Critic Reviews

Legends of Tomorrow flies high as a kite, and the kite was hit by lightning, so now it’s an omnisexual talking kite firing electric rays at sexy history. ... A little self-awareness goes a long way, but Legends has a charm that’s more old-fashioned than meta. Every adventure is a game of dress-up.

Two episodes in, and the show is already proving that it knows when to slow down and expound on plot rather than brush over it on the trip to the next action sequence.

Legends is not meant to be about logic and philosophy. There are other TV shows for that. This isn’t one of them. This is a time-traveling group of sundries looking to kick ass and take names (a bar fight involving Sara Lance, Snart, and Mick Rory is a standout), and in that it succeeds.

Sara gets the team back together and they all hatch a plan to steal back the Waverider, so this all feels more like preparation for the new status quo rather than a rushed half-step into what will assuredly be a slew of misadventures across time. Legends has always reveled in its potential, and it’s getting much better at realizing its strengths on what must be a micro-managed budget at this point.

Legends of Tomorrow‘s fourth season has carried over the momentum established by its previous effort.

The production values are alternatively spectacular and chintzy, the tone is wildly eclectic, the time-travel logic is whatever.... Still, the charming cast and some poignant, surprising turns hooked me. [22 Jan 2016, p.62]

Familiar though they may be, that’s still a lot of characters to reintroduce while also establishing a premise that is sort of a Doctor Who meets Guardians of the Galaxy--with a touch of The Mummy Returns thrown in for good measure. But the show carries it off, setting up its time-travel parameters (they can change events, but not ones in which they’ve participated) as well as its hero/villain conflict.

Action is nicely balanced with sense of humor, and characters (most of whom have been seen in other contexts, including "Arrow" and "The Flash") are developed well from the beginning.

In actual practice, Hunter’s invitation necessitates a great deal of discussion and debate. ... But once said conversations have been had, after the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed, the times ahead promise to be spread across the ages and a whole lotta fun.

The whole concept--fleshed out by producers Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Marc Guggenheim--has the potential for amusement, especially in its mix of motivations.... [But] There are elements that weaken the show. The dialogue is stilted (“Grant me the permission to change the timeline just this once!”), the acting, with the exception of the fluid Garber and the amusingly tough slouching of Lotz, tends to be stiff