FUBAR

Genres : Comedy, Action, Drama 

Writer : Surya Turaga 

Date : 5th June, 2023 

A fun and lighthearted comedy action show that most can enjoy. It didn’t live up to the mark, but was relaxing and enjoyable to watch nonetheless. It was certainly nice to see Arnold Schwarzenegger get back into his style of acting. I just wish he was given a chance to show off his flair more. 

FUBAR is about Luke Brenner (Arnold) acting like a normal guy to his family, when in fact he’s a CIA agent. He discovers that his daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro) is doing the exact same thing. So both of them now have to get used to working together while maintaining their cover and going on action missions to catch a terrorist. 

The plot reminded me of True Lies, an old Arnie classic. In this case, each episode had a mission, and as the characters would complete the mission, they would also go through tangential plot lines and their own character arcs. 

I liked the show structure very much. It was fun watching the main plot of terrorist catching develop while all the characters got sufficient exposure and attention. The show definitely highlighted the characters in unique and different ways; through romance, comedy, relationship drama, etc. Again, it’s just fun to watch. But the show definitely felt off in its pacing. 

The main terrorist plot was short and simple enough for a quick 150 minute movie. Instead of adding material, they stretched it to a season of 8 episodes. So the ‘debriefing sessions’ before missions just start feeling dull and dragged out. The ‘action missions’ can’t keep tension high for such extended periods of time, so it falls apart from time to time. 

On the other hand, the idea of Luke and his daughter grappling with the fact that both of them have been lying to each other all their lives had enough substance for a show with 3 times this volume. Clever jokes, hilarious scenarios, and so much more potential was just sitting there. But the show was so concerned with moving the main plot forward that we didn’t get enough of this. 

So the final result FUBAR is a strange journey of stretched and squeezed plots that just seem confused. The show missed out on a lot, including developing on 2 or 3 certain relationships I won’t spoil. The action was too held back, probably due to a low budget or just poor planning. 

The show also did NOT let Arnold Schwarzenegger play in his role enough. Typical Arnie actions are full of stylish action, dad joke style punchlines, and well embedded humor. FUBAR wanted a funny dad so much they left out the most important aspect of the character, Arnold himself. He wasn’t bad, just a bit out of his element. 

Overall, it’s an ok action show for timepass alone. It really could have used a lot of touching up. Anyone who goes into this with the hopes of reliving True Lies or Commando experiences will be let down. Regardless, I don’t see anything wrong with watching this for the sake of some light laughs or drama embedded with mediocre action sequences. 

Surya-o-meter : 72%