When he delivered the iconic line ‘I’ll be back’ in the early 1980s, not many believed that Arnold Schwarzenegger would keep on returning to fulfill the promise he made to his fans in The Terminator. First, it he fulfilled it with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, later with Escape Plan and now he is again back to what he does best in Fubar, his Netflix debut as a leading man.
Even at the age of 75, he is still fit as a fiddle and knows exactly what the audience expects from him, thus staying in the True Lies mode, with a surprising update. Thankfully, the series is not just an Arnie vehicle because it takes every character along the way, and while Monica Barbaro makes her presence felt, their chemistry as Daddy-Daughter keeps the viewers glued to their seats.
Why Fubar is a not-to-be-missed affair
The family of Luke Brunner (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has no idea that he is a CIA operative who saves the world on a daily basis until his daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro) finds out while she herself is on a CIA mission as an undercover agent. The two have lied to each other for years, so when they finally are teamed together to save the world, the father-daughter team has more to talk about than other operatives. Think of it as an updated version of True Lies in which Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character hid his past from his family until the wife found out; here the daughter gets to know that she and her dad are in the same business. From there onwards, they are sidetracked on missions and fight together less as spies and more as family members but even then, they save the world like they are expected to.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is back to his best!
Fubar is an Arnold Schwarzenegger special where he might not have done all the stunts like his former self, but he uses his acting skills to the best of his abilities. From Monica Barbaro who recently shared the screen with Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick to Fabiana Udenio who plays his ex-wife and Emma’s mother, and Milan Carter who plays his sidekick, Barry, Arnold Schwarzenegger is nothing short of a surprise package. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that he is the updated version of the flat-faced actor who played Hercules in the 1970s because here he knows when to deliver the dialogue, how to make an impact with the delivery, and how to make the audience remember it for a long time.
His inability to do all the stunts seem disappointing but that’s what growing old does to you, especially when you have chased predators, destroyed robots, and saved the world on countless occasions. It's good to know that his acting skills haven’t gone down because whoever is in the scene with him, develops a cracking chemistry with that person, even if it was the side character or one who doesn’t even matter. Add to the scenario a boyfriend Donnie (Andy Buckley) whom his ex-wife is dating and you get a restrained Arnold who doesn’t want to lose a fight!
Top Gun Monica Barbaro keeps flying high!
Long before she became part of the Tom Cruise starrer Top Gun: Maverick, Monica Barbaro was a TV star and had even worked in Netflix’s hit series The Good Cop. Here however she gets to play a central character who finds out that her father is a CIA operative like her and that the two have to go on missions to save the world without being able to plead their case in front of her mother and his ex-wife. He brings the swag that was needed to stand up to Arnold Schwarzenegger and does her job well from the moment she appears on screen.
She could be both a badass and a daddy’s daughter and the way she tackles her onscreen father makes us realise that we need to be more civil to our parents. Yes, she thinks of him as an outdated person, but as the series progresses, the two make amends and become the classic spy team that the audience hopes for. Some of their scenes where especially the one where the father and the daughter have a joint therapy session stand out because the two get to exercise their sarcastic skills in those moments.
Tom Arnold, and Gabriel Luna re-team with former co-star
Thirty years ago, when Arnold Schwarzenegger did True Lies, Tom Arnold was his Man Friday who helped him on his mission and even tailed his wife (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) when she went on an adventure of her own. He might not share the screen with his former co-star here but he makes his appearance in an unrelated character and steals the show.
Another actor who reteamed with the T-800 is Gabriel Luna who plays Boro Polonia the main antagonist whose own father was assassinated by Arnold’s character. Despite Arnold’s Luke Brenner being there for the fatherless child and monitoring his growth, he ends up heading his father’s illegal businesses and comes after Luke when he finds out the truth. From Milan Carter's Barry to Fortune Feimster's Roo, and Travis Van Winkle's Aldon C. Reese, everyone fits the characters they were given and comes out on top in their limited scenes.
Action, Comedy combo keeps the audience interested
What makes Fubar stand out from all the competing shows on TV or OTT platforms is the fact that it has Arnold Schwarzenegger in it, the man who started trends that were followed by others. Had he not done Commando, not even Liam Neeson would have managed to come up with Taken; had he not played comical characters in Twins, Jingles All The Way, and Junior, his counterparts wouldn’t have done the same in their latter years. With him going for a streaming platform where he gets to do everything he wants (and let the stuntmen do their work), who knows Arnold might be opening doors for many other actors who are aging.
What keeps Arnold’s fans interested in the series is that he brings all his experience to use here – he has scenes where he makes the audience laugh, he has moments where he shows his macho side and there are times when he displays his helplessness as a father. If an actor who was known more for his muscles than his acting chops can make a return in such a triumphant style, so can the others.
Mixing action and comedy was one of the best decisions by creator Nick Santora who has been associated with TV for the last 20 years. The way he has handled the father-daughter conflict is amazing and how he brings the series to a cliffhanging end shows that both the makers and the audience want the series to return so that they can safely Fubar it for the second time.
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