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In 2022, the entire world beheld the musical prowess of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley, in no small part due to Warner Bros’ Elvis, bringing the star into the modern world in the form of Austin Butler. Thanks to that film, not only was a new generation introduced to Mr. Presley, but also started a social craze in tribute to Presley. From Dancing With The Stars to trends on social media to Graceland itself, the influence of Elvis continues on. Now bring that influential power to Netflix and you have yourself Agent Elvis: a bloody, wild buddy-cop adventure that sees the Memphis Flash become the hero (or something of a hero) he aspired to be.
Agent Elvis, created by Priscilla Presley and John Ellie, follows Elvis Presley (Matthew McConaughey) and his crew, right-hand Bobbie Ray (Johnny Knoxville), Bertie (Niecy Nash) and Elvis’ demented monkey Scatter (Tom Kenny), after Presley is recruited by a secret government organization to stop a dangerous enemy that threatens the world. Guided under the supervision of agent Cece Ryder (Kaitlin Olson), play-on reference intended, and the Commander (Don Cheadle), Presley and company embark on an international mission to save the world while getting high and beating up bad guys into a pulp.
Agent Elvis‘ visual style takes inspiration from other shows like Archer and Hit-Monkey in a retro-rendition, but it really allows itself to be creative through its action sequences. Each action scene utilizes its neon-bright color scheme and turnabout, twisty cinematography to intensify every blow, stab, shot, and every attack you can think of, to a higher level. In addition, the show doesn’t dare to hold back on the blood and gore and it makes it extremely clear from the first episode. Backed with the iconic songs from Elvis’ career, these elements help shape the comic-inspired world of the show while delivering the show’s exciting factor that reflects Elvis’ own excitable and dominant presence. However, that’s only scratching at the surface of craziness that is Agent Elvis.
As its biggest factor, the show likes to establish its alternate history within the lines of long-running conspiracies while joking alongside the facts. From Richard Nixon’s continuous recordings in the Oval Office to Charles Manson’s barbaric cult of peace, it often likes to play in the context of satirized history to create its comedy. Hell, it even makes an entertaining joke out of Scatter’s horny-filled past to help develop his character in the softest way it can.
Furthermore, the show’s humor surrounds itself with an enormous amount of adult content, which can range from lighthearted drug jokes to R-rated, sexual innuendos that drive to become obvious. While some jokes do make a straight landing, some gags go on for a bit longer than expected and will wear you down with its pessimism. Luckily, it manages to balance out well with its winding storylines that it doesn’t make you think twice about what’s happening on screen.
As you could expect, Agent Elvis‘ story follows your usual international spy plot, albeit influenced by the social landscape of the 70s. Following the release of his ’68 Comeback Special, the TCB (aptly not named Taking Care of Business) recruits Elvis, who has his own set of skills as a vigilante. Beyond the first episode, Presley and company find themselves within the generic episodic action plots that converge around Presley’s origins as well as another secret organization.
While I didn’t find myself bored, I couldn’t help but feel that the side plots within the episodic plots were more like slowly building gags rather than actual character development. If these side plots took themselves a bit more seriously with its side characters, I would’ve felt more engaged to see where the show took them. However, one of these characters, Doyle, is another second comic relief, while the other, Bertie, feels generally underdeveloped with sass as her main trait. If the show focuses on its side character as much as it does on its comedy, these storylines would have paid off. Hopefully, the show could resolve this is in a second season (if it does get one after seeing Netflix’s streak.)
On the performances, Matthew McConaughey surprisingly puts on a really great Elvis impression while putting on his own flair on Mr. Hound-Dog. He’s able to stand out in his version from Austin Butler’s take while not trying to over-do his performance. He’s perfectly accompanied by Kaitlin Olson, Johnny Knoxville, and Tom Kenny throughout the series, with each of them providing their own enthusiasm and charisma into their respective characters. Whether it be the peaceful moments or full-on debauchery, I can tell the cast certainly had a lot of fun performing their characters here and hopefully they’ll return.
Overall, Agent Elvis is one hell of a ride that amazingly meshes the prowess of rock ‘n’ roll with the spy world in an explosive, coked-up adventure. With great character performances, high-packed action, and a great animation scheme, this show proves to live up to the King’s heroic aspirations in the ways it can. Though some improvements could be made around its story and characters, Agent Elvis emerges from the clutter of adult animated dramedies to fly. I’ve got a feeling in my body that a second season could be coming sooner than expected to tie up these bloodied loose ends.
★★★½
Agent Elvis is currently streaming on Netflix.
