Summary
The Continental offers the same type of violent escapism that made John Wick such a popular franchise. It’s filled to the brim with top-notch action sequences, expertly choreographed fight scenes, and disturbingly creative death scenes.
Starring Keanu Reeves, the John Wick franchise earned just over $1 billion at the Box Office, with each film out-earning the previous one, making it one of the most profitable action movie series ever. The Continental: From the World of John Wick is a three-part prequel series set decades before John Wick even thought about setting foot inside the assassin-ladden hotel.
Created by Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward, and Shawn Simmons, the miniseries centers on the origin story of the franchise’s iconic hotel owner and John Wick ally, Winston Scott (played in the film series by Ian McShane).
Set in the hellscape of 1970s New York City, the series introduces a young Winston Scott (Colin Woodell) after he’s forcefully brought to New York by The Continental’s ruthless manager, Cormac (Mel Gibson). Winston’s brother, Frankie (Ben Robson), stole something crucial to the hotel and its inhabitants’ illegal enterprises.
The loss puts Cormac himself in mortal danger. His superiors at the High Table, including the mysterious Hungarian mask-wearing Adjudicator (Katie McGrath), don’t take kindly to mistakes of this magnitude.
Winston has tried leaving the underworld behind but is forced to step in now that his brother is in trouble. Along the way, he gets help from his Uncle Charlie (Peter Greene), dojo owner siblings Lou (Jessica Allain) and Miles (Hubert Point-Du Jour), and his sister-in-law, the martial arts expert Yen (Nhung Kate).
Throughout the three feature-length episodes, we learn how Winston got into his position of running The Continental in the first place. The series spends a lot of time on his relationship with his brother and even his first interactions with trusty concierge Charon (Ayomide Adegun, played in the movies by Lance Reddick).
The show has plenty of nods to the John Wick franchise, including the now iconic “We need guns. Lots of Guns” line, and there’s even a pair of mute assassins (played by Marina Mazepa and Mark Musashi). Yet it also works well as an independent crime series set in the same universe.
Colin Woodell does a great job playing the younger version of an established character, while Mel Gibson’s performance as the show’s villain is delightfully unhinged.
As a downside, The Continental was too ambitious with the number of characters and storylines it introduced. There is far too much happening on screen, making the overall viewing experience convoluted.
The Continental offers the same violent escapism that turned John Wick into such a popular franchise. It’s filled with top-notch action sequences, expertly choreographed fight scenes, and disturbingly creative death scenes. Whether you’re a fan of the Keanu Reeve saga or not, The Continental is worth watching as a stand-alone crime series.
Thanks to each episode’s length, it feels like watching a movie trilogy on a weekly schedule and not a TV show.
What did you think of The Continental: From the World of John Wick, and how would you review it? Comment below.
