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The Terminal List - Prime Video, Chris Pratt (Bourne-like)

VN1X

Banned





Anyone watching this? Only saw the first episode and I'm eager to see more! I really like the tone so far although I wouldn't mind some more characterization (though perhaps it might then become too much of a slow burn for modern day audiences). I've been thinking of buying the books by Jack Carr as well, reading through them all and then to continue the show again lol. Love this kind of deep-state-conspiracy-wrapped-in-a-revenge-thriller type stuff heh. The hardcovers are rather expensive though so maybe some other time...

Anyway! What say you, GAF? Decent watchies or another Bezos stinker?
 
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Nankatsu

Member
Watched the first episode. Seems cool, I'm always game for action conspiracy stuff and I dig Chris Pratt.

Is the full season available or just the first 4 episodes?
 
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VN1X

Banned
Watched the first episode. Seems cool, I'm always game for action conspiracy stuff and I dig Chris Pratt.

Is the full season avaible or just the first 4 episodes?
All eight eps seem available for me?

If you click the image it'll take you to the Prime Video page for your region I believe.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
I'm curious how many changes there are. Katie for starters but I'm open to the actress if she has the right attitude.

They TOTALLY need a freeze frame with "Black Rifle Coffee with honey", "Sig p365 with enhanced optics", or "RnD Winkler Sayoc hawk" to keep up the blatant product placement from the books :p
 

VN1X

Banned
So is this any good? I want to watch something that is dumb fun
The Old Man (with Jeff Bridges) would probably fall into that category a lot more if you want "dumb fun".

Almost the exact same set up as well lol.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
The Old Man (with Jeff Bridges) would probably fall into that category a lot more if you want "dumb fun".

Almost the exact same set up as well lol.
Have you watched the old man? I definitely wouldn't classify it as dumb fun.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
About 30 min in. It follows the book fairly well so far, initial pp differences aside.

But Reeese puts cream in his coffee, this is goddamn sacrilege for Reese fans. Next thing they'll have him do is use a Smith and Wesson :p
 
About 30 min in. It follows the book fairly well so far, initial pp differences aside.

But Reeese puts cream in his coffee, this is goddamn sacrilege for Reese fans. Next thing they'll have him do is use a Smith and Wesson :p
Edit: For real, this looks dope. Gonna have to check it out.
 
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Never checked out the source material so I was hoping that the series was going to keep playing around with the idea of

If the main character is imagining these things or not, like a Total Recall situation, but unfortunately they fully dropped it about 3 episodes in. There's still some interesting hallucinations but otherwise his suspicions are right.

Not disappointed by that but if they had actually managed to pull it off for the whole series, this show would have been on an entirely different level of greatness for me.

Also, the intro scene of the show just made me want a sequel to that 'one take' movie 1917 but with modern warfare. If I could will it into existence, I would love a Call of Duty movie shot that way.
 

VN1X

Banned
Have you watched the old man? I definitely wouldn't classify it as dumb fun.
Yeah seen three episodes I believe. It's super clunky with its writing and the way the dialogue is handled is so hilariously on the nose sometimes that you can't help but roll your eyes.

It's very entertaining though but TOM is definitely not a show you should be taking serious in any way I find.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
2 eps in and it is pretty faithful to the book.

But the cinematography is SO DARK. Gives it a nice gritty feel but makes it very hard to see anything unless the room is pitch black. I dunno if this is something amazon can correct but I hope so, it hides too much detail.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Yeah seen three episodes I believe. It's super clunky with its writing and the way the dialogue is handled is so hilariously on the nose sometimes that you can't help but roll your eyes.

It's very entertaining though but TOM is definitely not a show you should be taking serious in any way I find.
I think when people say they want something that is dumb fun they mean Fast and Furious style crazy action not people sitting around talking and eating and talking some more interspersed with a couple of minutes of understated action.
 

VN1X

Banned
2 eps in and it is pretty faithful to the book.

But the cinematography is SO DARK. Gives it a nice gritty feel but makes it very hard to see anything unless the room is pitch black. I dunno if this is something amazon can correct but I hope so, it hides too much detail.
That's HDR for you! When combined with gritty thrillers like this then watching this in the evening when it's dark out is the only way to go hah.
 
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jason10mm

Gold Member
I do kinda feel like Amazon stole a lot from The Terminal List with their Without Remorse remake. Clarke's wife was pregnant in the film with an older kid, right? Don't recall that from the novel at all, his pregnant wife died in a car accident and it was the prostitute that was murdered. Then here Reeces wife was supposed to be pregnant but I don't think she was in the show (unless that is a late season reveal), so Amazon is kinda chasing their own tail with these revenge thrillers :p


Damn, a Reece/Clarke/Ding/Ryan team up would be interesting.
 

Konnor

Member
It's getting hammered by the "critics" so i'm in. If it was something close to Reacher, i'll binge later.


Yeap, you were right, 3 episodes in and it's fun as fuck. Nothing innovative or amazing but it's exactly what I needed right now. I bet these hacks hate it because it's very slightly traditional, meaning that the character quotes the Bible a couple of times, he has a traditional family and the casting is not that "diverse". Absolutely amazing how pathetic and predictable these people are.
 

clarky

Gold Member
Watched the first two episodes last night, pretty good, apart from Pratts wooden acting. Must have been taking tips off Arnold. Guy should stick to comedy.
 
