MacGuyver Series Premiere Review: A Hero and His Swiss Army Knife

Mac is back! From Hawaii Five-0 Creator Peter Lenkov comes the next reboot of a classic crime-fighting hero. MacGuyver re-imagines the inventive hero for a new generation. His defense skills are as good as anyone with a weapon, but like his original 1980s counterpart, this MacGuyver need only his brain to save the day. Okay, he may also need a paper clip. The series is a well-carved homage to its predecessor, carrying on the original hallmarks to inspire the 21st century to think outside the box. That doesn’t mean this MacGuyver doesn’t have a few twists up its sleeve.

The action starts right off the bat, with Angus MacGuyver and his team infiltrating an art auction in Italy. MacGuyver immediately makes introductions to the audience. We meet him, his best friend Jack Dalton, tech girl (and MacGuyver’s girlfriend) Nikki, and his boss Patricia Thorton. Thorton is the head of the Department of External Services, or the DXS. This team goes in with a plan, but is always prepared to improvise. The only weapon Macguyver carries inside the party is…you guessed it, the Swiss Army knife!

The same way MacGuyver was nice enough to make introductions, he’s polite enough to explain the science behind his tricks as he’s doing them. With a little ingenuity and knowledge of physics, MacGyver makes an electromagnet which interferes with the security coms at the party. This frees him up to break into the vault, where he finds a potential biological weapon. MacGuyver has to fight his way out of the compound, and a high speed boat chase ensues. Jack and MacGuyver are almost caught when their fuel line is hit by gunfire. Since chewing gum won’t work (*wink*wink*) they ditch the boat to let it do its damage on the bad guys. They go through all that effort only to find Nikki with a gun to her neck. MacGuyver has no choice but to exchange the bio-weapon for Nikki’s life. It backfires badly. Nikki is shot dead and MacGuyver barely survives his own gunshot wound. That’s just the first 10 minutes.

The next time we see MacGuyver it is three months later. He is back in Los Angeles grieving Nikki. His only lifeline is his best friend Wilt Bozer, who has no idea of MacGuyver’s true occupation. Wilt’s enthusiasm for life is the only thing that can get MacGuyver to smile. Peace is something he’ll get by avenging Nikki’s death. Thorton returns to bring MacGuyver back into the game, specifically to catch the man who killed Nikki and the man who bought the biological weapon they lost track of.

In order for the DXS to identify Nikki’s killer, they need to find someone with Nikki’s skillset to crack her face-recognition software. Jack’s solution is the daughter of an ex-girlfriend of his. Riley Davis is a hacker and a convict, who is in no mood to do Jack any favors since she thinks he hurt her father. She can sneer at Jack, but can’t resist MacGuyver’s proposition. Riley is up for the challenge, especially if it comes with a suspended sentence. Her skills lead them to a man named Kendrick and the buyer, Benjamin Chen. The new rag-tag team follows their targets to San Francisco. To lure them out into the open, MacGuyver creates smoke to trick the detectors. He’s looking for Nikki’s killer, but is shocked to see Nikki herself. MacGuyver and Jack catch Kendrick, and are devastated to learn Nikki is a traitor who sold out for the cash. By copying Kendrick’s voice, they are able to track down Nikki to stop her from selling the weapon.

Despite being afraid of heights, MacGuyver jumps onto the edge of the plane Nikki is on as it is ascending. He cuts some wires to ground the plane, clearly relieved to be back on solid ground. After a not so pleasant reunion with Nikki, MacGuyver realizes she has already sold the weapon and it is being released in the city. By the time the team gets to the weapon it is already rigged to an IED, which Macguyver accidentally trips. Using his handy Swiss Army knife and paper clip, MacGuyver saves the world! Too bad he can’t say the same about his love life.

A new team is set in place for the series. Because of Riley’s actions, the DXS must fold up and split off to a different location. MacGuyver, Dalton, and Riley (out on probation) decide to name their new team ‘The Phoenix’ (*wink*wink*wink*). They’ll be busy solving the world’s problems, but they’ll have a loose end hanging above their heads. Picking up a few tricks from her ex, Nikki escapes custody. ‘The Phoenix’ are going to have to wait anxiously until she resurfaces.

With the best of the old and new to satisfy everyone, the MacGuyver reboot seems to be a hit. Will you watch the ingenious hero this season?