Review of the series “Continental” – forgive us, Giardani Jovonovich, without you we could not cope

Expanding major cinematic universes is a dangerous and often disastrous endeavor. Usually the creators are not guided by a script plan, but by a banal desire to make money. The result is that lame spin-offs and offshoots make even the most devoted fans grimace. There are many examples of this approach, but the main one is of course Disney, which has already ruined the Marvel Universe and is stubbornly finishing Star Wars.

The idea of ​​John Wick was a real breath of fresh air for the action film genre. A polished man in a coat destroys dozens of enemies, not forgetting to reload his weapon, taking any damage and balancing on the edge of life and death. At the same time, Wick was never positioned as a positive character. The whole epic mess started just because of the death of a beloved dog.

However, in the fourth part there was little left of his former greatness – John began cartoonishly falling down the stairs and surviving after whole volleys, covering himself with only part of his jacket. Against the background of the progressive ideological impotence of the writers, it became especially clear why John Wick was once loved: style down to the last detail, thoughtful and very original action with the right music, an unusual world with its own laws and, strangely enough, characters .

There were few of the latter, but they appeared consistently in each volume, taking on character and recognizable features. Among these heroes are Winston Scott, the manager of the Continental Hotel, and the administrator Charon, who checks into the rooms of everyone who wanted and had the right to relax within the walls of an unusual establishment.

The role of Winston was played by Ian McShane, and it is to him that the audience should thank him for such a texture of an apparently quite supporting character.

In three one-and-a-half-hour episodes, ‘The Continental’ would tell how Scott came to his post and what he did before becoming Wick’s friend and mentor. To give the writers a free hand, they took the hero’s youth as a basis, which means that the actor had to be changed.

As much as we bash Disney, they even named the same Mark Hamill for Luke Skywalker’s cameo. Charisma and skill are not easily replaced, and there is a risk that the new actor simply won’t fit the character. This is exactly what happened to Winston.

The character Colin Woodell created is interesting in his own way, but has nothing in common with that same manager. Instead of a calculating, emphatically polite, intelligent and ironic man, we have an irascible and talkative man. In general, there is nothing more to say about Winston. The rake and aspiring gigolo is drawn into the criminal world by the death of his brother, but does not change at all under the pressure of events. Same as Winston in the first episode, same in the last. Furthermore, almost the entire first episode is spent on exposition and explanation of motives, making this an average feature-length film.

The story of his formation proves to be banal to the point of teeth-grinding ‘revenge’, which is also extremely tastelessly written. There isn’t a single unexpected twist or unusual situation here, and instead of hair-raising action, there’s just empty chatter, from which your eyes start to stick together.

When we first started watching the series, we expected some kind of “battle of wits.” Winston was never known for his fighting spirit in the films. On the contrary, he always acted as an outside observer, making decisions only after careful planning. There’s nothing like this in the series, not even close. Winston shoots like everyone else, and his genius and caution are reflected in a single plan, which ultimately still does not go as planned.

The antagonist was Cormac, Continental’s current manager. He was played by Mel Gibson, and he turned out to be so-so. The creators have managed to create a memorable and effective villain, not inferior to the one from the main film series. However, Cormac is an example of absurd stupidity. His actions often lack any meaning, which only causes bewilderment.

Killing Cormac and taking over the hotel is Winston’s plan and literally the plot of all three episodes. In the first, the audience is painfully explained why all this is necessary, in the second there is preparation and in the third there is actual execution. This kind of storytelling could be forgiven if the show at least tried to be an action movie. But no, we are dealing with a full-fledged drama here, where the action moments can easily be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Already in the second episode, thoughts creep in that the new product could be much shorter. The timing has been stretched because of Winston’s ‘team’. Of course, it is impossible to conquer the Continental alone, which is why our hero decides to gather like-minded people.

When Winston himself is revealed to be extremely superficial, the situation with the other characters only becomes worse. Here’s the African-American karateka brother and sister, here’s an old sniper, here’s a Vietnamese ninja woman. By the end, it’s hard to remember what each of them is fighting for. Spoiler: the majority are just interested. That’s the motivation.

Plot-wise, “Continental” is an extremely hacky work that is just boring to watch. There’s no depth behind the characters’ endless conversations, you don’t want to sympathize with any of them, and what happens just makes you gape. Does the show have no redeeming qualities? There are a few more.

Firstly, the visual style. The gloomy image in medium-dark colors creates a pleasant atmosphere of New York in the 1970s. The makers have also not cut back on the music. Many well-known hits from that time occasionally play in the background, although not always out of place.

Second, the action. There isn’t much of it, and it’s made with much less imagination than the original films, but what happens is entertaining. The 10-minute opening scene is a direct reference to John Wick. And the capture of the hotel itself is a series of well-staged battles. Although the creators never understood what exactly was cool about John Wick turning gunfights into a dance, they at least thought about adding a variety of different means of killing. It’s fascinating to see how all this is used for its intended purpose.

The writers tried to expand knowledge, but it turned out to be so. Remember those references to Greek mythology and the parallels between that same Charon the skipper and Charon at the hotel reception accepting gold coins? Never mind. Fortunately, the whole idea was lost, which resulted in a funny inconsistency, and for some reason the parents decided to name a modest boy from a hot country with a menacing name for the messenger of death from a completely different culture. But a machine appeared to mint those same coins. As the main conflict progresses, the second develops: Cormac must find the machine stolen from the Continental by Winston’s brother at all costs.

It turns out that whoever owns a simple device can actually dictate their demands to the Board of Killer Clans, further breaking the canon built in the main series. As we know from the fourth part, there are hotels in various cities on the planet. It turns out there is only one machine? Or does each hotel have its own hotel? And if there is only one, why is it stored in the New York Continental? And if Winston, who of course got the device for himself in the finale, has the right to disagree with the board, why did he allow this board to destroy the hotel in the same fourth film? In general, it is better not to think about how exactly the series expands the universe of Baba Yaga.

Continental is surprisingly bad at almost everything. Spending almost five hours of your life on a series whose only positives are the visuals and the final battle is a questionable undertaking. If you miss the aesthetic of John Wick, you might want to watch the original films. We can only hope that “Ballerina,” as it undoubtedly will, turns out to be a little more meaningful. Otherwise, the creators will have to admit that this universe without Keanu Reeves simply cannot exist.