'The Continental: From The World Of John Wick (2023)' isn't bad, but pretty much everything about it is just a little bit underwhelming. Perhaps if it wasn't linked to one of the greatest action franchises of all time, this wouldn't be as much of an issue. Still, the mini-series suffers from a slow pace, an uneven narrative, an uninspired screenplay and a lack of truly noteworthy action (again, the bar is set higher due to its place as a spin-off from the 'John Wick' films). It has a tendency to introduce plot elements only to cap them off in a very rushed way or never really revisit them at all, and a lot of its narrative feels sort of unnecessary. It's almost as if the piece would have been better if it compressed its first two episodes into a single forty-five minute chunk of set-up, trimmed just a little bit of fat off the final episode and then stuck these two elements together to play out as a movie that could still have been shorter than 'John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)'. Instead, we get a lot of fluff that's interrupted by various spouts of generally compelling but also somewhat lacklustre action (it almost feels too choreographed, deliberately showy yet not refined enough to be so). It isn't exactly vital viewing, and it also suffers from the fact that it never really feels like a credible predecessor to anything 'John Wick' related (this Winston doesn't seem like the Winston we all know and love, for instance). There are plenty of good moments, though, and the overall affair is engaging enough to keep you watching. Mel Gibson is suitably unhinged as the piece's solvent-sniffing villain, and a few of the set-pieces are undeniably entertaining. The final episode is by far the best, which makes it arguably even more frustrating that we don't arrive at it sooner. Ultimately, this is a solid effort that wouldn't be as disappointing if it didn't tie itself to the 'John Wick' series.
Review of The Continental
