The first thing is the very uneven tone of the whole story. On the one hand, we’re dealing with a spy production in which the villain is not afraid to shoot his accountant in the middle of the party because he thought he was robbing him – a solid amount of blood and more substantial pieces of brain will land on the face of one of the musicians who happened to have it Unfortunately, he was standing right next to it. And this is not an isolated case, “FUBAR” is a rather brutal production, with characters throwing meat left and right (literally and figuratively). On the other hand, the whole thing is also pleasantly comedic (sometimes filled with “dad” humor) and just as I love black comedies, here I had the impression that these two different tones clash with each other. The serious moments are sometimes too serious for the counter humor. In the end, though, I had a pretty good time from start to finish.
Speaking of the plot, it should be noted that although thematically it definitely has its moments, the intrigue contained in it is not the strongest. Ridiculous coincidences and the lack of professionalism of the CIA can be explained by the need to inject a dose of humor into the story, so I don’t pick on it, but holes in logic, unnecessary, dangerous plays and missed opportunities sting the eyes and unnecessarily irritate. I understand the title of the show is FUBAR (F-ed Up Beyond All Repair), so the situation must gradually become more and more hopeless, but it certainly could have been shown in a more believable way. As if that wasn’t enough, the thing ends in the most hated way for me, leaving virtually all threads except (except one) for the next season. Well, I hate it when writers do this to me!
FUBAR (2023) – review of the series [Netflix]. It entertains, moves … And explodes as it should
Schwarzenegger and Barbara are great as father and daughter – they make the whole series worth watching, they set the tone and pace. He is great at what he does and so is she. The problem is that their idea of the latter has nothing to do with reality, so the father is outraged by the betrayal and worries as hell for his daughter, while she is outraged by the betrayal and… Finally, he can stop pretending that he doesn’t despise his father more than a bedbug or some other insignificant bug. The crux of the whole conflict is that in fact both are exactly the same person, which neither of them completely notices and does not want to accept. In places, their blindness is a bit annoying, because as much as possible, but looking more broadly, it is the single, most coherent and most efficiently conducted theme of the entire series.
The side cast also makes a good impression. Gabriel Luna manages to give his villain a little depth, making the viewer despise him as a person, but also sympathize with him for how cruel life has been to him. It is a pity that the script does not turn more towards his human side, sometimes literally without a gram of intuition dealing with his character. Uncle Barry (Milan Carter) regularly provides viewers with reasons to laugh, and once in a while he manages to surprise and move them. However, there is nothing to talk about with the duet of Roo and Aldon (Fortune Feimster and Travis Van Winkle). If the duo of the main characters is the heart of the show, these are the core of its humor layer – especially pounding straight from the bridge Roo, although the handsome agent has its moments.
Interestingly, the action scenes are the worst in all of this. Arnie is getting old and it shows unfortunately. He just stands there like this stake and pretends to throw punches. Directly, these moments are simply monotonous. Barbara is a little better, but generally the way the action is shot is not a strong point of the series. For a first shot for a dinosaur like Arnie, “FUBAR” is a pretty solid production. A lot of things didn’t work, but the whole thing is a surprisingly pleasant piece of television. The trick is not to take it too seriously.
Here is the cast and crew of FUBAR (2023):
- Cast:
- John Cena as John Smith
- Steve Austin as Steve Jones
- Terry Crews as Terry Williams
- Crew:
- Director: Nick Santora
- Writer: Nick Santora
- Producer: Nick Santora
- Cinematographer: Craig Wrobleski
- Editor: Michael McMurray
- Music: John Debney
Here are some key points about FUBAR (2023):
- It is an action comedy film about a CIA operative on the verge of retirement who discovers a family secret and is forced to go back into the field for one last job.
- It was written and directed by Nick Santora and stars John Cena, Steve Austin, and Terry Crews.
- It was released on Netflix on May 25, 2023.