I've FINALLY watched the 2026 Disney+ live-action Lucky Luke show, guess I'll share my thoughts here! (since I've no one IRL who watched it lol)
Overall: my enjoyment varies A LOT from episode to episode: from kinda meh to REALLY liking it. I'm a Daltons fan, so if you've seen it you can guess which one was my favorite ahaha
Let's get through it step by step
The visuals. Wow, that's really the first time I actually agree with going the live-action route instead of animation for an adaptation. I LOVE the costumes, sets and scenery (I even thought it was really shot in the US desert, but it's more probably Spain). It works because it fits with the decision to go into a grittier, more realistic version of Lucky Luke, which can work really well for this franchise. It was really jarring for me in the first episode to see French actors in historical western cotumes, I had never seen it before ahaha
The script. It's really bad. I mean, I like the story they are trying to tell, but the way they go at it... I've seen some people critize the actors but they are really doing what they can with the dialogue they are given. Sometimes it works, but a lot of the time, it's really cringy, unatural or illogical (I'm talking both about the dialogues and the way things unfold)
Lucky Luke. Not gonna lie, I always prefered the Daltons over the main character, so I'm not too bothered with him having a different personality. At first I was really having trouble with his looks, especially his long greasy dirty hair lol. I got used to it. I guess it works for an old, close to retirement version of Luke. I didn't mind the times he was owned or ridiculed, it happens a lot too in the comics. I was really getting tired of his bickering though. A little at the start with Louise is fine, it's funny to see him go down to the level of a teenager. But by the end of the show, you realize that EVERY character talks like this (another huge problem with the script). I liked the actor playing the young Luke, he REALLY looks like the comic-book version, it's uncanny!! Overall I kinda liked Luke's arc, his dark backstory, overcoming shame, accepting loved ones in his life, but I wasn't super invested.
Joe Dalton. 90% of the reason I enjoyed the show OK I ADMIT IT. I mean, they REALLY made him far more likeable than Luke, it's crazy (also not helped by the fact that he's played by the best actor of them all BY FAR). What really surprised me is that he's far sweeter and nice than his usual depictions. They keep telling us that he's a real bad guy but he never even try to kill Luke in the whole show! (really OOC for him, that's like HIS THING). So much that the few times he snaps and starts yelling (like the scene were he tries to play father-daughter with Louise), it comes out of nowhere, especially for someone who never read the comics. That's another problem with the show: none of the characters feel like themselves (more about that latter). So by far, the BEST episode is the Amnesiac, because then Joe has a reason to be OOC and it's HILARIOUS. I kept laughing, it's the episode that makes the whole show for me ahah
The other Daltons. Great look, great cast, really liked their dynamic. Love the "Jack or William?" joke. The birthday cake flashback was GENIUS. It instantly explains the whole family dynamic. So then WHY DID THEY CAST THEM ASIDE OFFSCREEN IN THE NEXT EPISODE??? Gnnn this is my reason for hoping for a season 2, to see more of them.
Calamity Jane. I was thrown off by seeing her antagonize Luke this much (she's like his best friend in the comics), but it works with what they did with her and Louise. Loved seeing her come back at the end (even if I've mixed feeling with her not really ending up being a friend to Luke and his family). The actress was PERFECT, and her looks too, I really loved it.
Louise. She's really the main character of the show. I mean... she's fine. Yeah. Fine. LOVED her relationship with Billy The Kid (and the way his character was handled in general). I found it more interesting than her relationship with Luke or Charlie, cause it was less cliché lol
Charlie. Eh. She's fine too. A little bit bland and clichée. Not too great chemistry with Luke, but okay chemistry with Louise. IDK she's far more interesting to me in the first episodes when we only know about her and haven't met her yet lol
Bad guy woman (don't remember her name). Awfull. Not intimidating. Her plot makes no sense. Was absolutely bored by her from the first scene. No charisma, no relationship with our heroes, nothing.
La Foudre. At first I was also really bored by him. But I really liked his inflitration scene, he seemed really menacing, cunning and a real threat right there (instead of a boring bad guy who's evil just because). Unfortunately that's the only good scene with him.
Overall, it felt more like an AU than a real adaptation. The characters were all very different. But I didn't mind. I like AUs and fanfics lol. The family story was good and engaging, but I think it's really telling I lost all interest when Joe Dalton said his goodbyes and I understood he wasn't gonna be in the last 2 episodes. I still watched it until the end, but I really couldn't care less about the conspiracy / save the president plot.
So I don't regret the 11€ I spent getting Disney+ just to watch it (I'll just have to remember to cancel my subscription before the end of the month lol). If there's a season 2 I'll gladly watch it. Now I'm on my way to rewatch the episodes with the Daltons in it byyye
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