The Bondsman: Episode 1.1

Name: The Bondsman: Episode 1.1
Item: The Bondsman: Episode 1.1
Author: Review

"Every Demon’s Worst Nightmare"

Family Content: -3 Excessive sex, violence, immorality, and/or worldview problems. (Sometimes excessive content such as violence is in otherwise redemptive movies.)

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

Episode one of the first season of THE BONDSMAN, streaming on Prime Video, follows a bounty hunter named Hub who gets blindsided and killed by his target. However, he wakes up with the wounds that killed him and starts to plan his revenge against his killers. Whilst doing so, his wounds mysteriously begin to heal. He finds out who put the hit on him and sets off. He captures the hitmen and demands that their boss come and visit when a demon attacks. Hub escapes and discovers that he must become a bounty hunter for the Devil. His job: hunting demons that escaped from hell and putting them back.

The production of the show is okay with lackluster visuals and acting that do just enough to get the job done. The worldview starts with many Biblical elements. However, it eventually diverges toward a pagan worldview. At the start of the episode, we learn of Hub's family's affiliation with the Church. A pastor is trying to help them find terms to return to the Church. The episode features many crosses, including several cross necklaces and a cross shown outside of the Church. However, late in the episode, demons appear. Then, it is revealed that Hub is forced to do the Devil's dirty work, essentially making him a slave to the Devil. These elements pull us away from the Christian/ Biblical perspective. MOVIEGUIDE® recommends extreme caution.

Content:

(B, C, Pa, LLL, VVV, A, DD, MM):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Light Biblical and Christian worldview at the start with imagery pertaining to Christianity, including multiple crosses seen throughout the runtime, a character talks with a Pastor about returning to church, etc. However, the main character is revealed to have been resurrected to kill demons that escaped from Hell. This results in some Pagan worldview elements;

Foul Language:

There are a total of 53 obscenities. Mostly coming in form of the F words, with a total of 25 obscenities. There were also 14 S words, 4 uses of SoB, and a few instances of the A word. There are 6 profanities, including 3x GD and some light profanities;

Violence:

Several graphic depictions of violence. Fresh off the press a character is shot in the back with a shotgun and their throat is slit with a knife. What follows is some punching and tackling. Later in the episode a man shoots another’s fingers off. Then a demon comes and kills two men, compacting one and throwing the other against a wall where he explodes in a pool of blood;

Sex:

No sex;

Nudity:

No nudity. However, a security guard scratches his back, and his shirt lifts for partial upper male nudity, showing his stomach;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

Multiple people seen smoking throughout episode 1.1. There are a total of 5 instances of people smoking throughout the episode; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Strong instances of immorality including kidnapping a man, two stolen cars, and our main character sets out for revenge.

More Detail:

Streaming on Prime Video, THE BONDSMAN follows a bounty hunter brought back to life to fight demons and send them back to Hell. He must be the Devil’s hitman, or his contract will be void, and he’ll no longer be in the land of the living. While THE BONDSMAN showcases many Christian elements, it later strays away. MOVIEGUIDE(®) recommends extreme caution.

Episode one of the first season of THE BONDSMAN follows Hub, a bounty hunter who drives up to a hotel, lights a cigarette, grabs a shotgun, and puts on body armor. He walks up to the door and demands that his target come out. Without luck, he forces him out by placing an agitated beehive into the ventilation, forcing the target to run out the front door. He gets caught before realizing that the man isn’t his target. Before he can react, a shotgun shoots him in the back, sending him flying. Then they walk up behind Hub and slice his neck.

Hub awakes inside the motel’s wall, busting out and seeing his gnarly wounds for the first time. He stops a man, Tater, who sets to destroy the building. He stuffs Tater in the trunk of a car and takes off. Once he gets home, he talks with his mom and finds out who was responsible for killing him.

The production of the show is okay. There’s nothing to write home about and nothing to laugh over. The lackluster visuals and acting do just enough to get the job done. The writing is the worst letdown, going on like viewers know the character’s backstories and personal lives, never easing you into it. You meet characters and have no clue who they are, not a single drop of information, but this character and our protagonist go way back. It makes it feel as though key information is missing.

The effects are where THE BONDSMAN shines. Right out of the gate, Hub’s neck is sliced open, and it’s gnarly. Later in the episode, a man’s fingers are blown off by a shotgun. The intense effects are precisely what production is going for. They supplement these practical effects with some visual effects, adding to the effectiveness of the impact.

The worldview starts with many Biblical elements. However, it eventually diverges away from the Christian/Biblical worldview and toward a pagan worldview. At the start of the episode, we learn of Hub’s family’s affiliation with the Church. A pastor is back trying to help them find terms to return to the Church. The episode features many crosses, including several cross necklaces and a cross shown outside of the Church.

However, late in the episode, demons appear. Then, it is revealed that Hub is forced to do the Devil’s dirty work, essentially making him a slave to the Devil. These elements pull us away from the Christian/ Biblical perspective. MOVIEGUIDE® recommends extreme caution.