![]() He plays Luke Brunner, a seasoned CIA operative who’s on the verge of retiring and eager to reconnect with his goody two-shoes daughter Emma, played by Top Gun: Maverick‘s Monica Barbaro. Manifest's Josh Dallas Explains That Ben and Saanvi Moment in Season 4BįUBAR knows where its bread is buttered: It wastes no time in giving us a shot of Schwarzenegger walking away from a fire in slow-motion and driving a sports car real fast while the Rolling Stones play in the background. Manifest's Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh Reflect on That Fitting Series Finale, Reuniting With Athena Karkanis The whole series is a depressingly cynical ploy to rope in bored dads who will click on anything with Arnold’s face in the thumbnail… but it fails to clear even that low bar. I wanted this to be fun! And yet I couldn’t muster up even a smile at the show’s lame attempts at humor, or resist rolling my eyes at the action sequences that are so far removed from reality, they might as well be Looney Tunes cartoons. In other words, I’m exactly the target audience for FUBAR. But you see, I’m a fortysomething American male who was raised on a steady diet of Commando, Predator and Total Recall. With its cliffhanging episodes, this show gamely tries to pull viewers along, but the highlights primarily tend to come in its smaller moments, courtesy of Schwarzenegger and Barbaro, rather than the otherwise-generic plot.Īs the title suggests, “Fubar” doesn’t take itself too seriously still, if Schwarzenegger had to “be back,” to quote a certain relentless cyborg, it’s easy to wish the encore had come in something bit more inspired than this.Now you might be saying, “Hey! This show isn’t for critics! Stay in your lane, egghead!” Which: fair enough. Notably, a CBS reboot of “True Lies” was just canceled, though the combination of Schwarzenegger and similar material in the less ratings-pressurized confines of streaming should be more hospitable. The existence of that second project, however, merely underscores the sense that “Fubar” isn’t bad as much as it’s just plain tired – an eight-hour “You might like” button for anyone who has recently consumed a movie from the star’s heyday. Schwarzenegger is such a good fit for attention-hungry Netflix that the service has also commissioned a docuseries about him, “Arnold,” which will premiere in June. In a way, streaming has become the logical stop for marquee movie stars once they reach a certain age, as evidenced by the Taylor Sheridan-produced dramas spawned by “Yellowstone,” a stable that has attracted fellow tough-guys emeritus Sam Elliott, Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone. Still, there’s a nagging been-there quality to almost every beat of the show, not helped by the jokey nature of the banter among members of their crack team, which includes his office-bound wingman (Milan Carter), who Emma grew up calling Uncle Barry. Monica Barbaro and Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Fubar." Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix ![]() Barbaro more than holds her own as an arresting super-spy – at least, when she isn’t squabbling with dad. Schwarzenegger’s Luke Brunner is actually on the verge of retirement when he discovers his daughter Emma ( “Top Gun: Maverick’s” Monica Barbaro) was recruited years earlier, prompting him to delay his plans to pursue a quieter life and win back his ex and her mother (Fabiana Udenio), after years of lying took a toll on their relationship.Įmma is rather awkwardly walking a mile in in dad’s shoes on that front, dating the nerdy and clueless Carter (Jay Baruchel), who seems to ground her, although there is the little matter of all those bad boys with whom she interacts in her secret day job.Įxecutive produced by Nick Santora ( “Reacher”) and Schwarzenegger, among others, the series takes advantage of Schwarzenegger’s inherent likability and gift for dropping sly one-liners while engaging in acts of violence (see “Commando”). Smith,” before being forced to team up by the CIA. Here, father and daughter have both been concealing secret lives, a la “Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger makes the natural progression from movie star to California governor to Netflix series with “Fubar,” which is basically a father-daughter version of his 1994 James Cameron movie “True Lies.” Marking the star’s series debut, it’s a slim idea stretched over eight parts (and possibly more), and with apologies to its military acronym, feels fouled up in mostly recognizable ways.
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