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Gp1

Member
Yeap, you were right, 3 episodes in and it's fun as fuck. Nothing innovative or amazing but it's exactly what I needed right now. I bet these hacks hate it because it's very slightly traditional, meaning that the character quotes the Bible a couple of times, he has a traditional family and the casting is not that "diverse". Absolutely amazing how pathetic and predictable these people are.

And don't forget the "Hollywood's worst Chris"....
 

ManaByte

Gold Member
Oh so this is why the mob was coming after Pratt again.

I actually liked Tomorrow War, so I'll try to check this out.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
The action choreography is really nice, what you can see of it. The car shootout and the bedroom fight were short, sweet, and awesome. Reminds me of Michael Mann. The clinic fight was a bit hectic, but I dug it. I hope those hawks get some action. The tradecraft and logical A to B to C progress is refreshing after a bunch of shows where the lead just reacts to stuff handed to him by obliging bad guys.
 

Konnor

Member
I'm at episode 5 now, what an ending this episode has.


Oh so this is why the mob was coming after Pratt again.

I actually liked Tomorrow War, so I'll try to check this out.

This is a far better piece of entertainment, Tomorrow War was disjointed and often nonsensical imo.
 

Mossybrew

Gold Member
Pratt puts me off honestly, when he's trying to be full serious, he's just .. to me, no charisma, just doesn't work. He's good in half-comedy stuff like Guardians but when he tries to go full drama, nah I just don't buy it.
 

VN1X

Banned
Pratt puts me off honestly, when he's trying to be full serious, he's just .. to me, no charisma, just doesn't work. He's good in half-comedy stuff like Guardians but when he tries to go full drama, nah I just don't buy it.
Yeah while I like the show there were some moments where he just came off as completely wooden. He's decent but definitely not a natural, like some other actors, when it comes to that type of hard-boiled southern state military duder hah.
 
After episode 4 I'm very sold. I think pratt plays it very well, he actually moves during the gunfights like I would expect a trained guy to do. Maybe it's all bullshit but it looks realistic. One thing I don't like is all the flashbacks and the headaches he seems to get every 5 minutes, we get it, he's got shit in his head.
 

stn

Member
I watched the first episode and it was good, going to finish it for sure. The story has been done a million times but I love these types of thrillers.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I'm upgrading my impression of the show from "poor mans 24" to "commendable 24 copy".

It has has a bunch of those Breaking Bad, 24, Game of Thrones "holy sh** water cooler moments" that we don't get very often.

Plus the show gives no f***s about race or gender...
 

SJRB

Gold Member
Hollywood has got to stop desperately push Chris Pratt as the next action star.

Dude is a comedic genius but can't carry a serious movie or show to save his life.
 
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Ironbunny

Member
This was surprisingly good. Had no expections going in but the plot really sucked in from the start. Chris Pratt is still Star Lord but other then that cast was good. Watched it in a one seating.
 

AJUMP23

Gold Member
This was surprisingly good. Had no expections going in but the plot really sucked in from the start. Chris Pratt is still Star Lord but other then that cast was good. Watched it in a one seating.
How do you have so much time?
 

Ironbunny

Member
6 weeks.....what do you do for a living?

Its normal here. 4-6 weeks of summer vacation with pretty much any job. I do cable manufacturing myself. I work 2 days a week and have a winter and summer vacation + "pekkanen" which is basicly a vacation which I gain every month. (12.5 extra days in a year). Yup, lazy.
 

thegame983

Member
I found the first two episodes ok, but then it really takes off. The action is minimalist, but good.

Pratt is a nice guy. We dont deserve him
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
a whole show without pandering or 'diverse' casting who it was possible 🤷‍♂️
If you have read the books then you would realize that Katie is the exact opposite of her book appearance. So far Wu is doing a decent job but I'm curious if they plan on changing the downstream relationship with her and Reece and the family backstory or letting it smolder a bit longer.

Carr has a few 'hero' characters with very specific back stories that mandate certain ethnicities but otherwise they could cast a wide range of people. But unless they change a lot of core details it would be hard to have the bad guys not be some specific types in the later books. Lots of Russian types, for example.
 

Konnor

Member
Hollywood has got to stop desperately push Chris Pratt as the next action star.

Dude is a comedic genius but can't carry a serious movie or show to save his life.


Eh, he was pretty good other than 3-4 scenes where he sounded weird. It's not that Pratt doesn't know how to act, he does, it's that he's just not convincing sometimes because he slips up and sounds like a comedic actor, I don't know how else to explain it.

Btw finished it, it was a very good show imo but I don't know how they can do a good season 2, we'll see. The fifth episode remains my favorite, that final action scene was extremely badass.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
Btw finished it, it was a very good show imo but I don't know how they can do a good season 2, we'll see. The fifth episode remains my favorite, that final action scene was extremely badass.
This is a, to date, 5 book series featuring Reese with no signs of slowing down. There is DEFINITELY more seasons of show possible.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
I had no idea, are the other books good too?
They are decent. Carr has a somewhat uneven writing style IMHO. He is a bit too focused on product placement, though he has certainly spun that off into a very successful branding industry, but it breaks up the flow. He also tends to be very info-dumpy in what is otherwise supposed to be a quick summer read. He doesn't have nearly the command of the grand strategic level as Clancy so he tends to have lots of dangling plot threads at the end of each book that a better writer might have sewn up.

Still, he definitely knows his stuff at the tactical level so its fun to read. He'd probably write great war fiction but the gov't would just redact it all :p
 
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