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review of the Netflix series with Arnold Schwarzenegger…

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review of the Netflix series with Arnold Schwarzenegger…

Four years after the commercial fiasco of Terminator – Dark Fatefailed attempt to revive a franchise of which he was the iconic face, Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to the protagonist of a project of international scope. She does it however for the first time on the small screen with Fubar, series in 8 episodes available from May 25 on Netflix, and once again playing with his story as an action comedy star. The idea behind Fubar (from the acronym FUBAR, i.e. Fucked Up Beyond All Repair) has in fact more than one point of contact with True Lies Of James Cameronwhich starred him along with Jamie Lee Curtis of a tangle of family secrets inserted in an adrenaline-pumping action movie.

Also Fubardeveloped by Nick Santora, is based on a devastating secret, which in this case is twofold. Luke Brunner (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who for years has been an absent father and a mediocre husband due to his work as an undercover CIA agent, discovers during a mission that his daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro) carries out the same profession, always unaware of the family. While in the background stands the threat of the dangerous international terrorist Boro (Gabriel Luna), father and daughter are thus forced to deal with a complex and unprecedented for them personal and work dynamics, made up of resentment and lack of communication. A relationship to be rebuilt, which inevitably also affects Tally (Emma’s mother and Luke’s ex-wife) and Carter (Jay Baruchel), with whom the girl experiences a sentimental relationship made up of ups and downs.

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Fubar: Arnold Schwarzenegger in the new Netflix series that winks at True Lies

Cr. Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix © 2023

Beyond its (many) demerits and its (few) merits, Fubar it is indicative of the state of the art of the entertainment landscape, and Netflix in particular. Until a few years ago, the idea of ​​giving life to a derivative and unpretentious product, totally centered on the figure of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his cinematographic history, would in all probability have given life to a simple feature film, which with the right dose of self-irony might even have been enjoyable and convincing. In full 2023, this slender and fragile idea even flows into a series of 8 episodes, all of which last a disproportionately about an hour. A sign of the times and of a growing taste for watered down and extremely stretched narratives, which beyond increasingly rare exceptions unites a large part of the original productions of the main streaming platforms.

In front of the work of the large team of screenwriters of this series, there is even a sincere admiration to be felt, as net of the defects it must not have been easy at all to stretch the subject up to this impressive duration, with better results all in all compared to other contemporary shows, including the television adaptation of the same True Lies. In the absence of the will and the human material suitable to push on pure action, Fubar focuses on the relationship between the two protagonists, managing to stay afloat above all thanks to the charisma of Monica Barbaro (already at ease in Top Gun: Maverick) and to an Arnold Schwarzenegger always over the top, effective until he is asked to give life to prolonged dialogues, decidedly unsuitable for his rigid and woody acting.

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Between quotations and ineffective humour

Fubar Netflix 3
Cr. Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix © 2023

Beyond this and predictable narrative twists, there’s very little good in Fubar. The references to the filmography of Arnold Schwarzenegger (among others, also Last Action Hero – The last great hero and the inevitable Terminator) are mere winks to the more experienced viewers, which add nothing to the story. On the other hand, the outdated and dated characterizations of some characters are disarming, such as that of the nerd Barry (Milan Carter), despite the painstaking efforts made in the final episodes to overturn stereotypes that would have seemed out of place already in the 90s.

The most serious problem of Fubar however, it lies in the lack of a tone capable of making sense of this hodgepodge of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career on Netflix. The show swings between spy story and family comedy, with poor results on both sides. The humor is often childish, dated at best, and based entirely on the communication difficulties between father and daughter and the flaws of the secondary characters. Furthermore, there is a lack of will to deal with the complexities of contemporary society, and even when one touches upon the politically incorrect, the irony is harmless and never scathing. Material which, we repeat, could have been enough for a straight-to-video film from 20 years ago, but which doesn’t have the strength to hold up to 8 hours today.

Fubar is available from May 25 on Netflix

Fubar Netflix 4
Cr. Amanda Matlovich/Netflix © 2023

Even if it’s nice to find him in a leading role, albeit a little worn and embossed, one can only feel a pinch of melancholy in front of this Arnold Schwarzenegger, who after his term as Governor of California struggles to find roles that are not self-parodic or somehow related to its glorious past. After Fubar, we just have to wait for June 7 for the arrival on Netflix of Arnold, documentary miniseries dedicated to his life and career. A chance to admire the best Schwarzenegger again, and not the tired and listless protagonist of this faded series.

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Offer

True Lies

True Lies

  • Registrar: James Cameron
  • Schwarzenegger/Curti (Actor)
  • Audience Rating: Not rated

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