Tag Archives: Action Television

The Continental (The Continental: From the World of John Wick): Loyalty to the Master – TV Review

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TL;DR – Continued floundering makes those moments when it tries to do something feel lacklustre.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

Staring at a cremation urn.

The Continental Review –

Well, hmmm, I have enjoyed everything we have gotten from the John Wick universe so far. However, last week’s opening, Brothers in Arms, fell flat in many ways. Now, this is only a miniseries, and the first episode was primarily set-up, which means it may take off from this week.

So to set the scene, it was The Bronx in 1955, and two young boys throw a Molotov cocktail through a window under orders, only to find there were people in there. In the present, Winston (Colin Woodell) manages to get in to see his dead brother Frankie’s (Ben Robson) corpse to say goodbye and collect his personal items before it is cremated. It is a focusing moment for Winston, and a plan is formed: it is time to kill Cormac (Mel Gibson). Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Continental (The Continental: From the World of John Wick): Brothers in Arms – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a perfectly okay introduction, but by attaching itself to this world, it wrote checks that it has so far been unable to cash.  

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Standing alone in a crowded subway platform.

The Continental Review –

If there has been one world that has delighted me over the last decade, it has been John Wick and its universe. Indeed, I wrote a whole article on how it was a Masterclass in Visual Storytelling and Worldbuilding. The more we heard about this world, the more fascinated I was with it. However, prequels are always dicey propositions, as we see today.

So to set the scene, it is 1955 in New York City, and a young Winston is learning the hard life that can come from the world he is in. Years later, we find a world of sex, drugs, and club techno as the world sings in a new year. But that is not just any New Year’s Eve party. It is one held in The Continental, and as they countdown to ‘Happy New Year, ’ something goes boom. But there are some rules that you just don’t break. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Wars: Ahsoka – Part Four: Fallen Jedi– TV Review

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TL;DR – This is an episode that dwells on the weight of choices

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Ahsoka and Sabine ponder what to do next.

Ahsoka Review –

Thinking back on this season, it has been interesting, but I have not found the depths that many other people have with the show. I think part of that is that I am not coming with the wealth of experience from The Clone Wars and Rebels TV shows we draw from. However, this week, I am starting to see hints of what others revel in: destruction and creation coming in equal measures.

So to set the scene, in Time to Fly, Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and Huyang (David Tennant) discovered that Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) has been building a giant hyperspace ship able to jump between galaxies. She wants to jump to where they think Thrawn ended up, bringing the last living Imperial Fleet Admiral back from the dead. Even though their ship has crashed, and they are stuck on the planet, the team has to do something to stop the map from being decoded before it is too late. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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FUBAR: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – Arnold Schwarzenegger’s charisma goes a long way with this spy series, but odd structural choices and a middling narrative hold it back from reaching its potential.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Explosion

FUBAR Review –

Between The Diplomat, The Night Agent, The Recruit, and more, it feels like we are going through a renaissance of Spy shows on TV. This has been a nice turn of events as someone who grew up on Spy shows like Get Smart, Chuck, and Alias. So, When I heard that Arnold Schwarzenegger was jumping back into this genre, well, you know, I had to check that out.

So to set the scene, Luke Brunner (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has worked at the CIA all his life. Because of that, he has become divorced from his wife Tally (Fabiana Udenio) and has a bit of a fractious relationship with his daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro) and son Oscar (Devon Bostick). But after a long career, Luke is finally retiring and can focus on his family and maybe winning the love of his life back now that she has started dating Donnie (Andy Buckley). But before he can officially spend his years doing up his boat, he is called back to active duty because Boro Polonia (Gabriel Luna), the son of an old arms dealer that Luke secretly killed, has started building pocket nuclear weapons. The CIA puts a spy in his organisation, but they are about to get outed, and Luke has to go in because Boro still remembers Luke fondly. All Luke has to do, is go to their compound in Guyana and get the undercover agent out … the only problem is that the secret agent turns out to be Emma. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Skull Island: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a perfectly watchable show, but it never reached its potential, with some odd tone issues and a lacklustre narrative holding it back.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

King Kong's foot print.

Skull Island Review –

When  Kong: Skull Island came out in 2017, I was delighted with the world they created, full of mystery and wonder. This meant I was slightly disappointed when they killed off the island with one line of dialogue in Godzilla vs. Kong. However, there is clearly still a lot of space in the Monsterverse, and today we look at more adventures on an island where nearly everything wants to kill you.   

