PremiumObliterated Review – Did Netflix want us to be thrilled with the action or triggered by the exaggerated nudity?
There are eight episodes in Obliterated, each one hour long, and one still can't feel any thrills. One wonders why Netflix needs to rely on X-rated content to coax people to watch their content
A still of Shelley Hennig from Obliterated
Last Updated: 10.12 PM, Dec 01, 2023
I am immediately excited when it comes to a show or film that falls into the action-crime genre, and that too from Hollywood. You can see excitement on the faces of action fans if someone asks them to watch John Wick, The Matrix, Fast & Furious, Mission Impossible, Terminator, Die Hard, or even some of the James Bond movies. When it comes to action thrillers or crime dramas, Hollywood generally knows what it's doing.
Hence, without a second thought, I opt to watch Netflix's Obliterated. The eight-episode series does not have any widely known actors other than Shelley Hennig, Nick Zano, and C. Thomas Howell. I was thrilled nonetheless. Although the series is supposed to fall in the action-crime genre, there seems to be less action and more satirical comedy, combined with lots and lots of nudity.
Obliterated Story
The series opens with a rooftop pool party in Las Vegas, with free-flowing alcohol and drugs. CIA agent Ava Winters (Shelley Hennig) created a team of seven people - Chad McKnight (Nick Zano), Hagerty (C. Thomas Howell), Trunk (Terrence Terrell), Maya Lerner (Kimi Rutledge), Angela Gomez (Paola Lázaro), and Paul Yang (Eugene Kim), including herself, at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. The team has been on a mission for six months, to stop a Russian bomb and save Las Vegas.
The team finds Russian terrorist Ivan Koslov (Costa Ronin) at the pool party, arrests him, and defuses the bomb. To celebrate, they decide to have a Las Vegas-style party before they split, which, of course, includes drugs, alcohol, strippers, sex, and more.
The twist in the tale comes when CIA director Langdon tells the team when they are partying that the bomb they found is fake and the real one is still with Koslov’s men. And they have only seven hours to find it and defuse it. Now remember, the entire team is high on drugs and alcohol, which is apparently what makes the mission a challenging and dangerous one.
Obliterated Review
Although the series begins with some good shots, the more you watch it, the more it feels like you're watching American Pie, since it is filled with sexual comedy and a lot of nudity. It's also clear that the makers have added excessive satirical jokes to make viewers feel a little relaxed. But they end up boring you. It's very disappointing that the sex jokes are quite poor and not at all required. Even the character of Maya Lerner could have been better as a hacker. Kimi Rutledge couldn't even get any closer to Ludacris and Nathalie Emmanuel from Fast & Furious. Even though all the characters tried to show themselves as invincible fictional heroes, the lack of seriousness is absolutely irksome.
Obliterated Verdict
While its premise had the potential for sharp satire and humour, Obliterated falls short in its execution, delivering a disjointed and uninspired narrative. The series’ reliance on crude humour and gratuitous violence fails to elevate the material, leaving me with utter disappointment rather than amusement. Despite having high-quality action sequences with amazing camera movement, Las Vegas is the wrong backdrop for such high-octane content.
Watch Obliterated only on Netflix.
