REVIEW: The Terminal List Was Best Left On the Shelf

In 2018, Jack Carr released his best-selling book, The Terminal List. The story followed Lieutenant Commander James Reece, whose team was ambushed while out on a mission leaving him the only one to come alive. Reeling from the effects of losing his team, Reece began to question what really happened on that tragic day and slowly realizes that the ambush was no accident, but a setup. A setup not committed by a foreign enemy, but someone much closer to home. Thus, Reece must race against the clock to avenge his team before it is too late. The book went on to become a New York Times best-seller, would lead to four more books being written about the former NAVY Seal, and a Prime Video series. However, this series may have been best left on the shelf.

The series is eight episodes long, but the writers do nothing to capitalize on the thrilling aspect of the series. Everything seems slow and drawled out rather than fast and riveting, which one would expect out of a political thriller. There is nothing about any of the episodes that leave you wanting more.

Chris Pratt stars as Reece and doesn’t have what it takes to pull off this role. There is nothing about him that screams deadly. His character is stale, and his emotions feel forced. With a series like this, you need a lead who will captivate the audience and have them rooting for them from the very beginning, at no point will you be rooting for Pratt’s Reece.

Pratt is joined in the series by Taylor Kitsch, who plays Reece’s friend, Ben Edwards, and Constance Wu, who plays journalist, Katie Buranek. From the second Kitsch is introduced on screen, I kept wondering why he was not cast as a lead. He most likely could have pulled off this role and given the character the justice he deserved. Instead, his character gets lost in the plot as does Wu’s Buranek.

If you are looking for a political thriller TV series, I would recommend checking out Michael B. Jordan as John Clark in Without Mercy or John Krasinski in Jack Ryan, both of which are also on Prime Video. This is not worth the time to sit through.