Strike Back: The Complete Third Season [Blu-ray] + Digital HD

SMOOTH TRANSACTINO

I continually cringe when watching action films at the often pathetic and sophomoric depiction of martial skills of characters we are supposed to believe are elite operators. This series however, absolutely blew me away. Yes anyone can nitpick and I make a hobby out of being hypercritical of poorly researched or executed action sequences that undermine my suspension of disbelief....Strike Back however........deprived me of this diversion. Yes, it is a TV action drama with all the attending limitations and requisite cliches.........however.....the weapons handling, building clearing and close quarters battle sequences in this series are executed with an eye to authenticity I am not sure I have EVER seen in a television show. BRAVO!! I involuntarily stood up in my living room and applauded on more than one occasion at the brilliant execution of many scenes. Not only that, but you know when you feel like you want to yell at the character, or throw pizza crust at the screen over a stupid mistake or idiotic oversight? I did this while watching this show on a handful of occasions...........but.........to my surprise.........the character DID IT ON QUE almost as if the writers/directors/tech advisors were winking at those in the audience they knew would be paying attention to such details... Absolutely Brilliant. If you like Commando Operas.....Strike Back is a MUST SEE. Yes, Virginia, The Good Guys WILL shoot an unconscious or wounded terrorist in the head to make sure they are dead, and yes they WILL shoot the bad guy in the back when he least expects it...and yes, they are still the Good Guys. Unfortunately this is the last season of this show, but both of the main actors were so impressive in this series they landed prime time network gigs Blindspot and The Player, also on amazon on demand. Television is now officially awesome. EDIT: I spoke too soon! I had been led to believe this was the last season.....but there are 10 more episodes of season 4 now available! YAY!!

This is a big, loud, swaggering, macho show - neither high class nor totally low brow, but somewhere in between. And (I'm somewhat reluctant to admit) it's pretty great entertainment. Even for a TV snob like me.Production values are amazing for a TV show; it looks like a theatrical action movie. The writing is better than expected and the characters, though definitely cliched (straight-laced, soft spoken Brit paired with ultra-patriotic, trigger-happy American sex hound) are likable enough to keep you engaged.Yes, the American guy slept with nearly every woman within breathing distance, but at least those women were his equals in the ass-kicking department. (And if you're sensitive to nudity/sex, be warned: it's frequent and it's full-on.) No damsels in distress here, and I say good riddance; it's one of the primary reasons I kept watching. The women held pivotal roles and they sometimes did outshine the guys.Each season our heroes get shipped off to a new, exotic place to do battle with a new, exotic bad guy (or gal), where mayhem ensues. It's actually more nuanced than that, yet this is pure fantasy nonetheless. You will have to suspend disbelief quite a lot, but you won't really mind - it's all so appealing to watch! Everyone's gorgeous and likable, and the locales make you want to jump on a plane, stat -- all of which balances the show's pervasive darkness (violence, betrayal, key characters dying, etc.) quite nicely.The word is "entertainment" and if that's what you watch TV for, you won't be disappointed with this one.

So first things first, you're probably not watching Strike Back Season 3 without having watched seasons 1 and 2. The good news for you is that season 3 of Strike Back is as good or better than the first 2 seasons, primarily because the focus remains on action, excitement and the bromancing of the two principal characters with a seemingly higher budget. For all its modernity, this series is basically a throw-back to the old serial westerns of yesteryear: except the horses have been traded in for Range Rovers, saving Ms. Nell's ranch every week has become saving the world, and the mustache twisting villain has become a terrorist.But the henchman who can't shoot and must die are amazingly plentiful; each episodes cliff-hangs you with a slightly newer version of having someone tied to a rail-road track; and our heroes are usually the only ones available in the entire of the world who can ride in and save the day.But I personally am willing to buy into this show and suspend some,if not most, of my logic because they manage to bring just enough sophistication to the plot lines and just enough earnestness to the action and overall approach so its enjoyable television. I end up pulling for the characters and the show as a whole because it feels as though, given the restraints of doing TV; they're giving it a go here for the fellas. And it's a fun show for a guy...Stuff explodes people! Every episode bros! And they occasionally do Cinemax late night scenes, but that aspect seems to be less emphasized this season in favor of spending more of the budget on flipping fiery cars and location shots of exotic cities.In other words, when I watched Season 3 in my favorite chair, beer in hand, I felt a little classier than I did in season 1 and 2. It was like I was drinking a fancy craft beer not just some mass market domestic, but occasionally I'd remember: it's still just beer.