So to set the scene, we open on a research boat of some sort in the South Pacific Ocean. There is a loud commotion when a girl named Annie (Mae Whitman) in handcuffs tries to escape the crew hunting her down. She makes her way onto a lifeboat in a last-ditch effort and drives into the storm. Meanwhile, on an exploration boat, Charlie (Nicolas Cantu) and his father, Cap (Benjamin Bratt), have a significant conversation about going to college. As Charlie’s friend Mike (Darren Barnet) consoles him, Charlie notices a girl floating in on some wreckage. It is quite a commotion, but while Annie is concerned about the mercenaries chasing her, she is even more concerned about what lurks in the deep. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Citadel: Secrets In Night Need Early Rains & Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While it sort of sticks the landing, it is a season where the issues greatly outnumbered the positives.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

A surgery under fire.

Citadel Review –

I am unsure what I expected when I sat down to watch the groundwork for a new multi-series spy universe. Maybe I was hoping for some good spy shenanigans, boundless chemistry, or even the odd action scene. However, while it started strong with The Human Enigma, it soon fell apart as the seams became apparent. Today we are looking at the finale and this season as a whole to see if they stuck the landing or floundered like a ship on the rocks.    

So to set the scene, at the end of Tell Her Everything, we discover what Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) has been hiding from Mason (Richard Madden). She has a daughter she did not tell Mason about, and Dahlia Archer (Lesley Manville) has now captured her. They must land on a Russian automatic submarine and then steal all their nuclear cores to see her alive again. Oh, and only Mason can do the jump, and he still can’t remember his time as a spy. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Citadel: Tell Her Everything – TV Review

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TL;DR – We, unfortunately, continue to flounder with narrative choices that make you go, ‘Wait, what?’.  

Rating: 2 out of 5.

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

A car travels to a black site.

Citadel Review –

We must ask some questions as we continue down this world of spies, betrayal, and baffling narrative choices. Because in between all the debris that is the narrative, there are hints of a good show. But the wreckage is starting to pile up.     

So to set the scene, after discovering that Manticore has taken captive Carter Spence (Osy Ikhile). Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and Mason (Richard Madden) head out to a black site in Morocco to try and rescue him. This, of course, does not go to plan because Carter is a broken man and possibly already compromised, but he might also know who brought Citadel down from within. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Citadel: Infinite Shadows – TV Review

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TL;DR – One or two exciting scenes, a show does not make.  

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

An upside-down house.

When we were first introduced to Citadel in The Human Enigma & Spies Appear In Night Time, a relatively straightforward introduction into a world where shadows move in the dark and whole spy organisations can collapse in an afternoon. It was an interesting opening, but soon some of the narrative scaffolding became clear. Can they build from that point, or will the fractious production shine through?  

So to set the scene, after tangling with Davik Silje (Roland Møller), Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) takes a wounded Mason (Richard Madden) to a Citadel safehouse in Cáceres, Spain. Unlike Mason, Nadia has all her memories back for better or worse and is understandably distant from Mason. However, ten years ago, in the Citadel US HQ in Utah’s deserts, Mason was given a mission to the Alborz Mountains in Iran. Where he meets Citadel’s newest agent. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.      

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Citadel: Spies Appear In Night Time – TV Review

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TL;DR – Not a bad episode, but it is worrying when you can already see some handwaving happening.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Nadia stares down her attacker.

Citadel Review –

There are many things a good story can do. One of the main functions is that you become so caught up in the narrative that you don’t see many of the contrivances that the filmmakers have to use to get us from start to finish. That suspension of disbelief is critical, especially as you move away from reality. However, if your narrative slips, so then does that shield.

So to set the scene, we saw in The Human Enigma the almost complete destruction of the Citadel spy agency in a targeted massacre worldwide. One of those places was a train driving through the Italian Alps. The Train exploded, and we found out what happened to Mason (Richard Madden) last week. This week we open with Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) dragging herself out of the lake and trying to warn everyone, but Bernard (Stanley Tucci) implements a backstop protocol instead. She escapes but collapses from her wounds, wakes up with the bullet out of her leg, and is handcuffed to a bed. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Citadel: The Human Enigma – TV Review

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TL;DR – This opening gives you the explosive action and compelling characters you need, but the jury might still be out about the narrative.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

A body floats in the water as flames lap above.

Citadel Review –

There have been many, and I mean many, pretenders trying to take the James Bond throne. Some have come close, and some have stepped into the world but with their own take and vibe. Yet some still go straight for the juggler and try to unset the monolith. I was surprised to see the next contender come from the studio that just bought a sizable chunk of the James Bond franchise, but I am interested to see where they go with it.

So to set the scene, a train blasts through the countryside in the Italian Alps. When a mysterious lady Nadia (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), enamoured in a stunning red dress, walks into the viewing cart. But she is not there for the breathtaking views of mountain lakes. She is here for the Russian Gregor (Lev Gorn) with the enriched uranium in his bag about to sell to the highest bidder. It was all going well when Mason (Richard Madden) sat beside her. They were a team, but they are no longer a team. However, they are Citadel agents, and professionals, so they can get the job done. But all is not as it seems because uranium is not in the bag. It is a message, a warning, a declaration, and an extermination. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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