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Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:
The team heads to Hong Kong to apprehend a corrupt U.S. Admiral who uses a computer virus to wreak havoc on naval vessels.
Memorable Quote:
Let's get out of here. This is the kind of place where you catch a nasty virus. ~Phelps
Highlight:
Let's get out of here. This is the kind of place where you catch a nasty virus. ~Phelps
Highlight:
The opening scene where the sub sinks is well filmed. There appears to be a little stock footage mixed in, but nevertheless it's a job well done.
Lowlight:
Lowlight:
The entire second half of the episode -- more on this below.
Final Analysis:
Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:
- In real life if Grant and Shannon had barged into a foreign airport's security office and just took their prisoner, there'd be a little bit of pushback.
- You know it's a bad sign of things to come when the scene where the 15 guys breathing in gas from a lawn sprinkler and start falling like dominoes is the more credible part of the episode.
- Once the action shifted to the submarine, the episode did more than just go off the rails -- the train crashed headlong into the canyon and burst into flames. Where in Hong Kong did they get access to a full length sub complete with an accompanying soundstage? And not even 1000 Steven Spielbergs could have executed this plan including the flashing lights, water coming in, illusions of an exploding ship, rescue at sea, remote control contacts, and much more, all while each team member is playing multiple roles.
- And from a plot standpoint, I had no clue what was happening on the sub. I was especially perplexed at the Admiral banging on a keyboard as he's getting deluged with water and somehow that gave the IMF team what they needed.
Final Analysis:
Mamma mia! I never thought anything would be even close to as bad as The Devils, but this one just about gets there. Ranking it 17 out of 18.
Maybe I'm holding this series to a ridiculously low standard but, like "The Devils", the fact that this was a coherent hour with a beginning, middle, and end that held my attention was enough to keep it out of the gutter for me. It's middle of the pack for me, in between "The Legacy" and "The Fixer". This show had its moments of impressive special effects and the opening scenes on the ship certainly qualified. Like you, I had my doubts that Grant's tech wizardry was quite amazing enough to pull off a con job of this magnitude against the Admiral, but I thought it was at least a little amusing to see it unfold. Most absurd was the blue screen explosion footage the Admiral was buying into.
ReplyDeleteThis was adventure TV at its most implausible but this seemed moderately inspired to me, embracing its foolishness rather than merely tolerating its mediocrity the way the weaker episodes do and the way nearly every episode of the "MacGyver" reboot does.