series of Netflix FUBAR, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, starts off strong. Created by Nick Santora, it celebrates the legacy of its main actor in action cinema. At the same time, he stresses that his past will be important in understanding what will come next.
In fact, the first minutes of production show that Luke Brunner, the character played by the Austrian, is a CIA agent with a long career. One that spans decades, continents, all kinds of dangers, and a handful of appreciable successes for the benefit of world peace.
What makes the protagonist of FUBAR into a dangerous figure, essential for very specific missions. Thanks to his knowledge of weapons and his ability to negotiate, the character is of considerable importance to the institution to which he belongs.
FUBAR
The Netflix series FUBAR, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a tribute to the action genre. Nick Santora’s script takes advantage of its protagonist to show an espionage story based on misunderstandings. Luke Brunner, played by the Austrian actor, is a CIA agent who has hidden his identity for years. Though he is also a loving father and husband he must deal with retirement and a domestic life he doesn’t quite understand. A precarious balance that will end up being broken when his secret is discovered in the middle of his last mission. With a plot inspired by True Lies, the plot creates a solid story that only falters in its predictable final stretch.
The echoes of the FUBAR series
But Luke he is also a father of a family who just turned 65 years old. Therefore, in addition to a more than probable retirement, he will have to deal with the first ailments of old age and the progressive exhaustion of a hidden identity for years. Much more, when it becomes evident that his life in the field of action has distanced him from those he loves.
Of course, it is inevitable to compare the script of FUBARwritten by Nick Santora, with the film True Liesby James Cameron. The series does not hide its links, but uses them in its favor. Which allows him to accentuate his ironic air and to turn a good part of his great action sequences into an opportunity to define his central figure. Luke he is a hero, although no one knows that he is or can know it. What ends up being a reason for dissatisfaction in the life of the character.
A discovery that changes everything
During the last thirty years, Luke It has been a shadow for yours. A loving father, but with notable absences and a kind husband, although always distracted. With a supposed office job, he pretends that his backaches, injuries and broken ribs have a justified reason. A crazy idea that becomes credible thanks to the direction of the camera, which portrays the Brunner home from a warm perspective.
When the character enters the domestic space, there is a change of atmosphere and dimension in FUBAR. A good decision that allows the plot to move forward, avoiding its slight inconsistencies with ease. Questions about how the agent has not been discovered until now are hidden under the tranquility of home. A trick that the plot will use on several occasions throughout its eight chapters.
Retirement gets complicated
But everything will become more complicated when his partner Barry (Milan Carter) informs him that he must carry out one last mission before returning home for good. Rescue a young CIA agent, in the hands of a terrorist cell. It might be an almost routine assignment for an agent of Luke’s caliber if not for two reasons. A leader who feels a predilection for him —who borders on a sick father figure— and the identity of the captured agent, who is none other than his daughter. Emma (Monica Barbaro). It is then that the double game of the plot and its most unique conflict are discovered.
Emma He has not only managed to keep his identity hidden for a good part of his life, but also to prevent his father from discovering it. A double feat that becomes the engine of FUBAR and its greatest strength. The chemistry between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro is believable and their relationship is based on identical personalities. Grumpy, disciplined and demanding. Both the one and the other know that they have the disposition, the ability and the will to get out of the mission alive. Which will lead to the two colliding, in a family story as atypical as it is well built.
FUBAR and the dilemmas of parents and children
Soon, Emma and Luke They become a duo that complements each other perfectly. While the action plot unfolds with an impeccable staging, FUBAR he is aware that he depends more on humor and the most sensitive moments of his story, so he points towards them. Gradually, the characters understand that collaboration is not enough, they must forgive each other and accept their shortcomings if they want to move on.
In its strange final chapter, the production falters a bit at the conclusion of a predictable narrative. Nevertheless, FUBAR it remains the sum of its best parts. A combination of comedy, explosions and parent-child love that surprises with its good results, despite its almost self-parody moments.