![]() ![]() As with several stories of this oeuvre, the opening combat sequence is blindingly chaotic, noisy and dark (in a sewage system of course). The first half of the series depends a lot on what happens in the first ten minutes – the doomed mission, codename “Odinsword,” on a Syrian beach. This joke will land better once you’ve watched The Terminal List (and made your own list). The conspiracy itself has something to do with PTSD – that’s all I can give away without being sued – and I couldn’t help but wonder if James Reece was a narrative surrogate for the audience, and the people who betrayed him, the makers of the show. That’s because it’s hard to understand the intricacies based on the tele-writing alone there are so many shady dealings and random character off-shoots that the series descends into an orgy of top-brass whataboutery till the sixth episode. At least four different scenes feature the reporter incredulously spelling out her story in layman language so that we understand who and what James Reece is up against. Given the sheer population of the plot, there’s also an intrepid impact journalist named Katie (Constance Wu), who exists purely as a human expository tool. He also growls “I’m already dead” soon after. He growls “I am justice” in the penultimate episode. He strides past the fluttering American flag after taking down the first name. He suspects a massive military cover-up, goes rogue, bands with a bunch of long-time allies, and starts to target the names on his ‘terminal list’ leading right up to the top. He has nothing left to lose – which is code for “hell hath no fury like a commando-screenplay scorned”. On his return home, he suffers a personal tragedy. A legendary Navy SEAL named James Reece loses his entire platoon in a doomed mission. The premise is so stale that I’m pretty sure Channing Tatum, John Cena or Dwayne Johnson did an email version of it a decade ago. But I’ll come to Pratt and his crippling lack of dramatic heft later. In longer form, all the campy excesses of a revenge thriller lose their identity and play out like convoluted slow-motion reveals that are less surprising than Chris Pratt’s global stardom. ![]() As it turns out, there’s a good reason for that. I suppose the rationale behind this production is that we’ve seen this story a hundred times before, but never as a long-form narrative. But at least it wouldn’t be buried under the obligation of being a ‘binge-worthy’ adaptation of a best-selling novel written by a former Navy SEAL. It would have still been a tired marriage of conspiracy-thriller literary tropes and generic action film-making. That’s not to say it would have been better. The Terminal List could’ve been 400 minutes shorter. Turns out he is right and the US Gov't has an agenda and are against Reece, who's a decorated and respected soldier.“This 500-minute-long 8-episode series about a wronged Navy SEAL could’ve been a film” is the new “This meeting could’ve been an email”. The only who who believes him is his buddy (Kitsch). They keep telling him he's wrong and the trauma is why he's not remembering but it's much deeper than that. He gets a concussion and when explains to his bosses what happened they tell him he's wrong and have their own story of what actually happened. James Reece (Pratt) is a commander of a Navy Seals platoon that's wiped out except for him and his buddy. This show is full of action but it's not a mindless action show, it has a good story that keeps you entertained throughout the show. You don't get that kind of star power (especially Pratt) for a tv show unless you have a good show on your hands. It's absolutely loaded with star power led by Chris Pratt and also has incredible performances by the rest of this great cast including Taylor Kitsch, Riley Keough, Jai Courtney, Constance Wu, JD Pardo and Jeanine Tripplehorn just name a few. The Terminal List is an action packed thriller that will keep you at the edge of your seat throughout the entire series. ![]()
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