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Reviews
Fool Me Once: Episode #1.3 (2024)
Getting a bit daft
It started out ok. Quite a good concept I suppose (in terms of seeing the deceased husband alive and well on a nanny cam). But it never really builds on this revelation imo. The drama just feels a bit forced to me. The lead characters former career in the military is a bit clichéd.
Also, at the end of the episode, the lead character suspects there's an intruder in the house, and you can hear her infant daughter crying out. What does she do? Rushes to see whats going on, to protect her daughter? No. She goes down stairs to calmly pull on some shooting gloves and get her gun. No real parent suspecting their child was in danger would do this! A bit ridiculous.
The Killer (2023)
Good but not great
I enjoyed it whilst I was watching it - yes it's quite slow as other people have commented but didn't really bother me whilst I was in the midst of it. By the end though, I don't know...just seems a bit 'meh'?
I think my main issue is the story of revenge didn't seem fully fleshed out. We didn't really see what happened to his girlfriend other than she obviously got a bit of a beating (albeit a survivable one).
Worst still, we have no idea who these people really are, and it's never really fully explored. We just go from one target to the next until the end. Maybe that's part of the point and draws parallels to his life as a hitman (faceless targets) but just felt it could have been done better to give more meaning to the protagonist's actions.
Jack Ryan: Strongman (2019)
What happened to the writing? Where's the intelligence?
Gee-whizz, where to even start. Season 2 to this point has been "ok". Not brilliant, but not terrible.
But this episode just seems to throw any sense of realism out of the window. I love an action sequence or two in a thriller of course, but it has to make sense. It has to be believable. This was certainly not believable AT ALL.
I am of course talking about Jack and Mike deciding to "go get Greer" and essentially mount an assault on the Venezuelan Presidential Palace. I mean, really? They're not even meant to be in the country at this point, with no back up or support or so they said in the previous episode, yet it seems pretty easy to call in a few favours and have 3 black hawk style helicopters turn up to launch an offensive. As if to insult our intelligence even more, Mike reminds Jack not to go after Reyes as "they don't have the authority". Oh really? But you do have the authority to fly a US helicopter in Venezuelan airspace and drop off a 5-man assault force on the roof of the Presidential Palace, in order to rescue your friend? Ok then. That sounds legit.
What ensues at this point is something more like out of John Wick. Jack and co mercilessly stab, slash and gun down anyone that crosses their path - from fully kitted up soldiers to basic security guards just minding their own business. They must slay about 30-50 people.
Anyway, just when you thought that was ridiculous enough...right at the end, it turns out Jack has sussed out the final piece of the puzzle - and it was none other than his senator buddy he called up every now and then for some help that was behind it all.
Jack gives him a grilling, and lets him know he's very upset with him and even goes as far as to label this Senator guy a murderer. Now hang on a minute Jack, you hypocrite. A few scenes ago you were gunning people down left, right and centre but now this guys the murderer?
Surely the writers can do better than this? I really hope so because if it carries on like this in Season 3 I'll be bowing out.
A disappointing end to an average season, and one that fell way short of the standard that Season 1 set. I'm starting to see why there's only 4 seasons...
Jack Ryan: Dressed to Kill (2019)
Hmmm it's ok but...not great
So Max - who only an episode ago was stabbed in the eye, and stabbed in his thigh TWICE - is able to outrun and escape from an un-injured man across a London rooftop. He wasn't even limping as he scampered across those roofs!
Also Uber...a man that was hounded to join the team...for what? He has no special skills of note? Other people can drive the boat as is shown so why the big push to get him involved? Why did he leave the boat anyway? Ok...he saw some movement along the ridgeline but that didn't mean he had to abscond the way he did. And then got his gun snatched by a child. Oh dear. He definitely should have stayed at home.
I like the Jack Ryan series (so far) but some of the characters and writing is a bit questionable at times.
