The Continental Review: Peacock Prequel Is John Wick in Name Alone

To this point, the John Wick franchise has consisted of four feature films, all starring Keanu Reeves and all directed by Chad Stahelski. That will change this week with the premiere of The Continental: From the World of John Wick, a prequel series set in the 1970s that focuses on how a young Winston Scott took charge of the iconic assassin hotel from the films. The Continental does indeed tell the story of Winston, a core character from the John Wick films, and it includes plenty of references to the larger world that Reeves and Stahelski's films have alluded to. But that's about all the connective tissue this show shares with the movies that preceded it. The series doesn't pack the same sleek action, tight narratives, or mystifying aura. The Continental is John Wick in name and name alone.

Stahelski and Reeves have been making modern action magic for the better part of a decade with the John Wick movies, all of which have been released to critical acclaim and box-office success. Without those two directly involved, The Continental is an empty shell of the films that inspired it. There are a couple of solid action sequences littered throughout the three, 90-minute episodes, but most of the fights and chases are jumbled and incoherent. The brilliance of John Wick's colors and lighting didn't make the leap to the small screen. If The Continental wasn't attached to the John Wick name, it would be a serviceable, sometimes pretty enjoyable event. But hitching its horse to the greatest action franchise of the 21st century only holds a magnifying glass to its shortcomings.

The ties we do get to John Wick don't come in the form of actual tone or style. There are some characters we know. We learn a little more about the origins of the Bowery (probably the most interesting element of the show). And there are plenty of frustrating nods to the films that were done specifically to grab your attention and nothing more, like Winston ending the first episode by delivering an iconic John Wick line for no reason at all.

The Continental spends its three episodes focused on how Winston (Colin Woodell, taking over for Ian McShane) took control of New York's premiere assassin hotel in the 1970s. That's really all you need to know going in. It's admittedly not too interesting of a premise, given that there are dozens of questions you want answered from the John Wick movies before you get to, "Hey, how come the older gentleman in the ascot is in charge of this place where killers hang out?" He just is, and at no point in any of those movies do you doubt that he could accomplish such a task. Winston belongs to the Continental and the Continental belongs to Winston. Like many things in John Wick, it works so well because no explanation is needed.

It's not necessary, but the backstory we get for Winston and right-hand man Charon (Ayomide Adegun) is interesting enough. Some other intriguing characters populate the story as well; the brother-sister duo of Miles (Hubert Point-Du Jour) and Lou (Jessica Allain) are a pair I'd love to spend more time with in the modern Wick world. Most of the additional story we get in The Continental, however, makes it all entirely too busy. A story about two detectives trying to tie a gun-running operation to the hotel gets what feels like a third of the show's run time, but seemingly only exists for one moment of pay-off in the finale. A lot more time is given to the show's big bad, current Continental operator Cormac (Mel Gibson), than really feels necessary. 

The series as a whole is doing way too much, while somehow also not doing nearly enough. A simpler approach could've made The Continental a lot more effective, which is the path of the John Wick movies. Alternatively, a longer series could've helped create characters and stories that are actually worth investing in. Instead, it falls somewhere in the middle, not intricate enough to create something lasting and not simple enough to keep an interesting pace. 

The majority of the cast does great work with what they're given. Both Woodell and Adegun do a great job of breathing new life into the characters that McShane and the late, great Lance Reddick built from scratch back in 2014. Allain and Point-Du Jour are the clear-cut standouts of the series. Mishel Prada turns a lifeless character into a much more interesting one. Mel Gibson is...Mel Gibson? He does exactly what he's hired to do and it makes total sense why he was hired to play an absolute maniac who loves drugs and terrible puns. It's also a role that a lot of other people could play and likely bring something much more interesting to the table. 

Over the course of three episodes, The Continental tells a mostly complete story that won't leave you with a lot of questions or open ends. And it's worth noting that the series ends with a solid bang, with the quality of the third episode easily surpassing the first two. At the end of the day, you're left with a decent period-heist drama that's fun to watch, but you'll probably forget about it before too much time passes. It's good enough, but if it's John Wick you're looking for, Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski must have taken all the magic with them, because they sure didn't leave it at the Continental. 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

The Continental: From the World of John Wick premieres September 22nd on Peacock.