Obliterated follows an elite tactical unit working to thwart an international arms dealer from selling a portable nuclear explosive to terrorists. The series is currently streaming on Netflix.
Story
CIA’s elite tactical unit created to thwart an international arms dealer selling a portable nuclear device is successful in completing its mission.
However, midway through their drug-addled celebratory party, they learn that the bomb they defused was a fake.
Now they must band together again and seize the real bomb before it’s sold to a terrorist planning on using it to level up Las Vegas and cause a civil war.
The buyer runs out of patience and comes at odds with the dealers’ men, eventually managing to sneak away with the bomb.
The unit suffers a major setback that splits it up into two embittered factions both of which successfully track down the buyer at the same time, separately.
They reunite and reconcile as a new enemy who has been right under their nose all this time emerges from the shadows. This new enemy is Anastasia Koslov, the sister of Russian arms dealer Ivan Koslov.
Anastasia decides to blow up Vegas after she loses her brother, but the CIA elite team manages to thwart her and neutralize the bomb, as Obliterated rolls the credits.
Performances
Nick Zano plays up the himbo with a good heart really well. He has dimensions and depth, which Zano’s talent helps eke out of him and bring it forth to the screen.
Shelley Hennig is charming and fun to follow through. Her charisma is undeniable and her chemistry with Zano’s McKnight is the same.
Terrence Terrell is charming and lovable as Trunk, who’s only held back by the awful writing but does his best with what he’s given. He also delivers some of the only funny physical comedy gags.
Positives
The actors do look like they’re having a blast at times, and it is their charms that are one of the very few things keeping this sinking boat from being a more tragic sight than it is.
Obliterated has a very interesting premise which though not realized at all, provides for some promising story beats and developments.
Negatives
The plot is paper-thin and for a story that could have been told properly within ninety minutes, an eight-part series with an average runtime of fifty minutes is simply not justifiable.
The overabundance of phallic flinging is just confusing and nauseating, as it stands no purpose other than to imbue a supposedly “edgy” flair that’s totally unnecessary.
Even with two queer actors, there’s little material here that does them justice. This makes the sexual content even more regressive as it largely caters to the male gaze.
The humor just doesn’t work. There is not a single laugh-out-loud moment which is such an alarming concern for a show that has eight long episodes with crazy hijinks and wacky scenarios aplenty.
Verdict
Obliterated is an annoyingly juvenile affair rife with raunchy, crass, and stereotypical jokes with paper-thin plot and characters, as well as the developments therein.
With little hilarity, charm, and fun, this action comedy fails to elevate itself from a C-tier schlock to a B-tier good time.
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