Black Lightning Premiere Review: 6 Ups And 1 Down From 'The Resurrection'

1. Cress Williams Is A Great Leading Man

The whole cast is great, but this first episode is really brought together by Cress Williams' Jefferson Pierce, around whom all the other characters orbit. Williams isn't an unknown by any stretch, having regularly appeared on the likes of Prison Break and Friday Night Lights, but this should introduce him to a whole new audience in one of his most difficult roles.

Williams isn't simply playing the superhero Black Lightning, but he's also got to play the older, wiser, and 'been there, done that, regretted it' version of the hero too, with a sense of weariness that can't fade too much into pessimism or defeat, with enough anger in him to get him back into the game. He's also got to be a father, and as principal a father figure, and an ex-husband.

He's an older superhero than we're used to seeing, especially on The CW, and Williams does bring a sense of gravitas with him, and yet is just as capable of delivering a one-liner with absolute aplomb. He does everything asked of him and then some, and immediately fits the roles of both Pierce and Black Lightning.