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Early on in Prime Video‘s The Terminal List, Chris Pratt‘s Navy SEAL character James Reece is described as someone who’s “built to take a kick to the head.” Those words could easily describe this series, too — although maybe it’s taken a few too many kicks to the head already. A brutally violent and deadly serious military drama-slash-revenge thriller, The Terminal List (premiering this Friday; I’ve seen the first three episodes) is like The Fugitive meets SEAL Team meets a “Don’t Tread on Me” truck decal, with all of the delicacy and nuance that implies. It’s punishingly grim and hopelessly boneheaded… but at least it’s something new for the Amazon algorithm to recommend to your dad after he’s done watching Jack Ryan and Reacher.
Pratt’s Reece is a Navy SEAL commander whose entire platoon gets wiped out in an ambush that ends with a chaotic gunfight in an underground tunnel. A shattered Reece vows revenge on the faceless terrorist leader he holds responsible — I think his name is “Haqqani”? Does it even matter? — while the U.S. military brass investigate what went wrong. But Reece’s hazy memories don’t match the evidence, and he starts to suspect a deep-rooted conspiracy is targeting him for knowing too much. He puts together a list of enemies to wipe out, Arya Stark-style… but can he even trust his own mind?
It’s a pretty basic setup for a paranoid conspiracy thriller, but the scripts from showrunner David DiGilio (Strange Angel, Crossbones) — based on the Jack Carr novel — are woefully short on actual thrills. In their place, we’re served up huge helpings of red-meat masculinity, hardheaded jingoism and heavy-handed symbolism. (Oh, and lots and lots of American flags.) The dialogue is generic, but it’s also besides the point; it’s just a way to move us along to the next action scene. And those action scenes aren’t even all that great!
The Terminal List‘s plot defies logic, if you stop to think about it for even a minute, but it confidently shoves its way past any such concerns. It’s utterly humorless, too, punctuated by crude bursts of graphic violence. Even those aren’t effective, though: The action is bloody but not exciting, and the story is bewildering but not interesting. In between, we get saccharine family scenes and a paint-by-numbers conspiracy that gets more complicated but not any more compelling.
The cast is talented, to be sure, but they’re just going through the motions here. Pratt, so lively and goofy as Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation, is stoic to the point of constipation as Reece. Constance Wu has to unload a lot of exposition as nosy reporter Katie, and Taylor Kitsch has great tattoos, at least, as Reece’s military buddy Ben Edwards. It’s sad to see a gifted and versatile actress like Riley Keough stuck playing Reece’s blandly supportive military wife Lauren. It’s also hard to take Sean Gunn, aka Gilmore Girls‘ Kirk, at all seriously as a slimy corporate executive who ends up on Reece’s hit list.
There’s certainly room on TV for a pulse-pounding, thought-provoking conspiracy thriller with lots of action and intrigue — but in the case of The Terminal List, that mission gets badly botched.
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: Save yourself some time and delete Prime Video’s brawny, boneheaded military drama The Terminal List from your watch list.
But I get to look at Chris Pratt, yeah? 🤷🏼♀️
The book was amazingly good and kept you on the edge throughout the story. I look forward to watching this show over the long weekend to see how closely it matches the book.
So it sounds like a Trump lovers dream. I think I’m passing.
You seem nice!
You seem fun.
Ad hominem attacks aren’t helpful or persuasive.
In other words, cloying jingoism + masculinity fixation + GUNS and VIOLENCE + paranoid conspiracy obsessions + general lack of emotional depth + bluster over substance.
It’s up to you to decide if that characterizes the qualities and interests of a particular segment of the population.
Well yes it does, Violence definitely a fixture of the left. Seattle, Portland, St. Louis, Minneapolis etc. etc. Paranoid conspiracy obsessions, Russia, Russia, Russia….remember or does your feeble brain reach back more than a sound byte. Bluster over substance, ever watch the Reverend Al Sharpton get wound up. So yes it does remind me a great deal of one segment of the population, You pompous effete snob.
You mean a donny dig is ad hominem? Ha…I thought the action was ok…I mean what do you expect?
That is precisely what it is. Pratt is a diehard Trumpet and there’s no way he had no say in the show.
