That didn’t take long, huh?
After burying Strike Back with a proper finale Cinemax opted to revive it from an early grave with an all new cast in what had been an interesting but never amazing action television series.
Simple premise: the world needs Section 20 again and thus a new crew of badass former military types are there to save the world in a globe-trotting ten-episode series. Gone are everyone from the original as this is everything brand new and was intended as a final season… until it was renewed for another.
It works again, despite the new cast, because the show hasn’t lost its spirit with a new crew. The same sort of action thriller, told in a ten-hour longform, works because there’s time to breathe and grow as a longform story. It doesn’t quite have the same magic as the first iteration, which felt more like a buddy action thriller, but the show is now adapting into having the sort of team dynamic a show like Scorpion does.
It makes for a solid viewing, especially if you’re an action fan, but there isn’t anything amazing here. Just a whole lot of good to very good.
A couple EPK pieces are included.
HBO studio presents Strike Back (Season 5). Starring Philip Winchester, Sullivan Stapleton, Robson Green, Michelle Lukes, Milauna Jackson and Michelle Yeoh. Run Time: 600 minutes Not rated . Released on DVD: 8.21.16
