TL;DR – While the final episode sort of sticks the landing, the series is still a bit of a mess when you look at it as a whole.  

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this series.

The Continental Review –

If there has been one disappointment this year, it has been the John Wick prequel about how Winston took over The Continental Hotel. So far, it has been full of missed opportunities and convoluted storylines. It was a bland entry into a fascinating universe. However, there is one more episode, and there is still a chance that they can stick the landing.

So to set the scene, it is D-Day as Winston (Colin Woodell) has his team come together to take out Cormac O’Connor (Mel Gibson) and usurp his position as head of the Continental Hotel. However, Charon (Ayomide Adegun) tipped Cormac off that something was afoot and sent his armies to stop it. But it just might be the meddling of the cops, as KD Silva (Mishel Prada) and Mayhew (Jeremy Bobb) start closing in. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

There have been several okay action scenes and some dismal action scenes this season. However, we got a moment that stood out among the grime for the first time. Lou Burton’s (Jessica Allain) and Mayhew’s brawl in the phone booth was electric as the enclosed space led to restrictive environmental movement and the use of what was at hand. It also showcased both of the fighter’s different styles in the moment. We see a similar set-up between Yen Scott (Nhung Kate) and Gretel (Marina Mazepa) at the end, where they delve into more of the iconography of the series. Sheer determination comes crashing against contortionism.

Indeed, much of this episode is one long siege of The Continental, and it is here where the series finally starts coming towards the John Wick universe that it purports to belong in. You have a long siege as wacky characters throw themselves on waves of bullets as intersecting allegiances come to bear. I feel it most aligns with John Wick 4 on that front. We get moments with some actual tension and an oddly quirky energy. With some Dredd added in there for extra measure. All the potential of the series led to somewhere, which I was glad to see.

Now, we have to look at the series as a whole, and here I am sad to inform it is such a mixed bag. There are a couple of exciting moments in the first two episodes; however, what we got was a whole lot of nothing. Even when we look at the series as a whole and chart the plot threads seeded in those first episodes and how they come to fruition in the finale. I am not sure it is worth trying to untangle them from the rest of the mess, which is not helped by some seriously lacklustre villains in both Cormac and the Orphan Master (Dan Li).

You feel that something went wrong in preproduction, and this was the best that they could put together. Still, it honestly feels like this was originally a script for a different kind of show that had to be crashed into the John Wick universe and nothing good came from that collision. The setting rarely worked. It felt more like baggage for the series than tone. Even the final episode, which is the clear standout of the series, it is still filled with structural problems. For example, where the show leaves both the Bowery and the Adjudicator (Katie McGrath) does not in any way match what we know of these forces from John Wick 3.  

In the end, do we recommend The Continental: Theatre of Pain & Full Series? Well? The whole series, absolutely not. However, I could see us recommending just watching the final episode on its own. Given the thin backstories set up in the first two episodes, I don’t believe you would be lost. It also works as a lower budget but still recognisable outing into that universe.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen The Continental yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Continental
Directed by – Charlotte Brändström & Albert Hughes
Written by – Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward, Shawn Simmons & Ken Kristensen
Created by – Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward & Shawn Simmons
Based On – John Wick by Derek Kolstad
Production/Distribution Companies – Last Man Standing Films, Cool-ish Productions, Resse Wernick Productions, King of Brockton Inc, Thunder Road Pictures, Lionsgate Television, Peacock & Amazon Prime.
Starring – Mel Gibson, Colin Woodell, Mishel Prada, Ben Robson, Hubert Point-du Jour, Nhung Kate, Jessica Allain, Ayomide Adegun, Peter Greene & Jeremy Bobb with Adam Shapiro, Ray McKinnon, Katie McGrath, Zainab Jah, Claire Cooper, Patrick Bergin, Marina Mazepa, Mark Musashi & Kirk Ward and Samuel Blekin, Dan Li, Roy Hu, Fflyn Edwards, Ben Robinson, Chris Ryman, Reice Weathers, Jonny Freeman, Philip Philmar, Christine Grace Szarkó, Matt Brewer, Arnmundur Ernst Björnsson, Simon Wan, Sallay Garnett, Antonio Magro, Connor Crawford, Tamzin Griffin, Roderick Hill, Lilla Lesó, Gbola Adewunmi, Henery ‘Hank’ Kingi, Jr. & Katie Lowes
Episodes Covered – Brothers in Arms, Loyalty to the Master & Theatre of Pain