I didn’t know he was a Trumper but do know he’s a man of faith…as I am…but no one do I see DIAPER DONNY like he does.
Trump really does live rent free in your heads. 2 years out of office and still bringing him up literally (your favorite word) out of nowhere
“Out of nowhere”? Just so you know, there’s presently a committee investigating his role in the January 6th insurrection and the judges he appointed on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
AND he’s still running his mouth, holding rallies and trying to control things.
Which is 100% more then Biden is doing
And the committee can’t prosecute but the JUSTICE DEPARTMENT can…
BUT THE JUSTICE DEPT. DOESN’T HAVE THE TESTICULAR FORTITUDE TO DO IT!!!!
Yes, …because of “insurrection” and your Trump derangement, this show is not good. …Ok.
1) It’s hard to ignore him when he won’t shut his stupid mouth and go away, and when his cronies continue to keep trying to push Trumpian politics on the country, despite the fact that the vast majority of Americans don’t want them. He may be gone, but his influence is still lingering over us and we can’t seem to shake it off.
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2) It’s rich to hear you going on about how Trump lives rent free in our heads, considering how Trump supporters wouldn’t stop whining about Hillary for years. At least we have the actual four years of Trump’s horrific presidency to base our complaints off of, as opposed to whatever imagined nonsense theories Trump supporters had about what a Hillary presidency would’ve been like.
He NEVER lived in my head…
Imagine being so useless you’re still inserting the cheeto into everything
Saw the blurb about Obi Wan. I would love to bc watch it but I’m not paying more money to Xfinity. Already pay outrageous monthly fee for the bundle I have to get Paramount+.
I hope this is hugely successful so The Worst Chris stays out of movies I’d actually want to see.
They cover the CBS and Paramount military shows so TV Line is the right audience. A dud show is a dud show.
I don’t know if this is actually bad or not, because the author seems to hate the genre itself more than this particular series. Too many flags?
If the reviewer says this show compares to Reacher and Jack Ryan, I’m definitely giving it a chance. Reviewer must be a lib
That reasoning is just as bigoted as saying being a Trump supporter, in itself, makes you a bad person.
Being a Trump supporter, in itself, does make you a bad person because of how it speaks to terrible, inhumane ideaologies. Hope that helps.
Being a Trump supporter definitely makes you a bad person. That’s just fact.
Being a Biden supporter makes everyone wonder why
Exactly… I dare a lib to tell the world one good thing Biden has done in office. This country has been ravaged by his ineptitude since he took over.
What’s a lib?
Outside of the baby formula disaster, what we are going through economically the world is going through too. I don’t think he controls other countries.
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He did fulfill his promise to give people more relief checks.
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He got shots into arms of those who wanted them. Meaning he made it easy to get. I’m sure if Trump had still been in office it would have been some elitist or political crap to deal with.
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He also vials to other countries to help their people.
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He just signed a gun control bill, though it’s kind of weak it’s better than nothing I guess, and this is coming from a gun owner adjacent. Hubs has his I still need to get mine.
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Mainly he gives me the peace of mind that he’s not giving support to White Nationalist and other’s like them.
One good thing? I got stimulus from Joe still waiting for DONNY’S 600 dollars. And waiting…Joe signed the gun bill remember that? You people amaze me…once we toll you Jason what hes’ done…you’ll discount it…and ineptitude? You’ll be lucky to be BREATHING when you’re 80 young wise guy.
You realise both of those shows are “lib” shows?
what’s a lib show? what’s a lib? ever heard of PROGRESSIVES? or maybe CENTRISTS?
Hollywood still trying to make Chris Pratt happen?
At this point, I think we can all agree that Chris Pratt has happened. The question now is how long he will continue to happen.
When the staff of the website and a majority of its readers don’t like something, I know it’s going to be good.
Bro, just watched last night ! It’s great !
LOVE Chris Pratt since Everwood! Will watch anything he’s in!
Have you ever seen good review by these muppets? TVLine editors are the dumbest of the bunch. Who is believing these clowns? Make up your own mind and watch it!
Mirror much? If you have to ask that question then clearly you don’t read much on this site. I guess you’re too busy being disrespectful because they aren’t saying what you want them to.
