The Continental: From the World of John Wick follows a young Winston Scott, who puts together a team to take on a hotel full of assassins after his brother steals a precious artifact. The show is now streaming on Peacock and Prime Video.
Story
Winston and his older brother, Frankie, grew up in New York. A man named Cormac ruined their family’s lives, and Frankie ended up going to prison for a crime he did not commit.
Years later, Frankie starts working for Cormac, who is now the manager of The Continental, a hotel that is exclusive to assassins. However, Frankie betrays him and steals an important artifact from the hotel, resulting in Cormac’s henchmen hunting him down.
Winston, who is now a rich businessman in London, is dragged to New York by Cormac, but Winston does not know anything about Frankie’s life, as he has not been in touch with his brother for almost two decades. Winston then decides to find his estranged brother before Cormac hurts him.
Winston is well aware of how dangerous Cormac is, so he puts together a team to take him down. It is Cormac’s desperation to get the artifact back versus Winston’s determination to put an end to his reign. Will Winston’s newly formed crew be able to defeat the invincible Cormac and his army of assassins?
Performance
Initially, Colin Woodell is charming as Winston, but as the plot progresses, he loses that charm. After that, he fails to grab the audience’s attention the way he did in the beginning, even though his performance is not bad.
On the other hand, Mel Gibson, as the antagonist, goes from being a character who does not kindle much interest to an absolutely brutal man who cannot be ignored. Finally, he becomes a deranged figure, and he does all of this in the span of three episodes.
Ayomide Adegun lends complexity to Charon’s character. Even with his calm demeanor, he makes the audience curious about the character. Out of all the actors in supporting roles, Jessica Allain, who plays Lou, also stands out.
Positives
The events of the show take place in New York in the 1970s, and the shots of the city as well as the music convince the audience of that. It is as if one has traveled back in time to witness Winston’s story.
There is enough action in the show to keep action lovers entertained, and it is not mindless action without a plot. The plot is simple, nothing too complicated, but it prevents the show from becoming a senseless drama full of action sequences.
The Continental is an entertaining show, and it does have a few surprises in store for the audience. Additionally, interesting characters like Hansel and Gretel certainly raise the stakes, making it hard for the hero to win easily.
Negatives
Although every part is as long as a film, there is still not enough space for all the characters that are introduced and their stories. The last part is filled to the brim, and even then the conclusion of the stories of some characters is not satisfying.
There is a dearth of colors in the show. The lack of vibrancy can be attributed to desaturation, which makes most of the scenes dull and dreary.
Verdict
The Continental: From the World of John Wick has a simple plot and a lot of violence and action. Although it is part of the John Wick universe, it manages to make itself a little different from the films, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on how one sees it.
Also Read: The Continental: From the World of John Wick season 1 episode 1 recap & review: Brothers in Arms