For the first three chapters, Mysterious Dr Satan comes across a fairly grounded crime action thriller - there are a few elements of sci-fi in terms of the technology, but most of the action is based on stunts and fisticuffs.
'The Human Bomb' is where the serial really starts to escalate in terms of spectacle, from action sequences that would not look out of place in a western or a crime picture, toward the more fantastical concepts of its pulp and comic book influences.
I really like the start of this episode. Cross-cutting between two related crises (the fight to control the ship; Bob and Lois trying to avoid the rising water), it is a tense, frenetic way to get the action going from the off. While I enjoyed the set piece in the last episode, there was something overtly contrived about the way we are led into it that lets the steam out of it.
Here, the ending of the last episode provides the perfect set-up to this one: While Bob and Lois assess escape routes in an air pocket in the flooded diving bell, on the surface MVP Rose comes to the rescue again. She knocks out one thug and steals his gun.
Turning said gun on the thugs, Rose changes the odds - until the thugs use the crew members as shields. A stalemate ensues.
The writing of these sequences is solid - fight sequences are filled with reversals and constant changes to the situation. Combined with the choreography and the camera-work, the effect is engaging but somewhat invisible. There is a craftsmanship to the filmmaking that prizes effect over style.
I have said it before, but the serial's unfussy staging and emphasis on the stakes of each scenario is terrific. I can imagine Jon English and William Whitney - if they were alive today - would have great careers directing the latest Fast & Furious movie. The technical skill and sense of verisimilitude in this episode is terrific - the underwater models look great, and give this sequence a sense of scope. Republic Studios were apparently the best at visual effects among the studios producing serials, and the sequence of the diving bell beside the sunken ship is pretty simple but effective.
the next set piece is less interesting: Doctor Satan kidnaps Bob's friend Speedy. He has him drugged, straps a bomb with a camera and radio to him, and sends the zombified man into Professor Scott's home, where Doctor Satan commands the Professor to deliver the plans to his remote control device - or else he will trigger the bomb.
Unbeknownst to the Doctor or his mind-controlled lackey, Bob comes up with a plan to have the police cut the power to the city for 30 seconds, so that the radio link with the bomb can be broken.
Bob follows the pair outside. Once the power cut is made, he tackles Speedy and with the professor's assistance, he removes the bomb vest and throws it away. As it explodes, a trio of Doctor Satan's guns run through the main gate attack them.
This set piece has a few interesting ideas - the POV shot from the bomb vest is pretty cool - but the whole set up, with Bob communicating over Speedy's shoulder via paper notes, drains the tension. I am fine with logic gaps in action movies as long as I am not thinking about them while viewing - in this sequence, I could not help questioning what was going on: why go through with the bomb threat when the three thugs wind up beating Bob up and kidnapping the Professor anyway?
The one thing I will say about this episode is that Bob really comes to the fore here, improvising various schemes to foil the doctor. Aside from the power cut plan, he also shoots a hole in the gangsters' gas tank, giving him a liquid trail to follow.
Realising what happened, the gangsters abandon their vehicle and steal a gas truck from a station. Bob tails them and puts on his mask. I was really hoping he would obscure his vision and crash, but no.
The car chase is the first set piece where I really started to check out - until the bad guys decide to use the truck's cargo as a weapon against the Copperhead. They set fire to the gas, turning the road behind them into an inferno.
The Copperhead rounds the corner and the car shoots into the flames.
Final thoughts
Up to this point, I have enjoyed Mysterious Doctor Satan. With this episode the formula of the plotting really worked against my enjoyment. The opening is terrific, but the resolution is a little pat, and the plot of the 'human bomb' lacked some stakes - the car chase ends on a fun cliffhanger, but it feels like an add-on.
For the first couple episodes, the constant moving between different locations and set pieces worked well. There is a solid sense of pace and variety, which drew attention away from the threadbare characterisation and narrative development. The same is not true here.
While the ending is terrific, the lead-up lacks the polish and drive of its predecessors. Here is hoping that 'Doctor Satan's Man of Steel' reverses this downward spiral.
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