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The Terminal List Review: Chris Pratt's action series is a lacklustre affair all through
Chris Pratt's action series based on Jack Carr's novel stars him as a Navy Seal commander, James Reece. Read Pinkvilla's review of the show below.
The Terminal List
The Terminal List Cast: Chris Pratt, Constance Wu
The Terminal List Creator: David Digilio (Jack Carr novel)
The Terminal List Stars: 2/5
Chris Pratt stars in Amazon Prime's latest offering, the action-packed series, The Terminal List and this is among the actor's newest roles after Tomorrow War and Jurassic World franchise that stars him as a defence guy. It seems the actor himself is keen to present himself as the face of the American hero, the combat man who can take on any enemy be it species like dinosaurs or creatures from another planet, although with this series, the actor pretty much settles to fight against a system that not only wrongs him but also his fellow men from the platoon. He's a Navy Seal looking for redemption and he's not just armed with guns but also a deadly list, the Terminal list.
If you found my mention of the 'Terminal List' a tad dramatic, well then strap on with your seatbelts because Pratt's new show makes that drama feel double its volume as it combines what could have easily been a mediocre two and half-hour film into an eight-episode series that drudges for far longer than expected. Based on Jack Carr's 2018 novel by the same name, the series comes across a missed opportunity on building up a tight show that could explore post-war PTSD and a revenge drama genre in an engaging manner. Instead what we get is a half-baked attempt that focuses more on Pratt's James Reece doling out mindless violence.
In The Terminal List, James Reece (Pratt) is on a mission to seek revenge against the forces that ambushed his Navy SEAL platoon in the field. The series begins with Reece returning to his home, San Diego, following a mission to take away his men, only to learn that a few higher forces may have forced the situation on them. Hell-bent on finding answers to questions that could jeopardise his own as well as his family's life, Reece continues to dig deeper and soon finds himself with some unsettling answers that send him on a vengeance mode. On realising the people he has to go up against, Reece goes rogue and while he is on the run, he is helped by his ex-Seal, CIA buddy Ben (Taylor Kitsch). The story of his platoon's misfortunes is also being pursued by an online journalist, Katie (Constance Wu), who tries to reach out to Reece but whose intentions remain veiled at the beginning.
In terms of the plot on paper, The Terminal List comes across as an intriguing plot that has the potential to become a taut thriller although unfortunately, the Amazon show never does reach that potential. It remains stuck between a violent drama that has Pratt's Reece going on a killing spree, one adversary after another with little to no background given about the ones whom he's hunting. For Reece, it's a black and white world and hence either you are on his side to bring justice to the ones he lost or you are his enemy. There are also portions where we get to see the character struggling with his own mental health and while that could have been something that the makers should have delved more into, in order to not make Reece a one-dimensional character, it doesn't happen.
There is a lot that goes unexplained in The Terminal List and that's one of the big reasons why it is hard to concentrate on where the show is headed. The action sequences have been choreographed well but when there's little depth provided to the main characters, it seems pointless to watch since there's no one that you can truly root for or try to understand in terms of moralities or other matters. For Pratt's Reece, the world has turned its lights down on him and hence there's a constant glumness that he embodies which also happens to something that tonally the show maintains all through although what's a tad annoying is that visually as well, the dull tones keep making it hard for us to watch with concentration.
In terms of performances, while Chris Pratt tries to make Reece come across as a man of seeking justice and standing up against a powerful system, there's nothing impactful about his performance and despite him having a hit list on his hands, he's no Arya Stark (Game of Thrones) who could send chills down your spines with just the recitation and no amount of violence. Constance Wu who plays the journalist on the show seems a tad wasted here and the actress who is known to have played characters with a sharp wit in the past, seems underused here. Among the most impressive performances in the show its that from Taylor Kitsch as Ben. Riley Keough is also another star that seems grossly underused in the show.
The Terminal List all in all comes across as a massive disappointment given that it doesn't promise anything new but rather overrides the tropes of a genre that is already full of American heroes who put duty above everything else. The show makes for a dull watch that seems heavy in terms of an eight-hour investment considering the takeaways are too less.
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