You’re the clown because you can just go to a site that caters to your way of thinking instead of coming here being unnecessarily negative.
Thanks for putting the review summary in the title. Geez. Why can’t sites just say The Terminal List – Review here?
I’m going to laugh when this series does super well. Especially because the books are amazing.
Considering the extremely negative review of “The Old Men” which I’ve really liked so far, I’m now interested in watching “The Terminal List” after this curious wave of bilge by the same person.
Having a reviewer with whom you vehemently disagree is just as informative as one whom shares your likes. Especially given the remarkably inane and insipid ‘critiques’ offered in this article…
I really liked Reacher and Jack Ryan. I’ll give this is a go, for sure!
A review is a a review. I haven’t seen the show. So I can’t speak to how personally accurate I’ll find it. Whatever the case, a person’s opinions are valid. That being said, the condescending remark about ‘your dad’ is cheap and uncalled for. You don’t respect the group of people this show is targeted at. We get it. Maybe someone else should do the reviews for these types of shows then.
I’m really confused….this show is terrible but it’s somehow The Fugitive meets Seal Team? Seal Team is one of the best shows on TV. It’s well done and well acted. I didn’t watch the Fugitive TV show but the movie is still a 10/10.
Amen to Summer’s comments about SEAL Team. Definitely one of the best shows out there. Like her, never saw the original TV version of the Fugitive. Will give it an episode or two, see what I think
It’s just a serious version of Burt Macklin, FBI. Hilariously, there’s really not much difference.
Thanks for nothing. I was going to watch that show.
You still should. It’s fantastic for its genre. I’m finished it in about 13 hours total because I slept a little in the middle. The books it’s based on are actually amazing and get better as they go along as the author is a former tier one special forces operator that was his last job before he started writing.
I don’t get it. He’s just another Wahlberg. He can’t act but gets movies made anyway because he appeals to his demo.
Christ Pratt is a super fun comic performer but I find it almost impossible to take him seriously in anything like an action or thriller movie. It’s also that he – unlike some other high profile actors – is not able to project competence and intelligence on screen. There are plenty of actors who are not particularly clue-y in real life who are able to make us believe they’re really good at their job in a movie, but Pratt is just not one of those people. Not sure why – maybe it’s one too many Burt Macklin scenes ruining our chances of seeing him as anything else? Or he’s just got a really limited range? For whatever reason, even if the script had been good for this show I think it would be difficult to get invested watching him in this kind of part.
I read the first few books in this series and then got kind of bored with it, but I’ll check this out (even though I’m not a Chris Pratt fan). The books definitely had the potential to be a movie or mini-series.
You can tell the writer came into the review already hating the show and its start before ever seeing it. I doubt I’d watch the show, but i am sure a large group of fans will… that being said, maybe next time TVLine should edit the article and nix a biased, agenda filled attack like this.
See Big Don, this is how you show you disagree with the editor without being disrespectful. No name calling and got their point across.
Yeah, I’d be embarrassed to hit post on an article that had something like this in it “I think his name is “Haqqani”? Does it even matter?” If with the critic’s notes you can’t even pay attention enough to keep the details because you don’t care either you’re doing a bad job or shouldn’t be doing this job. How can you say the plot is convoluted if you aren’t even paying attention to it?
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And “In their place, we’re served up huge helpings of red-meat masculinity, hardheaded jingoism and heavy-handed symbolism. (Oh, and lots and lots of American flags.)” Are any of those things particularly bad? Maybe “hardhead” jingoism, but more and more I’m taking “jingoism” to mean anything that doesn’t spend all 57 minutes telling us how bad America is. Take whatever you think the opposite of masculinity and jingoism is, and do the symbolism as ham-fisted message sending as you get in a lot of these things and I bet the criticisms don’t come up.
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It might be badly done. I am not subscribing to watch it or anything. But if it’s like Reacher and some of the shows mentioned as “dad show” (there aren’t enough dads to have shows to cater to them?) it’ll probably be pretty successful for Amazon. but at least rate it on its merit and not because it doesn’t fit your taste or politics. I’m having a hard time taking it seriously that it’s too violent when this site has had almost a half dozen articles in a week for The Boys. Let’s not all suddenly become wilting flowers now.
Nice nipples, though.