FUBAR Review: Created by Nick Santora and executive produced by Schwarzenegger, Adam Higgs, Scott Sullivan, Holly Dale, and Bill Bost with Skydance’s David Ellison and Dana Goldberg. The action comedy show was released on Netflix on 25th May 2023 with 8 episodes in total and a runtime of about 46-59 minutes.
The ensemble cast of the series includes Arnold Schwarzenegger as Luke Brunner, Monica Barbaro as Emma Brunner, Milan Carter as Barry, Jay Baruchel as Carter, Aparna Brielle as Tina, Andy Buckley as Donnie, Fortune Feimster as Ruth (aka Roo), Barbara Eve Harris as Dot, Gabriel Luna as Boro Polonia, Fabiana Udenio as Tally Brunner, Travis Van Winkle as Aldon, David Chinchilla as Cain Khan, and Scott Thompson as Dr Louis Pfeffer.
Plot: When a retiring CIA officer discovers that his daughter also secretly works for the CIA, an already dicey undercover mission turns into a dysfunctional family affair. Leading him to hold on to his job longer than he had imagined.
It is a predictable story where a person has a secret to keep and all the chaos that ensues in keeping everything together. Added to the family drama of how the person essentially ruined their family, due to the nature of their work and is now trying to make amends to everyone.
It’s a tried and tested formula but what works is the way it doesn’t feel over the top, trying to be funny/cheesy or underwhelmingly low quality. It has a nostalgic charm that reminds us of the classic shows that we grew up on. A normal story but the characters and simply funny moments with one-line punches, some action here & there and obviously an emotional resolution at the end, make it all worthwhile.
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What feels redundant is how the conversation or more like a fight about the daughter turning out just like her father & how she shouldn’t do the same mistakes as him, was stretched a lot. Every important moment when they need to be keeping an eye on or some other spy thing, they would start fighting on the same topic and mess everything up.
At some point, the daughter does start to get on your nerves and if she didn’t have any character development by the end, I would never recommend this series to anyone & scream internally at the screen. This would be the right time to interject the word FUBAR which stands for ‘Fucked up beyond all recognition’ because their incessant fights on the same subject were exactly that.
Apart from that, Travis Van Winkle as Aldon does a great job of bringing comic relief and presenting a character with layers rather than being a single-minded himbo as Emma describes him. His camaraderie with Fortune Feimster was also what makes it delightful to watch, as the colleagues are usually shown at each other’s throats and mostly bullying each other for laughs.
FUBAR Review
Honestly, it’s not a show that needs you to pay close attention and scrutinise everything that’s happening. It’s one of those where you just take everything at face value and enjoy the silly ride. Schwarzenegger’s fans will certainly find his character somewhat familiar with what he has done before and he does it well, which is surely entertaining to watch.
Also with the way the show ended, it’s certain that the creators have thought of taking the story forward in the next instalments, based on the audience’s reaction to it. Overall, it has been getting positive reviews mostly and personally, a second season would certainly bring more development in each character’s arc.
Rating: 3.5/5
FUBAR is currently streaming on Netflix.
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