Obliterated is now streaming on Netflix.
Many may find it hard not to enjoy a series like Obliterated, the new action comedy series dropping on Netflix. For example, the series has two talented and attractive leads. There’s also a handful of recognizable veteran fan-favorite actors. Finally, the show doesn’t take itself too seriously.
However, almost immediately, Obliterated becomes an eye-roll-inducing affair. The jokes are so bad I would almost call it stunning. I wouldn’t claim they miss their marks because they have none. The dialogue is terrible, even taxing, and the overall experience is excessively grating.
The only thing I can compliment about the series is the artist who created the poster. Whoever the genius is, they clearly captured the overall crappiness the series strives for. If you will, it is a merciful warning for viewers under the encompassing cover of Obliterated’s hyperdriven overstimulation.
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Obliterated Plot Summary and Review
Obliterated’s story follows an “elite” (as Colonel Jessup would say, “Is there another kind?”) special forces unit. Their mission? Thwart a threat that could destroy an entire city. Where? Well, Las Vegas, Nevada, of course. The epitome of greed and gluttony is what makes any terrorist bristle with jealousy.
Ava (Shelley Hennig) leads the team and defuses situations using her remarkable beauty, military skills, and common sense. That includes the bomb they are searching for at a poolside party. Ava reports directly to CIA Director James Langdon (Alias’s Carl Lumbly), a political animal who seems to have no other team to fight terrorism in the United States.
Langdon surrounds Ava with the likes of Chad (Nick Zano), a meathead who relies on instincts that lead to actions first and questions later. The cliched characters continue with Maya (Kimi Rutledge), the IT nerd. Trunk (Terrence Terrell) is the muscle that is hiding his sexual orientation. Then, rounding out the group is Paul (Euegen Yen), a family man struggling to find a work-life balance.
Obliterated has good-looking actors, terrible dialogue, and a taxing streaming watch.
Obliterated is brought to you by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, the creative team behind the streaming smash hit Cobra Kai, which makes the result even more shocking. The writers here seemed to have abandoned all that goodwill, affectionate storytelling, and well-written characters to blitz the viewer with an overt amount of overwrought action cliches.
For instance, encompassing the entire series is the character of Hagerty (C. Thomas Howell), an unhinged bomb expert missing, uh, a handful of digits. Howell’s Hagerty is the ceiling for abrasive annoyance because he’s over the top. The issue is that there is no floor to even out the other characters because each is a unique dumpster fire.
The story is also utterly predictable. There is an obvious sign of a double cross, evident from the first few episodes. If you watch enough series, certain characters’ backgrounds point to predictions of an inevitable demise. That’s a shame for an actress like Hennig. She has shown some natural talent and comic timing in films like When We First Met and The After Party. She deserves better material.
Is Netflix’s Obliterated Worth Watching?
The Netflix streaming series Obliterated is not worth watching. The highly strung-out storytelling leads to numerous issues. The needless action does not allow for any breathing room for character development and reflection. This seems to be by design to beard the evident lack of story here stretched beyond its limited of an 8-episode series.
The result is cartoonish, with little emotional connection with the viewer, and relies on clunky dialogue and too much exposition. Frankly, these characters feel like they were recycled from the American Pie and Harold & Kumar franchises and have shown little to no adult growth in very mature situations.
If you watch Obliterated, remember what happens in Netflix shows set in Las Vegas should stay there. It’s one of the year’s worst series.
3/10
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