The Terminal List Review: Amazon Prime Video Series Is Entertaining And Predictable From Start To Finish

Cast: Chris Pratt, Taylor Kitsch, Constance Wu, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Riley Keough

Creator: David DiGilio

Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 2.5/5 (two and half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

After the series dedicated to the Jack Reacher born from the pen of Prime videos, Amazon Prime raises the bar by offering subscribers to the streaming platform The Terminal List, a product that features a character who can attract the same type of audience. The James Reece protagonist of the series is a Navy Seals who, after seeing his platoon of soldiers exterminated in an ambush in Syria, returns home to discover that the massacre is perhaps not the work of an enemy as far away as perhaps the machination. of forces conspiring on US territory itself. the search for truth and the thirst for revenge will lead Reece to stake much more than his safety…

The Terminal List Review: The Story

Bound by a list of things that cannot be revealed, even if they are not spoilers as much as fundamental aspects of the plot, useful to give an idea of ​​the series, we rely on the words of Prime Video for the plot of The Terminal List. Based on Jack Carr’s best-selling novel, it follows the story of James Reece, a US Navy SEAL officer on a mission to Syria. After his team gets ambushed during a high-risk covert operation, Reece returns home to his family with confused memories of the event and doubts about his responsibilities. However, as new evidence emerges, Reece discovers that dark forces are working against him, endangering not only his life but also the lives of those he loves.

Inspired by the novel of the same name written by ex-soldier Jack Carr, The Terminal List offers a technical and artistic cast worthy of film production: the absolute protagonist of the show is the star Chris Pratt, who returns to collaborate with Amazon after the success of The Tomorrow War. Next to him, among others Constance Wu and Taylor Kitsch, while directing the pilot we find none other than Antoine Fuqua, who has already directed Pratt in the remake of The Magnificent Seven. Despite a pedigree of this level, the series fails to guarantee the level of tension and spectacle that these premises had given hope. And this is because from the beginning it is evident that the attempt to combine the realism of the presentation of events and the need for entertainment cannot find an effective communion.

The Terminal List Review And Analysis

You can’t reveal much about Terminal List but what you can say is that there is not only pure action made up of fights and shootings, but it also has a thriller soul, linked to the conspiracy in which the protagonist ends up and that will keep you in suspense until the very end. Even for those who are accustomed to the vision of this kind of product, it will all be largely predictable. The series has Antoine Fuqua among the producers and directors and his hand is frankly very visible throughout the series, with his soul devoted to action, explosions and exaggerations.

The protagonist is the classic cartoon hero who always saves himself even when the feat seems impossible. The series, therefore, has many flaws, in terms of credibility it is almost a fantasy, especially in the various movements of our hero Reece. However, it is enjoyable for those looking for an adult adrenaline rush, in addition to that The Boys masterpiece is always on Prime Video. Chris Pratt continues his attempt to change his career and prove that he is no longer the likable chubby one he once was. It is a pity that he did not think of keeping a more ironic and light side because even in the rare moments present in Terminal List, he demonstrates how he is the ideal dress for him. After all, there is no shortage of cases of “light” action heroes.

Constance Wu is also a little out of place compared to the character, increasing the feeling of patchwork built at the table that you breathe in some moments. The layers that makeup Terminal List seem assembled by juxtaposition and without fluidity. The more dramatic flashback scenes seem more necessary to lengthen the story to reach the 8 episodes. But this is a defect of many series subjects that until a few years ago would have given life to films for the cinema.

This lack of subtlety is also noticeable in its political subplot, a clear indictment devoted to the government’s poor treatment of its elite soldiers, who risk their lives on secret missions and questionable targets for scraps. Nor does he hesitate to simplify himself more episode after episode and to waste a luxury secondary cast. Some walking stereotypes are played by the always solvent Constance Wu, a Taylor Kitsch who deserves more, or a JD Pardo who seems like a goop in the script. And the list goes on, with names like LaMonica Garrett, Riley Keough, Jai Courtney and Sean Gunn among many others, in roles so cliché that it is even insulting.

From the first second to the last, each event in The Terminal List unfolds predictably. Of course, as pure entertainment the series works perfectly, everything must be said. Its episodes, except for a few, are full of action, violence and intrigue, so much so that it will surely delight those fans of military conspiracies, especially those parents who never tire of seeing more of the same old over and over again. It may seem that I am falling into stereotypes, but we are not going to deny that most of the audience for this type of proposal is what it is. And there is nothing wrong with that, at all.

What is a pity is that, due to the demand for easily digestible products, the writers have decided to eliminate all the hot topics of the story almost completely. Its real problems, such as the situation of veterans in the country, who must settle for help or jobs for which they are overqualified, as well as the corruption that infects from the military itself to the top of the government, passing through the large corporations that they look at us from their skyscrapers as if we were ants to be trampled at will, they are mentioned as an important part of the plot but they are never deepened. The only thing that matters is blood and bullets.

This would not be such a serious problem if it were not for the fact that the series is believed to be deeper than it is. There is a big difference between showing ambition through a relevant script and thinking that having ambition means looking like a blockbuster, making up the result with a battered narrative background. It’s a trend that Prime Video has been following for some time now, and it may be guaranteed immediate success, but it’s also very fleeting. Yes, fiction is shot like the biggest Hollywood productions and it is difficult to realize that we are watching pure television. However, the sensation is of a product as enjoyable as it is forgettable. Too much money and too few nuts.

The Terminal List Review: The Last Words

The Terminal List represents an artistic step back for Amazon, as it tries to raise the bar while missing the target. The perhaps too ostentatious search for an underlying realism in storytelling situations and times ultimately damaged the need for entertainment, making the product a hybrid that is difficult to understand. Two more books have been dedicated to James Reece by Jack Carr so far, we will see if Amazon will continue in their adaptations in new seasons of The Terminal List. There is plenty of room for improvement…