‘The Continental’ is a tasty supplement to ‘John Wick’

The four “John Wick” films are about gun-fu action, with the story being a mere excuse for said action. That’s OK when the gunplay and martial artistry reinvigorates the genre and creates a whole new subgenre. Plus, the foundational narrative is amusing as it codifies crime-drama staples like mobs and protectionism into a world of safe-space hotels for assassins.

The centerpiece hotel in the “Wick” world is the New York one, under the management of Winston Scott (Ian McShane in the films). Now it’s the focus of the 1970s-set prequel “The Continental: From the World of John Wick” (Peacock). It’s a grand title for a grand three-episode miniseries, which is really a four-and-a-half hour movie.

And it’s a good one, although not a one-sitting venture. And not one that’s precisely Wick-ian. But it is indeed “from the world.”

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The major difference is that the action swaps prime position with underworld intrigue. That’s OK, as it turns out, because weirdly, “Wick’s” world-building actually is kinda good, even if it was initially an afterthought.

Action relinquishes the driver’s seat to intrigue

That’s not to say there’s zero action. The first episode finds Frankie Scott (Ben Robson), Winston’s older brother, mowing down enemies with gun-fu as he steals the maguffin Coin Press from Continental boss Cormac (Mel Gibson).

And the finale features an amazing vengeance-laced rooftop martial arts fight between Frankie’s wife Yen (Nhung Kate) and Cormac lackey Gretel (Marina Mazepa), who mixes contortionist moves into the battle. Just don’t expect 4 hours of action resulting in a hotel of 1,000 corpses.

“The Continental” is lushly produced, showing us the slum-like New York of the Seventies rather than flower prints and bellbottoms. Actually, the show has a flavor of the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies – the era of young Winston – thanks to needle drops worthy of a “Guardians of the Galaxy”-type soundtrack.

It’s not made on the cheap. But it does cut budgetary corners in a way “Wick” never would. Notably, car chases aren’t in this show’s wheelhouse. Episode one climaxes with a road pursuit but it’s implied in stylized editing rather than highlighted in all its glory, as a “Wick” film would do. This sequence is so much worse than everything else that I wonder if it was last on the special-effects schedule and Peacock cut off the funding.

Later, a gun standoff reaches its crescendo when Cormac turns the lights out. Guns unload in the dark and gunmen shout that they can’t see a (f*****g) thing. Admittedly, it’s amusing when the lights turn on to reveal a pile of bodies, with only the necessary characters surviving. But it’s still blatant corner-cutting.

A narrower focus

Also, this is no travelogue. Most of the events take place in The Continental and the blocks around it – but hey, we can’t claim false advertising.

A TV series is by its nature going to spend time on characterizations, and “The Continental” delivers five-star service in this regard. The casting of the two familiar players is impeccable. I can imagine Colin Woodell’s Winston growing into McShane, although his voice is not as deep. And while Ayomide Adegun’s face shape is different from Lance Reddick’s, he so nails the African accent and mild demeanor that he’s a worthy Charon.

We also meet the precursor to the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), Mazie (Zainab Jah). I thought for sure she’d be revealed as the Bowery King’s mother, but to its credit “The Continental” insists on standing on its own feet rather than getting bogged down in connections to “Wick.”

Winston, by his nature, is smooth whereas Keanu Reeves’ John Wick is cool. When he says he needs “guns, lots of guns,” it’s worth a cringe because the comparison does him no favors. On his own, Winston is no replacement for Wick, but “The Continental” as a whole nearly matches “Wick.”

A chilling villain

Gibson’s Cormac stands on equal footing with any baddie in the “Wicks.” He’s terrifying at times but also oddly playful in his delivery of the one-liners put into his mouth by a team of four writers.

Not a single hero or villain in “The Continental” is mundane. In fact, the black sibling dojo owners and gunrunners (Jessica Allain and Hubert Point-Du Jour), the tough Hispanic female cop (Mishel Prada) and the Chinatown mob boss (Dan Li) are neo-noir and blaxploitation cliches, relatively speaking, despite being flavorful.

More original is soft-voiced, gentlemanly sniper Gene (Ray McKinnon), who is genuinely apologetic toward the woman whose apartment he has commandeered. We also get Gretel and her twin, Hansel (Mark Musashi), who kill more than they speak. And an Adjudicator (Katie McGrath) wears a mask that covers the lower half of a rat-eaten face.

With its focus on the underground’s and law enforcement’s chess moves made by colorful players, “The Continental” has a “Fargo”-like vibe at times. It gets back to the action just often enough, though, and remembers to add Wickian dark humor such as a calm female voice announcing that the prohibition against violence on hotel grounds has been temporarily lifted.

“The Continental” is a garnish to “John Wick,” not a competing meal. If fans approach it in that manner, I think they will savor it.