extremely fine.
The Hardy Boysis now streaming on Hulu.
TopicsHulu
How Hyperloop One went off the rails2025-07-11 17:37
塞爾維亞主帥:C羅好球沒算?他還進過我們越位球2025-07-11 17:30
卓爾外援國家隊首秀即進球 歸化埃弗拉已徹底沒戲2025-07-11 17:23
卓爾外援國家隊首秀即進球 歸化埃弗拉已徹底沒戲2025-07-11 17:21
Darth Vader is back. Why do we still care?2025-07-11 16:40
神奇黑馬!北馬其頓掀翻德國 三戰9球攻擊力冠絕全組2025-07-11 16:25
404,您訪問的頁麵已經不存在!2025-07-11 16:21
狂熱!夫婦生15個孩子致敬02巴西 名字開頭全用R2025-07-11 16:19
One of the most controversial power struggles in media comes to a close2025-07-11 15:35
拉莫斯:出場時間由教練說了算 續約的事無可奉告2025-07-11 15:32
Singapore gets world's first driverless taxis2025-07-11 18:15
曝西部某中甲隊2021至今未發工資 個別球員賣車求生活2025-07-11 17:56
國足國內熱身7連勝進26球 過招泰山將模擬戰敘利亞2025-07-11 17:22
2021三級聯賽升降級規則:中甲前2升超 中超152025-07-11 17:17
This weird squid looks like it has googly eyes, guys2025-07-11 17:12
曝原江蘇隊球員黃紫昌加盟武漢隊 曾入選各級國家隊2025-07-11 17:01
滄州雄獅副總:新賽季目標站穩腳跟 引援超越主帥想象2025-07-11 16:59
津媒宣布於根偉任津門虎總經理兼主帥 俱樂部官微未發聲2025-07-11 16:36
Here's George Takei chilling in zero gravity for the 'Star Trek' anniversary2025-07-11 15:58
曼城若挖哈蘭德需送上60萬鎊周薪 B計劃鎖定凱恩2025-07-11 15:35