Terminal List A High Quality Revenge Story: Navy SEAL Version of John Wick
When it comes to revenge stories, Terminal List is one of the best you’ll see. Chris Pratt gives a solid performance as Navy SEAL James Reece. Quality practical effects, smart cinematography and stark authenticity set it apart from the long list of B-list and C-list movies from washed up action stars who have struggled to get their own John Wick-style franchise going.
Revenge stories begin with a man wronged and James Reece may be the most wronged man ever. His personal and professional lives are completely destroyed. Add on top to that his brain injuries and he may be the most sympathetic character ever. The show is based on a novel by Jack Carr (former Navy SEAL) who wasn’t subtle at all with his hero’s motivation.
Like John Wick, James Reece is the one you send to kill the boogeyman. He is a Navy SEAL and one of the best. His experience in combat, intelligence, tactical planning, and his superhuman endurance make him the military version of John Wick.
While John Wick is an amazing action experience, it is mostly born of Hollywood. Certain aspects of Keanu Reeves’s performance appear authentic but the combat scenarios and tactics were largely set up to maximize body count. The cast of characters were also meant to be colorful, romanticizing the hitman profession.
Terminal List’s action sequences and supporting cast are impressively authentic thanks to its source material, a novel by a former Navy SEAL. Executive Producers Pratt and Antoine Fuqua made a strong commitment to realism in its portrayal of special forces, the U.S. military, and the challenges soldiers face coming home.
The acting, cinematography, and special effects were all high quality. Chris Pratt truly challenged himself with this role. Instead of being a wise-cracking action star, he had to portray a man dealing with intense grief and indescribable anger. He’s played special forces operators in the past and sells the strong, stoic, committed type but when it came to emotionally intense scenes, he wasn’t quite able to deliver. Pratt did a better job with the PTSD and psychological trauma that his character struggled with in the show.
Taylor Kitsch and Tyner Rushing did a great job as his war buddies who secretly helped him to complete his mission. Constance Wu was impressive as a tenacious war journalist and went toe-to-toe with Jeanne Tripplehorn in a couple scenes. Jai Courtney played a greedy corporate exec asshole to great effect. It was really easy to hate him.
The plot is deliberate and simple, but keeps you focused with high-end action sequences, some cool spycraft elements, and a slow reveal of the conspiracy. It is a little more complex and morally ambiguous than comparable revenge stories but still not particularly intricate. The ending is a bit predictable but the rest of the show more than makes up for it.
There is some concern at the fetishizing of violent revenge. This type of story appeals to anger and violent impulses to exact retribution, in contrast to seeking justice. Revenge is not justice. Reece is seldom challenged on his violent actions, with the plot conveniently ruling out any legitimate means of going after those responsible. Extrajudicial killings, including of U.S. officers is the only way.
On the positive side, Terminal List deserves credit for showing the struggles of U.S. Special Forces, and combat personnel more broadly. It hits on the inadequate care of veterans, the exploitative use of soldiers. The military is desperate to maximize combat effectiveness and squeeze as much as possible out of each soldier, often failing to remember the soldiers are human beings that will eventually need to go home and function in civilian life.
Overall, it is a great show. At the same time, it is worth asking whether we enjoy revenge stories a little too much. Do we want to portray it as justified, righteous, and effective? Is Reece content or satisfied at the end? In the final scene, he appears to be. Should we feel satisfied as well?
Perhaps this is a discussion for another time. In the mean time, watch Terminal List.