This assessment was written through the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. With out the labor of the writers and actors at the moment on strike, the collection being coated right here wouldn’t exist.The John Wick franchise has turn out to be the head of recent American motion. This kicked off with moderately humble beginnings as the primary movie launched us to a retired hitman who’s pressured to return out of retirement to hunt revenge for the theft of his automotive and the killing of his pet which was a present from his late spouse. But, over time, it has grown to one thing far better than that preliminary premise. The John Wick franchise has turn out to be an motion delight with its fashionable motion sequences set in iconic places world wide. Greater than that, they’ve revitalized Keanu Reeves’ profession and ushered in a renaissance for the actor.
John Wick: Chapter 4 was a phenomenal conclusion to the movie collection but in addition left the door open for extra. Nevertheless, the query stays: how can the franchise transfer on with out its titular character? The Continental makes an attempt to do the unimaginable by taking us again to the previous.
The collection takes us again to the Nineteen Seventies as we comply with a younger Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) when he comes head to head with the proprietor of The Continental, Cormac (Mel Gibson). The very thought of a Winston origin story was not one thing essentially wanted, however Woodell’s efficiency brings a brand new dimension to the character not seen within the authentic movies. His historical past with Cormac and that battle between the 2 may be very a lot in step with what we’ve come to like from the Wick franchise. The movies managed to make extremely simplistic tales shine by specializing in world-building and memorable motion sequences. The Continental tells an analogous revenge story, however make no mistake, this solid and their particular person tales can engross you in a method that may go away you eager for the subsequent episode.
Ben Robson’s position as Winston’s brother, Frankie Scott, is a personality who’s a traditional bruiser. His strained relationship with Winston feels genuine, primarily due to his chemistry with Woodell. Jessica Allain’s Lou, Hubert Level-Du Jour’s Miles, and Mishel Prada’s KD supply an outsider’s view of the Continental and the underworld that make for pleasing, albeit underdeveloped, storylines. Sadly, characters like Ayomide Adegun’s youthful tackle Charon are underutilized within the early levels of the story — as the main focus is all the time, at the start, Winston Scott.
One of many present’s strengths is the combat choreography. The opening moments of the primary episode see Frankie taking up the may of the Continental. Each single shot issues as blood splatters down the halls of the resort. The way in which the stunt workforce and the filmmakers hold the digital camera locked in on the motion provides weight to each single punch. The oners make the scenes visceral and dynamic in a method that tv often doesn’t ship. We’re even handled to an unimaginable 57-minute motion sequence through the closing night time as Winston faces off towards Cormac. Not solely are there stellar shootouts, however the few occasions we get hand-to-hand fight, it’s brutal in the perfect sense.
Sadly, as The Continental progresses, it hardly ever reaches the highs of that opening scene. The present shortly falls into explosion-heavy scenes with transient fights sprinkled all through till we attain a finale that cranks issues as much as eleven. It’s an intentional strategy to how the narrative is crafted, however it results in lulls all through. Fortunately, there are many different issues to maintain your consideration.
That being mentioned, The Continental takes full benefit of the time interval through which it’s set. Every episode begins with an unimaginable opening credit score sequence harking back to Cunning Brown or James Bond movies. The collection makes use of needle drops all through, tapping into key songs of the period. The visible aesthetic additionally units the present’s tone, giving it a pulpy environment that echoes Nineteen Seventies cinema.
Nevertheless, the collection doesn’t merely use the flashing lights and music to face out because it additionally blends them into the core id of the story. Administrators Albert Hughes (Nights 1 and three) and Charlotte Brändström (Evening 2) have discovered a strategy to hold the collection recent regardless that motion dramas of the Nineteen Seventies and the John Wick movies closely affect it.