Netflix Action Comedy With Genre Legend Is Super Funny

By Robert Scucci
| Published 21 seconds ago

Of all the action stars who rose to prominence in the 80’s and 90’s, Arnold Schwarzenegger has the most staying power because he is the most self-aware tough guy of his graduating class ever. Best known for his innate ability to keep a straight face while delivering pithy one-liner after one-liner, Austrian Oak has shown he can still make you laugh while kicking ass in the Netflix Original series, FUBAR. Played out as a cross between Parents meeting a Commando, FUBAR is typecast by design, self-aware in all the right ways, and a shining example of how even the most cliched of action movie tropes can still be effective if everyone on board knows the assignment.

Arnold Is A Geriaction Hero

FUBAR had been on my watch list for months before I finally decided to give it a try because I was worried 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 (incorrectly) think he’d half-heartedly show up for a paycheck in a fake attempt to relive his glory days as Al Bundy ya ya how is it. he scored four touchdowns in a single game for Polk High School in 1966. Fortunately, I was wrong, and I’m glad to say that Schwarzenegger’s still got that X factor that makes him so likable.

The Meet the Parents Connection

Similar to Robert De NiroJack Byrnes from the Meet the Parents franchise, Schwarzenegger portrays Luke Brunner, a CIA operative who is about to retire after his last successful sting operation. Always tight-lipped about the true nature of his work, Luke has lied to his family for decades under the guise of owning and operating a gym supply company called Merry Fitness alongside side with Barry (Milan Carter), who also works for the CIA as a technical company. operations officer. Luke’s secret double life has torn his family apart, leading to his wife Tally (Fabiana Udenio) filing for divorce before the events that unfold in FUBAR.

Although Luke wants to put his CIA life behind him so he can rekindle his relationship with Tally, his relationship with his daughter, Emma (Monica Barbaro), is just as worn out.

In FUBAR’s opening episode, “Take Your Daughter to Work Day,” we learn that Emma has her own secret life. Everyone, including Luke and her boyfriend, Carter (Jay Baruchel), is under the impression that she is traveling the world for humanitarian efforts such as supplying fresh drinking water to the citizens of La Guajira, Columbia.

When Luke is called out of retirement to extract an operator codenamed Panda from Guyana, he learns the hard truth: Panda is his daughter, and she’s trying to get rid of an arms dealer from the name of Boro Polonia (Gabriel Luna). Luke’s trust is shaken when he learns that Barry, as well as his fellow operatives Roo (Fortune Feimster) and Aldon (Travis Van Winkle), know about Emma’s involvement with the CIA, but that they are under oath sworn to secrecy. Luke also has a history with Boro, as he murdered his father when he was just a boy and acted as his mentor while undercover.

Father/Daughter Bonding In The Form Of Counter Terrorism

FUBAR It has a lot of moving parts, but it keeps the viewer in the loop without ever coming off as patronizing as it blasts through every action movie trope you can think of.

First, we have the “We’re not so different, you and me” dynamic between Luke and Emma. Emma clearly has daddy issues (her words not mine) because of how absent Luke was during her childhood, forcing her to be an overachiever. Luke feels guilty for lying to his family, and worries that his daughter’s personal life will fall apart like his own as she devotes herself further to her work. As they butt heads during their missions, they develop a new appreciation for each other because Luke is a top CIA agent, and his little girl is clearly doing a great job following in his footsteps .

We also see a lot of “no hour” tropes play out throughout the eight-episode run, as there’s always a bomb that needs to be disarmed, a runaway train that’s about to derail, and Boro, who’s always back always one step ahead. CIA while on the run.

My favorite action comedy trope in FUBARhowever, is the clever banter between Luke, Emma, ​​Barry, and Roo. Roo has a foul mouth, speaks her mind, and always has to dress in less than exciting disguises to carry out her journey while offering relationship advice to Barry.

What’s more, when Luke and Emma are forced to see an occupational psychologist named Dr. Pfeffer, they start calling him “Dr. Pepper” and name dropping other soda brands to get under his skin. After being called out for making a massive amount of fake soda, Luke tells Dr. Pfeffer (Scott Thompson) that he had to be “fanta-sizing,” proving that our favorite action hero still knows how to get wise this far into his career. .

Stream FUBAR on Netflix

If you grew up watching Arnold Schwarzenegger during his action movie heyday, then FUBAR is the next series you should watch out for Netflix. Schwarzenegger and company approach their secret spy lifestyle with a wink and a nod in every scene, and the action sequences are of feature film quality, which makes the series even more enjoyable. Between every single explosion and round of gunfire, FUBAR it has a lot of heart thanks to its family dynamic, and it has a laugh-per-minute ratio that you wouldn’t expect going in streaming the series with no 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 expected to be released in mid-2025.