Netflix action comedy with genre legend is incredibly funny
From Robert Scucci
| Published
Of all the action stars who rose to fame in the ’80s and ’90s, Arnold Schwarzenegger has the most staying power because he was always the most confident tough guy in his graduating class. Best known for his innate ability to keep a straight face while belting out one pithy one-liner after another, the Austrian Oak in the Netflix original series proved that he can still make you laugh while giving you a laugh Ass kicking. FUBAR. Plays like a mix Meet the parents And command, FUBAR is typified by design, confident in all the right ways, and a shining example of how even the most clichéd action movie tropes can still be effective when everyone on board knows the job.
Arnold is a geriaction hero
FUBAR was on my must-watch list for months before I finally decided to give it a try, fearing that it would be one of those series that wouldn’t live up to its hype. After all, Schwarzenegger is on the wrong side of his 70s, which made me (mistakenly) think he was showing up half-heartedly for his paycheck in a feigned attempt to relive his glory days like he was Al Bundy whining about how He scored four touchdowns in a single game for Polk High School in 1966. Luckily I was wrong, and I’m happy to say that Schwarzenegger still has that X factor that makes him so likeable.
The Meet The Parents connection
Similar Robert De NiroIn Jack Byrne’s Meet the Parents series, Schwarzenegger plays Luke Brunner, a CIA agent nearing retirement after his last successful covert operation. Luke remained silent about the true nature of his work for decades, lying to his family under the guise of owning and operating a gym supply company called Merry Fitness alongside Barry (Milan Carter), who also works as a technician for the CIA. Luke’s secret double life has torn his family apart, leading to his wife Tally (Fabiana Udenio) filing for divorce before the events of the year FUBAR.
While Luke wants to leave his CIA life behind to rekindle his relationship with Tally, his relationship with his daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro) is also struggling.
In FUBARs In the opening episode, “Take Your Daughter to Work,” we learn that Emma has a secret life of her own. Everyone, including Luke and her boyfriend Carter (Jay Baruchel), is under the impression that she travels around the world for humanitarian purposes, such as providing fresh drinking water to the citizens of La Guajira, Colombia.
When Luke is called out of retirement to retrieve an agent codenamed Panda from Guyana, he learns the harsh truth: his daughter is Panda and she is trying to take down an arms dealer named Boro Polonia (Gabriel Luna). Luke’s trust is shaken when he discovers that Barry and his colleagues Roo (Fortune Feimster) and Aldon (Travis Van Winkle) knew about Emma’s involvement with the CIA but were sworn to secrecy. Luke also has a history with Boro, as he murdered his father when he was a boy and acted as a mentor to him while he went undercover.
Father-daughter bonding in the form of counterterrorism
FUBAR has a lot of moving parts but keeps the viewer engaged without ever seeming condescending as it explores every action movie motif imaginable.
First, we have the “we’re not that different, you and me” dynamic between Luke and Emma. Emma clearly has daddy issues (her words not mine) because Luke was so absent during her childhood, forcing her to be an overachiever. Luke feels guilty for lying to his family and fears that his daughter’s personal life, like his own, will fall apart as she becomes more and more dedicated to her work. As they clash during their missions, they develop a new appreciation for each other, as Luke was one of the CIA’s top agents and his young daughter is clearly doing a great job following in his footsteps.
We also see a lot of “zero hour” tropes throughout the eight-episode series, as there’s always a bomb that needs to be defused, a runaway train about to derail, and Boro, who always seems to have one Step ahead, CIA is on the run.
My favorite action comedy FUBARHowever, is the clever banter between Luke, Emma,
When Luke and Emma are also forced to hire an industrial psychologist named Dr. When they go to see Pfeffer, they immediately call him “Dr. Pepper” and mentioning other soda brands to get under his skin. After Luke is accused of a bunch of soda puns, he tells Dr. Pfeffer (Scott Thompson) simply says he must be “amazing,” proving that even this late in his career, our favorite action hero still knows how to do smart things.
Stream FUBAR on Netflix
If you grew up watching Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action movie heyday, then this is the case FUBAR is the next series you should watch Netflix. Schwarzenegger and Co. approach their secret spy life with a wink and a nod in every scene, and the action sequences are of feature film quality, making the series all the more entertaining. Between every single explosion and every gunshot, FUBAR has a lot of heart thanks to its family dynamic and a laugh-per-minute rate that you wouldn’t expect if you go into it Streaming The series without any expectations, like I did.
FUBAR is a Netflix original series and can be streamed with an active subscription. And if you like what you see, Season 2 is scheduled to release in mid-2025.
