The Continental From the World of John Wick review: This spin-off needed a little less conversation, a little more action

3/5

Story: When Frankie (Ben Robson), a trusted aide of New York Continental manager Cormac (Mel Gibson), undertakes a daring heist and takes off with something of monumental value to the latter and the High Table (the criminal organization that lays ground rules for assassins across the globe), a desperate attempt to retrieve the item leads to the former’s brother, Winston Scott (Colin Woodell). Winston, thinks Cormac, can track Frankie and what he stole, and all will be well again. But when this plan goes south, Winston’s next best option is to commandeer the New York Continental from Cormac. Leading a siege on a hotel teeming with guns-for-hire is nothing short of a suicide mission, but Winston and his gang are up to take a chance.

The Continental Review: The Continental – From the World of John Wick, has, no doubt, been made for ardent fans of the movie franchise starring Keanu Reeves. So, it goes without saying that you know how the three-part, just under 5 hour-long mini-series (each episode hovers around the 90-97 minutes mark), tracing the history of the New York Continental’s Winston Scott is going to play out. Winston has, after all, always been at the helm of affairs at the marquee hotel for assassins, along with his trusted concierge Charon (played by the late Lance Reddick in the movies). Why then would we need such a stretched-out backstory? Well, beats me, because truth be told, it could have been told in about half or less the time this mini-series has got.

I’ve never been much of a fan of the John Wick series – the appeal of an assassin on the run, with the whole world on his tail and the innovative methods he employs to dispatch of each of them, ran out pretty much after the second movie. It’s the kind of franchise that makes you wonder whether the person seated next to you in a café, or at a movie hall, is a gun-for-hire. In the John Wick world, assassins are mass produced and dumped on a conveyer belt leading to wherever he is at any given point. The films lean heavily on the action blocks, which, are, no doubt, supremely well-choreographed, whether it is hand-to-hand combat or involves some form of weaponry. The fact that Keanu spoke all of 380 words in the last instalment of the franchise, which was nearly three-hours in run-time, speaks volumes about how important ‘kills’ are. It’s like watching a very violent video game play out before your eyes. That’s the kind of expectation that’s been set around the John Wick universe – it’s a world full of assassins, so, there’s got to be some kick-ass action.

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And that is where, I believe, fans will be disappointed when they watch this prequel set in the 70s. The Continental has its fair share of blood spill, but is it enough for this run-time? Oh, hell no! Sure, when red light is activated and every assassin on the premise of the New York Continental gets a free passs to conduct business (kill) in the hotel, we get to see a bunch of nameless and faceless guys blowing each other up. But it still doesn’t arouse a fraction of the thrill in seeing John Wick single-handedly taking down 100s of the kind. I didn’t feel half as invested in Winston Scott’s cause as I’ve felt for John Wick in the past. That’s saying a lot, given that I am not a fan of the franchise and that John could kill dozens for a dog. 

Read: John Wick Chapter 4 review

A series like this needed a formidable villain. This was, after all, about the takedown of the erstwhile manager to instate Winston in his place. As good an actor Mel Gibson is, here he is woefully inadequate. He just doesn’t come across as a bone-chilling menace, no matter what he does. Mel just flutters around like a bird whose wings have been clipped. It doesn’t help that the rest of the main cast, including Ben Robson, Mishel Prada, Hubert Point Du-Jour, Jessica Allain, among others, do not individually, or as a group, command much star power and excitement to get audiences to watch this show.

Verdict: The Continental: From the world of John Wick is unlikely to appeal to even hardcore fans of the franchise. It’s got some thrills, no doubt, but for the most part, there’s just too much talking going as the plan to take-over the marquee New York hotel is set in motion. In that sense, the narrative of the mini-series is actually quite slow, as it builds up to the finale. It gets a grand ending, but one that takes too long to get there. The first episode of the three-part series drops on Amazon Prime Video tomorrow, with the rest to follow, each one week apart.