Schwarzenegger’s still got it, ‘FUBAR’ not so much
For the first time, Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in a television series.
The longtime action star — and former California governor — hasn’t exactly leaped out of his comfort zone with the one-hour action-comedy “FUBAR,” the eight-episode debut season streaming on Netflix.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series created by Nick Santora is “loosely inspired” by “True Lies,” an action-comedy movie from writer-director James Cameron. In that well-received romp,
Schwarzenegger portrays Harry Tasker, who hides the fact he is a U.S. spy from his family.
In “FUBAR,” Schwarzenegger portrays Luke Brunner, who, well, hides the fact he is a U.S. spy from his family.
The “Lies”-like premise isn’t the problem with “FUBAR,” which, in a fun nod to the film, brings in one of Schwarzenegger’s costars, Tom Arnold, for a guest-starring role in the fifth installment.
What is the problem? It simply isn’t very good.
Let’s be clear about one thing, however: Arnold “I’ll be back” Schwarzenegger is NOT the issue. Whenever the Austrian star is on the screen, “FUBAR” has a little bit of charm and something resembling a pulse. When he’s out of frame, the show is about as flat as a kitchen floor.
Whereas in “True Lies” the story largely concerned the secrets between a husband and his wife, “FUBAR” is primarily interested in Luke’s relationship with his beloved daughter, Emma (Monica Barbaro). He still craves daddy-daughter time, and he doesn’t approve of her choice in partners, the kindbut-wussy Carter (Jay Baruchel of “This Is the End”).
We meet Luke on what is supposed to be his final mission before retiring from the CIA in the Santora-penned first episode, “Take Your Daughter to Work Day.” Things get a little hairy, but, with the help of his remote-working right-hand man, the entirely nerdy Barry (Milan Carter, “Warped!”), Luke is able to take out the bad guys.
Retirement has to wait, though, as Luke is recruited to extract another agent from an undercover operation. Luke is quire familiar with this bad guy, Boro (Gabriel Luna, “The Last of Us”); after posing as an associate of Boro’s father, Luke killed the man, unbeknown to Boro, and worked to remain a positive influence in the young man’s life. Now Boro is applying all he’s learned into a plan that could lead to many deaths.
When Luke reappears in Boro’s life, he discovers the undercover agent is — you guessed it — Emma, neither knowing the other worked for the CIA. And thus begins the backbone of the series: constant arguments between Luke and Emma about secrets and trustworthiness and the need for him to stay out of her personal life.
At first, the scenes shared by Schwarzenegger and Barbaro (“Top Gun: Maverick”) are one of the stronger suits of “FUBAR,” but they occur so regularly and are so repetitive that they wear very thin.
It’s certainly impressive that, now in his mid70s, the still larger-than-life Schwarzenegger can carry a slice of action-oriented entertainment. Unfortunately, he gets too little help from his co-stars and Santora (“Reacher”) and the show’s other writers and directors.