When I reached the forty minute mark of the first episode of "The Continental", the prequel/spin-off miniseries set in the same universe as the "John Wick" movies...I suddenly realized I had better things to do with my life than sit through this painfully boring waste of time. I could boil water, do laundry, clean the house, go grocery shopping or even watch paint dry. All of those activities would have been more interesting and entertaining than sitting through one more minute of this awful show.
The cinematography is garbage which in turn makes the show look ugly with a sickly feel about it...and that despite the fact that the setting of this programme is the 1970s... some of it in New York. If you can make 1970s New York look worse than it did in reality...well that is some kind of an achievement... though not a positive one.
The soundtrack is wholly uninspired and all over the place. The direction and pacing are shoddy. The cast is completely unremarkable, bland and forgettable. I hoped that having added Mel Gibson into the mix would have lent some weight and credibility. But he is completely wasted here. The only thing Gibson reminds me of is the fact that he was in a very similarly themed, way better and more entertaining movie called "Payback" (1999). Now, as far as I can see "Payback" seems to have had somekind of influence on the "John Wick" franchise and even "The Continental"... right down to the hotel in question.
The action scenes are nothing new and if you've seen the Wick movies...well there's not going to be anything else for you here. Same if you've seen "Extraction" (1+2), "Atomic Blonde" or "Mr. Nobody" , all of them better than anything "The Continental" has to offer.
Personally, I loved the first "John Wick" movie. Foolishly I went to see the second one.. and it just confirmed for me that I wasn't interested in this franchise or anything that followed. I have no wish or desire to further watch "The Continental" or anything else affiliated with the Wick franchise.
The cinematography is garbage which in turn makes the show look ugly with a sickly feel about it...and that despite the fact that the setting of this programme is the 1970s... some of it in New York. If you can make 1970s New York look worse than it did in reality...well that is some kind of an achievement... though not a positive one.
The soundtrack is wholly uninspired and all over the place. The direction and pacing are shoddy. The cast is completely unremarkable, bland and forgettable. I hoped that having added Mel Gibson into the mix would have lent some weight and credibility. But he is completely wasted here. The only thing Gibson reminds me of is the fact that he was in a very similarly themed, way better and more entertaining movie called "Payback" (1999). Now, as far as I can see "Payback" seems to have had somekind of influence on the "John Wick" franchise and even "The Continental"... right down to the hotel in question.
The action scenes are nothing new and if you've seen the Wick movies...well there's not going to be anything else for you here. Same if you've seen "Extraction" (1+2), "Atomic Blonde" or "Mr. Nobody" , all of them better than anything "The Continental" has to offer.
Personally, I loved the first "John Wick" movie. Foolishly I went to see the second one.. and it just confirmed for me that I wasn't interested in this franchise or anything that followed. I have no wish or desire to further watch "The Continental" or anything else affiliated with the Wick franchise.