After a marathon 594 days between the season 4 finale and season 5 premiere, Strike Back returned with many big bangs last night in the UK on Sky1. Sadly, if you're a US viewer, you've got a full 8 weeks to wait until Strike Back screens on Cinemax on July 31.
The premiere of the final season, fittingly titled Strike Back: Legacy, was fantastic. The latest assignment for Section 20 began in Thailand, where the abduction of Chloe Foster, the daughter of British ambassador Robin Foster spurred the team into action. In what was a brilliant opening few minutes, lead duo Damien Scott and Michael Stonebridge emerged from the murky river beneath the kidnappers' hideout, with Kim Martinez distracting the crew by killing the power generator, and Julia Richmond and Philip Locke leading the operation remotely.
Once all hell broke loose, ringleader Ray McQueen's right hand man escaped with Chloe on a boat, with Scott on their tail on a jetski and Stonebridge close behind on a dirt bike. While the action scenes are one of Strike Back's strongest attributes, Director Michael J. Bassett, who also co-wrote the episode with Tim Vaughan & James Dormer, went to town with the camera positions and cuts, with some awesome GoPro style shots putting the viewer right in the middle of the action.
This trend continued right through the hour too, and the numerous stunts and fight scenes looked noticeably more refined alongside a well utilized bunch of extras and brilliant set design, with the locations such as the night club and crowded streets looking outstanding. The production quality was a massive overall step up for Strike Back, which was already one of the finest in its class.
Though the river pursuit ended in a fiery crash for Scott, Chloe remained at large with her captors, and the fun and games on the negotiation front swung into action. Chloe's father Robin wasn't satisfied with Section 20's handling of the attempted rescue and decided to go autonomous instead, using his position of power to walk a bomb into the embassy to decimate some North Korean diplomats. With just 15 minutes before the bomb detonated, Scott and Stonebridge had the unenviable task of pressing into gang territory to rescue, with Richmond also showing up at the last minute and saving Stonebridge from a grueling hand to hand engagement.
Despite their best efforts, the bomb detonated seconds after Locke shouted through the door to Robin that his daughter was safe, albeit minus a finger which was mailed to him earlier. It was too late for Robin to escape, though most of the North Koreans along with Locke succeeded in escaping the blast. It's early days but it looks likely that the final season of Strike Back will see some more North Korean involvement.
In summary, it's such a good feeling to see Strike Back return to the television world. The wait was worth it for the step up in production quality alone. I'm going to miss one of television's best bromances in ten weeks time, but it looks like these ten weeks will be one of the highlights of 2015 for me. One tiny criticism is the shortened title sequence. I really enjoyed the new graphic design, but the soundtrack is so good that shortening it kind of ruins it!
Thanks for reading! Do share your own thoughts on Strike Back's final season premiere below!
i liked this ep.seems like 2 ep is more action packed than ep 1.
ReplyDeleteYeah the promo had some interesting moments for next week
ReplyDeleteI'm so, so excited for this season, but at the same time, super anxious out about how it will end. I think the only other show that's ever been such a painfully stressful thing to watch was Spartacus, but they're both in my top ten favourite shows of all time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review Jimmy! I can't wait for the season to start here in the U.S. I hate that it's the final season. Hate it.
ReplyDeleteI've been following this show since its Richard Armitage days although I never always get to watch it (although Cinemax has been more than generous airing Strike Back in Asia as soon as after the US finish airing new episodes).
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do am a sucker of stories that go full circle, I have an inkling of hope of seeing John Porter somehow still alive (despite him getting executed in season 2) in the series finale.
It's the final season, anything could happen!
ReplyDeleteCheers, yeah it'll be very sad to see it go. That being said, it should hopefully end on a high
ReplyDeleteSpeaking off, looks like there's a new Strike Back novel coming up, and guess who's alive? http://www.examiner.com/article/chris-ryan-resurrects-john-porter-for-new-strike-back-novel-deathlist :D
ReplyDeleteFinally it is back. the episode was a great start to the season. I am gonna miss the show so much
ReplyDeleteGoing to watch now. So happy strike back is back. Will enjoy every second of it. I will try out both shows of the two lead actors.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone has Sky on demand the first 4 episodes are up. The next 4 will be up on the 1st of July,
ReplyDeleteGod stuff, yeah Blindspot is a bit ahead of The Player in my opinion but they both have plenty to like nonetheless
ReplyDeleteI am disappointed. The plot could be OK but the ties between it do not add up. In the first scene they fire gun shots then complain that 'they must have been tipped off' . They fail poorly to get the girl, which could have been made much more believable. The Major then fails to prevent the bomb getting to the embassy and can not even shout bomb. Also as a spy why would you say everything in front of the aide, lame. Poor script and I hope it gets better.
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