arnold schwarzenegger he had focused his audiovisual career almost exclusively on cinema. It is true that she made occasional inroads on the small screen with titles such as ‘Tales from the Crypt’ or ‘Two and a Half Men’, but it was not until the premiere of ‘Superhero Kindergarten’ in 2021 that she had her first recurring role on television. Of course, there she only gave her voice to the main character, while in ‘FUBAR’the action comedy that Netflix premieres this Thursday, May 25, is the absolute protagonist of the function.
The actor himself sold ‘FUBAR’ at the time as little less than his new ‘Risky Lies’. As someone who had spent decades pining for a sequel to the best movie of James Cameron -that they promised it to us but then it never came to pass!-, this information immediately caught my attention. The problem is that it is a double-edged sword that can lead the Netflix series to cause some rejection in a first contact, since it does not even remotely reach the same level as the film released in 1994. Of course, whoever has a little patience will end up finding a good pastime here that leaves you wanting more.
From less to more
The first thing that becomes clear in ‘FUBAR’ is that those responsible they have done everything possible to make a series easy to digest by any type of viewer. It is true that here they do not apply the ‘Team A’ formula that nobody dies, but even the most violent moments feel accessible -perhaps there is a more striking moment in that way in the last episode, but nothing more-, a mere prolongation of the story in which, moreover, one never ends up believing that none of its protagonists is in a real situation of danger -despite the fact that there are several attempts in that direction-, not even in the season finale.
Here what works is something as improbable as the mixture of ingredients that do not shine separately either and that are already fixed from its first episode. There we already see that absolutely all the characters are mere archetypes and that the series created by Nick Santora (‘Scorpion’) is satisfied with that and a series of fairly simple plots to move forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if several get off the boat after watching its first episode, because even I myself was left with the feeling that it surely wasn’t worth it for me to keep going, but there comes the first virtue of ‘FUBAR’, and that is that it manages pretty effective cliffhangers so you at least want to see how that situation is going to be resolved. And that will be a tonic throughout all the chapters.
However, from the outset it is Schwarzenegger’s charisma that helps sustain the series, as there are other familiar faces in the cast such as gabriel moon (‘The Last of Us’), Monica Barbaro (‘Top Gun: Maverick’) or Jay Baruchel (‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’), but the only one who manages to transcend from the outset a frankly improvable base material is the protagonist of ‘The Last Great Hero’. The mere presence of him fills the screen and makes Luke’s troubled relationship with his daughter or the fact that he still regrets having to part with his wife less bland plots than they are. on paper.
To this we must add the fact that ‘FUBAR’ is a Netflix series is not a coincidence either, since visually it does not look particularly good and tends to look for a somewhat standard look, being halfway between that of a family comedy and that of a somewhat generic action story. Yes, there is a specific scene here and there with something more worked on, but whoever expects a great show in this way will end up quite disappointed.
I am aware that from everything I have said it seems that ‘FUBAR’ can aspire at most to a series that you have in the background while you do housework, and that is only because Schwarzenegger stars it, but something curious happens as the years go by. episodes, and it is that you enjoy them more and more without any of these drawbacks ever disappearing. There I am quite clear that one of the great keys is the dynamic that createsbecause it avoids the possibility of turning the series into the adventure of the week and that helps that greater sense of continuity is also transferred to other aspects of the series.
The characters themselves benefit the most from this point, since the humor is still a bit goofy -although it is fair to recognize that there are some inspired moments-, the action is not particularly exciting and the plots are somewhat obvious, but the links between them they gain strength, something especially evident in the case of the rest of the CIA team, who are initially little more than walking topics but who later grow fond of them. It is not that it goes into particular depth on them, but they do become more important, increasing the material they have at their disposal. We have a good example of this with the attempts of one of them to avoid a transfer, something that a priori would have given me completely the same and that ends up being very nice.
In addition, it gives the impression that those responsible for the series also feel more comfortable as the episodes go by, since they are aware of how far they can go, both in the plot and technically, and they focus on making everything as smooth as possible. entertaining as possible, that Schwarzenegger’s charisma continues to shine and that the rest of the characters contribute something. Also watch out for the brief but fun appearance of another of the protagonists of ‘Risky Lies’.
In other words, ‘FUBAR’ knows that deep down it’s nothing more than bullshit aimed at satisfying audiences of all kinds, so in no case does it squeeze anything out of what it proposes. In return, it is creating an effective climate of familiarity around its best asset and playing with its series status so that one is at least curious to know how it continues. Obviously, if the referent is ‘Risky Lies’, it loses by a landslide -it happens in everything, but it is especially notable in the case of action scenes-, but in isolation it is a sufficiently entertaining proposal that it is worth taking a look at the eight episodes that shape its first season. Although I am certain that there will be more to little that is successful.
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