by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
The line between television and films grows blurrier each year. Streaming continues to bleed money, so what better way to generate revenue than to take a low risk on a show that has a built-in audience from a movie? The strategy doesn’t always work, as certain shows that attempt to expand a movie’s world fall flat. Since we’ll be seeing more shows like this in the future, Peacock decided to take a flyer on expanding John Wick into TV. I get the move, simply because the underground world of assassins is ripe for expansion.
Of all the stories to tell, starting with how a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) got the New York Continental Hotel is an interesting choice. In the original John Wick, he’s never a character I want to know more about. Starting the (theoretical) John Wick universe with this story runs into trouble since we already know what happens, and it ultimately ends with the Continental being in Winston’s hands. There’s no stakes or real tension with Winston, or a lot of the main characters for that matter. The Continental glances over a lot of the details that would have helped us understand who Winston is as a character, and since there’s a minimal amount of time to get through the miniseries, we have to piece through what we already know about him from the movies to help inform decision-making and motivation. Don’t even get me started on the inconsistent accent between Woodell and Ian McShane, which is ticky-tack, but still noticeable.
Like every John Wick movie, there are a lot of characters to get to know in a short amount of time. One of the issues with The Continental is there are far too many of them. Because of the volume of new people, it’s hard to determine which characters you should invest your time in before the end. Two new characters that I really like, though, are Miles (Hubert Point-Du Jour) and Lou (Jessica Allain), siblings with different views but who come from a former member of the High Table. Their chemistry is outstanding, and since they have differing views of violence, it makes their dynamic fascinating within this universe. Point-Du Jour is great as Miles, and I’m hoping to see more of him in the future at some point.
There are so many other characters that I wish we had more time with, and some where I wonder why they’re in the series to begin with. A detective in New York named KD (Mishel Prada) gets some of the plot points that could have been used to flesh out some of the other characters. Her place in the story doesn’t really make sense, because none of the other John Wick movies have police in them, so why does The Continental? I wanted more time with Frankie (Ben Robson) and his wife Yen (Nhung Kate). We get a brief glimpse at their backstory, but not enough for us to truly get to know them as characters. Both Robson and Kate do fine, but neither of them are given much to work with.
The main villain is Cormac O’Connor (Mel Gibson), and he’s just like a lot of other John Wick villains. We know next to nothing about him — not how he came to take over the Continental, his life before he was in charge, whether he is even an assassin, or anything like that. Gibson is so over-the-top that it’s hard for me to take him seriously. We don’t even know how he got in possession of the item that the whole series revolves around. Overall, Gibson overdoes it with his performance, and his character isn’t fleshed out. I’m not asking for a dissertation on these characters, but some guidance would be helpful, especially since there are only a handful of legacy characters we already know.
With the show taking place in the 1970s, the aesthetics are outstanding. It’s a whole different era for the John Wick universe, where things are way more brutal and not as sophisticated as the movies. The costumes and the sets, particularly the look of the Continental before they invested to make it look nicer in the movies, are excellent. Music choices are great, but I can imagine that’s where 30% of the show’s budget went. If you’re looking for a great tour of ‘70s hits, this is the show to watch.
We all go to John Wick movies for the action, and The Continental doesn’t disappoint. Everything from the fight choreography to the action stunts works, and are a cut above what we’d normally get in a television show, but not at all to the level of any of the movies. The final episode of the series definitely ratchets up the action. Coupled with the action, the violence can be a bit off-putting for people. It wasn’t completely so for me, but there was one part involving a musician that caused me to take a breather afterward.
The Continental offers a look at what the John Wick expanded universe can look like. I like exploring the world of assassins in different eras (maybe sometime in the future, we can also get one about different country’s assassins), and of having someone we’re semi-familiar with to follow. It’s a good first step, and as a fan of the John Wick, I was going to watch it anyway. This isn’t going to attract new viewers, though, because the story is just okay and there are too many characters to follow for only four and a half hours of content. My hope is that moving forward, the creatives behind the franchise can continue to cultivate a more intriguing story, and develop some of these characters, and not make everything so disposable like in the movies.
Rating: Low Side of Liked It
The Continental is currently streaming on Peacock
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