Tag Archives: Action Television

Reacher: New York’s Finest – TV Review

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TL;DR – There comes a point when you are on the run where it is time to start fighting back.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

A pissed off Reacher.

As we start heading towards the pointy end of the season, there comes a moment when things have to start hitting the rubber. You can only prolong the inevitable so long before you start losing the tension. This week, we can see the start of that shift happening as the team decides not to play defensive anymore.

So to set the scene, at the end of Burial, we discovered just how brutal these people are as they use a tripwire IED to kill a sniper. Their opposition is trying to erase everyone from existence, even the people working for them. Now they see the lengths their opposition is going to. Well, it is time to take the battle back to them. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Reacher: Burial – TV Review

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TL;DR – Bookended by two fantastic action sequences, it shows that Reacher is peak-Dad Show Energy, but also more than that.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

The American flag over a coffin.

Reacher Review –

Last week, we dived into the first half of Reacher’s Second Season, and it was fantastic. It hit the same energy of the first season, with the added bonus of getting the team back together. With all of that energy behind it, I wondered if its central premise could hold up to the end because righteous Reacher might need to get dirty.

So to set the scene, Reacher (Alan Ritchson) has stayed behind in New York with O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) to help his family bug out and move to safety as they turn their focus on New Age Technologies. This company seems to be having a bad case of wanting to kill them all. Meanwhile, Neagley (Maria Sten) and Dixson (Serinda Swan) have made it to Denver, Colorado, to see just what is going on in the software division of this new missile company when bullets start flying. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Reacher: Season 2 – Part 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – They take the format that worked from the first season and bring in a team to elevate it.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Reacher walking away from the carjacker he just beat up.

Reacher Review –

Lee Child is an author that I know by name, but I have never gotten a chance to read any of their work. But I do get to see some of their adaptations from time to time. The films with Tom Cruise were fine, but back in 2022, they found the right combination when they cast a mountain of a man as Reacher and let them loose on a corrupt town. Today, we look at the first part of the second season to see if they can strike lighting twice.   

So to set the scene, it has been two years since Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) spent time in Georgia and took down a corrupt town and their money laundering program. Since then, he has continued to float around America, moving from town to town with nothing but his toothbrush holding him down. When he tries to get some cash out of the ATM, he first takes down a carjacker and then realises that someone has left an SOS in his bank account. One call later and he is on a plane to New York to meet up with Frances Neagley (Maria Sten) because someone is targeting their old MP unit. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Monarch: Legacy of Monsters – Parallels and Interiors – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the first week where we have an almost restrained jump around the timeline.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Review –

After racing forward, you need to consolidate your gains or at least reveal some of the cards you are working with. For Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, that time is now, because things are starting to hit the fan.  

So to set the scene, we open in on Utah, 2015, where Barnes is sitting watch at Outpost 47, and some weird beeping comes from her equipment, a piece of equipment that should not be getting set off. Coincidently, at the end of Secrets and Lies, Cate Randa (Anna Sawai), Kentaro Randa (Ren Watabe), May (Kiersey Clemons), and an old Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) come face to face with a monster that breathes cold air, and it is not happy they just landed on its mountain. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Loki: Breaking Brad – TV Review

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TL;DR – A follow-up that plays with intensity and emotions.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this show.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no End-Credit Scene.

The Temporal Loom.

Loki Review –

Last week, we dived into the first episode of Loki’s second season with Ouroboros, and to be clear, we came in with a bit of trepidation. But after a solid first episode, it made me a touch more assured, even more so as we end the follow-up today.  

So to set the scene, the TVA is barely holding on by the seams as timeline after timeline branches off. At the same time, OB (Ke Huy Quan) is trying to find a way to help the temporal loom handle all the new branching timelines. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) are desperately trying to find Sylvie (Sophia di Martino) before it all falls apart. They have one hint: a temp pad used by Hunter X-5 / Brad Wolfe (Rafael Casal). But when they return to 1977, London, they find that Hunter X-5 has become Brad Wolfe, actor extraordinaire. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Continental (The Continental: From the World of John Wick): Theatre of Pain & Full Series – TV Review

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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.  

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

The Coin Press.

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.

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Star Wars: Ahsoka – Part Eight: The Jedi, The Witch, and The Warlord & Full Season – TV Review

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TL;DR – A lacklustre conclusion to a solid season.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

A Star Destroyer docked at the temple.

Ahsoka Review –

Well, we have reached the end of what turned out to be Ahsoka’s first season, and I came into this series with a bit more trepidation than any of the other Star Wars series. I did not watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars Rebels growing up, and I wondered how much that would have hindered me starting here. But as we reach the end, I am a little more confident about where we are and, surprisingly, where we will go from here.

So to set the scene, after fighting, flying, and finding across multiple galaxies, Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and Ezra (Eman Esfandi) are finally reunited on Peridea. However, while this is a joyous moment, there is no time to celebrate because time is running out. Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) has been filling his star destroyer with its cargo, and it will soon be ready to fly back home. They must act fast to stop the tyrant and the last lingering remnant of the Imperial Order. But time is not on their side as their ship crashes to the ground. 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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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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