![]() You can’t help but appreciate the admiration the series has for the real-life men and women like Reece, who undertake demanding training in the name of dedicating their lives - and then put them on the line - for a cause greater than themselves.Īnd for some viewers, that will be reason enough to watch it.With Prime Video’s highly anticipated adaptation of Jack Carr's action thriller The Terminal List set to air on Friday, July 1, it’s a better time than ever to get a refresher on the best seller that inspired it. It has a lot going for it, but storytelling momentum really isn’t one of them. You can see how some arguably important context would have been lost as Carr’s story was pared down for a roughly two-hour runtime, but it also may have made for a stronger piece of entertainment, one with a quicker pace.Īs it stands, “The Terminal List” simply has too many stretches that invite the viewer to lose interest. He said on a recent episode of the excellent podcast “Smartless,” hosted by actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, that there was a possibility early on in development “The Terminal List” may have been made into a movie instead of a series. Pratt acquired the rights to adapt Carr’s novel and, along with the author, Fuqua, DiGillo and others, serves as a producer. That said, many of the qualities that have helped him become an appealing movie star are on display in “The Terminal List.” His gift for comedy isn’t one of them, however, as there isn’t much reason for jokes with this story. Pratt - in theaters now with the unfairly pounded “Jurassic World Dominion” and already on Amazon’s streaming platform with the 2021 movie “The Tomorrow War” - can be a little much in spots here. ![]() Wu (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Fresh Off the Boat”) brings some energy to the myriad scenes she shares with Pratt, and Kitsch (“Battleship,” TV’s “Friday Night Lights”) shares an easy chemistry with the star. Gunn, who has shared the screen with Pratt in Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, does so here, as well, in a fairly impactful scene. Secretary of Defense Lorraine Hartley Jai Courtney as Steven Horn, a ruthless businessman and Sean Gunn as Saul Agnon, an associate of Horn’s. ![]() Notable supporting players in “The Terminal List” include Jeanne Tripplehorn, as U.S. Chris Pratt, left, and Taylor Kitsch share a scene in “The Terminal List.” (Courtesy of Prime Video) The story’s scope increases as she and Reece uncover evidence about a scheme that may or may not ultimately be about money. Reece develops an uneasy partnership with a reporter, Katie Buranek (Constance Wu), who initially is endeavoring to write a piece about highly trained men such as Reece and his men being overtaxed by those above them. While we can’t get into too much detail about the remainder of the series, it is ultimately a tale of revenge, with Reece regularly adding names to the show’s namesake list and then crossing them off with, yes, extreme prejudice. “I think you got your deck shuffled pretty (expletive) good, though.”Īnd while watching “The Engram,” we suspect it’s more the former, as we know there is much more of this story to come. In fact, he asks a longtime friend - Ben Edwards (Taylor Kitsch), a man he fought alongside years earlier and whom he regularly calls “Brother” - if he thinks it’s the latter. This first hour, written by showrunner David DiGilio (“Eight Below”), works to keep you guessing as to whether there is a massive conspiracy afoot or if Reece simply is losing his mind. “The Terminal List” attempts to blend the serious issue of the mental and physical toll war takes on combatants with thrilling, at times over-the-top action sequences and a narrative that becomes increasingly far-fetched as the series runs through its eight hourlong installments. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “The Magnificent Seven”), the debut episode, “The Engram,” establishes the push-and-pull nature of the series.
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