The Terminal List: Detachment (2022)
Straying from the book but still a good watch
So yeah...it's straying more and more from the book as the episodes tick by BUT that doesn't stop this from being a very good series. It's still following the same general jist of the book but the way it's playing out and the ordering of Reece's targets is quite different. Going to be interesting to see how they close it out...
The Terminal List: The Engram (2022)
Very good opening episode...
Yes, there are some changes from the book - some pretty significant and some pretty small, but overall this is a very good first episode and hopefully sets the tone for the rest of the season.
Ambulance (2022)
Terrible
I should have known what to expect with a Michael Bay film. But this was just ridiculous. So many plot holes and character decisions that just made no sense whatsoever. Example...they enter a seemingly deserted bank via an underground parking lot (that's just holding $32 million in cash on a table) and the plan is to walk out the front door onto the Main Street with bags of money on their backs, despite them already realising there is a policeman outside. This is just one example, but there are dozens.
Absolutely terrible.
Reacher (2022)
A decent series, but felt a bit cheesy & phoned in by the end
Really enjoyed the first season but felt it got a bit cliched and predictable by the end. A couple of examples...Reacher doesn't miss random bad guys but will miss the main bad guy time and time again in the final fight. How did Picard get back to the warehouse? He just appears in order to face off against his old pal. A bit cheesy!
Looking forward tonS2 though - hopefully they can make a bit more gritty and realistic (and less cheese!)
Gangs of London (2020)
TV doesn't come much better than this
I reviewed the first episode a few days ago and I've now finished the season. Wow. Gripping stuff.
Excellently written, shot, and acted with plenty of action and twists along the way. Absolutely pull NO punches, but it's real and gritty - if that's not for you, you may we'll have to look away every now and then. I thoroughly enjoyed it and powered through the season in a couple of days.
Season 2? Not sure... a few loose ends by the time the credits rolled, so who knows?
Gangs of London: Episode 1 (2020)
A gripping opening episode!
I went into GoL without much prior knowledge, other than a friend's recommendation. What followed blew me away.
Whilst a lengthy first episode, it whips along at a good pace and does an excellent job of setting the scene, and who the key players are. I disagree with the critics review that it drags in places and needs tightening up. I was gripped and this is from someone that really struggles to sit through a lot of films/tv in one sitting.
It reminds me of GoT in a way - a number of rival families and organisations vying for power in the wake of the untimely death of the Head of the gang.
If this first episode is anything to go by, this has plenty of potential and could be something quite special. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.
Dead to Me (2019)
Excellent TV
What a fantastic series this turned out to be. I wasn't sold at all in the first 15-20mins but glad I stuck it out as there's some excellent storytelling here. Love the way new bits of the story unravel in each episode.
Top notch performances as well from Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini.
The Purge (2018)
Not good...poor acting and ridiculous story
Well. This is the 2nd Amazon series that has left me very disappointed (Jack Ryan being the other).
It starts off ok, but descend into stupidity pretty quickly. The characters make the most ridiculous decisions, it's crazy.
For example, the marine guy wins a car (crazy in itself) that you'd think he'd use to get around town to find his sister. Instead, he gives it away within 10mins to a guy he just met for letting him look at a few cctv screen essentially, and heads off to find his sister on foot, lol.
The lines are pretty cheesy and cliched too.
Maybe I was just expecting too much.
Jack Ryan (2018)
Why is Ryan so green?
I'm only a couple of episodes in here and I'm enjoying it so far but it's frustrating me that they're making Jack Ryan (who is a former MARINE) look so green. He claimed he couldn't go to into the field in Ep 1 as he was an Analyst- would a former marine really be so apprehensive about such a thing? Wasn't like they were going on a combat mission. In most scenes he looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Later, the sight of a dead body nearly has him vomiting. I'm sure any marine with tours of Afghan under their belt will have seen a number of horrible things during that time.
That said I am enjoying the show, but finding these things highly annoying at the moment.