The John Wick series proves that the American action flick isn’t dead. It helped prove that not every action movie needs to be PG-13 to make some money. The four films have done remarkably well, and it now seems the Wick universe is expanding. The Continental: From the World of John Wick is the first spin-off released and is unlikely to be the last. Oddly enough, it found a streaming home on Peacock, and if their effort was to draw subscribers, it worked. I’m now a Peacock subscriber just because of this series.
The Continental is a prequel series that takes place in the 1970s. It details how Winston Scott (played by Ia McShane in the films) became the hotel’s manager. The show is a three-part series with 1.5-hour episodes. It’s run its course, and I was honestly excited but nervous to see how the small screen would handle John Wick.
Small Screen Compromises
The action is what we come to the John Wick series for, and I don’t think watchers of The Continental will be disappointed. The action in the Wick movies has amped up with each one to the point where number 4 was exhausting and never took a break. We don’t have that here; there are good breaks in the action, but each episode delivers.
Is it on par with the films? No, it’s nowhere near as intense or constant. There are no massive car chases or horseback gunfights. It’s more contained. Is it better than every other TV show? Hell yeah. The action is still well-choreographed and thrilling to watch. The small screen means a smaller budget, but they are still fairly creative with their action scenes.
The show is nowhere near as epic as the films, but it’s still very entertaining. We aren’t traveling to exotic locations. The show is confined almost entirely to New York City via the filming location in Budapest.
We get a cast of fairly interesting characters. Each is memorable and has something to add to the show. Returning characters from the Wick films include Winston, Charon, and Charlie. We get a mix of new characters that add to the Wick world. Overall, it’s a good show, and this is about where the spoiler-free section ends, so you’ve been warned.
Welcome to the Continental
The series has a young Winston Scott facing off with the current manager of the Continental, Cormac O’Connor, played by Mel Gibson. He’s a highlight of the show because he eats the scenery, is over the top, brutal, aggressive, and does not play ball with the High Table very well. He’s a monster, and you also get the feeling the High Table isn’t one to tolerate such a man.
The crux of the show is the theft of a coin press. You know those fancy gold coins the assassins use in the Wick films? Well, one of the presses that make them is stolen by Frankie Scott, Winston’s estranged brother and surrogate son to Cormac O’Connor. Frankie Scott is like the proto John Wick. He’s a career criminal and Vietnam veteran who is quite handy with a gun.
He steals the coin press, and Winston gets dragged home from Europe by Cormac to find him. From there, a tale of violence and vengeance begins. Without giving too much away, Winston decides to take Cormac down. He recruits Frankie’s Vietnam veteran friend and gun-running associates, a retired High Table assassin, and the homeless killers of the Bowery.
A Rogues Gallery
The new character stand-outs include Lou Burton, a gun-hating karate expert whose characters seem to have stepped right out of a 1970s kung-fu film. We get a cop named KD who’s investigating the Continental with a secretive motive that turns out to tie into the story well. Gene plays a retired hitman with bad eyesight who spends his days sniping child abusers before joining the crew to take the Continental.
Frankie Scott is also a great character who leaves a lasting impression. A few fall flat, like Frankkie’s wife Yen and Lou’s brother Miles. However, even the flat characters are fine. Of course, Mel Gibson’s Cormac O’Connor is insane but great throughout the whole series. The main villainous assassins are a pair of weirdly dressed mutes called the Twins.
The Twin’s personality comes from their awkward interaction, odd haircuts, and fighting skills. We also get a few themed assassins near the end, including a katana-wielding ninja, a cocaine-fueled psychopath, and even a cowboy!
One other character worth mentioning isn’t seen but felt. It’s the city of New York in the 1970s. The Continental really captures the grime of those streets. Everything looks dirty and gross like you’d shower as soon as you got home. It’s a setting that acts as its own character.
Guns, Fists, and Feet
The action is quite satisfying for a TV show. Lou Burton gets a few memorable fights where the actress shows off some considerable skill. A fight in a phone booth is one of the highlights of the series. The Burton siblings also team up to fight one of the twins in a memorable fight, and Yen fights the second.
The Burtons have to deal with a pool cue and triangle turned into weapons in an interesting turn of events. Yen’s fight-ender is so great they show you twice as if to brag about how awesome it was. KD doesn’t get to do much fighting, but she gets a sweet double-leg takedown on a guy.
The gunfights flow well. It’s not John Wick film levels, but it’s the best action you’ll see on TV. It’s loud and very bloody—more blood than the films. There is some silencer silliness where every suppressed weapon is whisper quiet. There is also a scene where a shotgun-wielding Miles kills two guys with one shot as they charge him side by side. Shotguns don’t have that much spread. Our sniper also puts his rifle together from a briefcase, and the zope is zeroed without issue.
The Guns
John Wick has always been about the guns, and the Continental is packed full of them. I worried that the show wouldn’t pay as much attention and we’d be seeing a bunch of anachronistic Glocks in the 1970s. Luckily, that’s not really the case. We do see a few, like some M240Bs, an M249, and an M60E3, but they are all mostly buried in the background. There is a S&W 686, too, but it’s barely used.
Sadly, there isn’t a ton of revolvers. KD uses a classic Model 36, which fits her as a police detective. There is lots of 1911 and Hi-Power action. The enforcers at the Continental use CZ-75s, which seems odd until you consider that the High Table expands to Russia and Eastern Europe. Hard for a normal crook to get in the 1970s? Sure, hard for elite assassins? Not so much.
The Continental gives us a dose of 1970s SMGs with MACs, Uzis, Skorpions, and even some WW2 classics like the MP40 and M3 Grease Gun. Rifle-wise, we see an awesome wood-stocked AR-10, a Colt 607, and an M16. Those were my favorites, but what’s a custom takedown Kar 98K deserves a mention as our sniper’s rifle of choice. Keanue would be pleased because there are “lots and lots of guns.”
Worth Watching
Action shows on TV are seemingly rare. They tend to be too expensive to make and even more expensive to make correctly. Luckily, the creators of the Continental got it right. They didn’t half-ass anything and delivered a fun, violent, gun-filled show that builds on the lore of John Wick. It’s worth the one-month sub to Peacock to watch.
