Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro Kill It in a Netflix Spy Comedy That Could Go Even Bigger With Its Action

When FUBAR first dropped in 2023, it signaled a strong return for Arnold Schwarzenegger to his action-comedy background. While he’s been excellent in The Terminator franchise, Predator, Total Recall, and a host of action classics, fans also loved him stretching his comedic chops in films like Kindergarten Cop and Twins. His visible tough-guy machismo has always played well against his willingness to poke fun at that bravado, be silly, or deliver outlandish one-liners for humorous effect. As FUBAR‘s longtime CIA operative Luke Brunner, Schwarzenegger leaned into this history and capably combined it with the story of a father forced to work with his daughter in the field. Season 2 boasts numerous funny moments, engaging twists, and entertaining new characters. When it works, it works quite well, but it’s also somewhat uneven with too many elements to keep track of.

What Is ‘FUBAR’ Season 2 About?

FUBAR Season 1 saw the secret identities of father-daughter operatives Luke (Schwarzenegger) and Emma (Monica Barbaro) burned. Now, they and the team, including “Uncle” Barry (Milan Carter), operatives Roo (Fortune Feimster) and Aldon (Travis Van Winkle), Luke’s reignited flame/Emma’s mother Tally (Fabiana Udenio), and exes Carter (Jay Baruchel) and Donnie (Andy Buckley) have been confined together in one witness protection house, combining familial, workplace, and love triangle comedy all in one.

When a recent plan to collapse the U.S. power grid comes to light, one connected to Luke’s old flame Greta (Carrie-Anne Moss) and her ex-MI6 agent second-in-command (and Emma’s hopeful suitor), Theodore Chips (Guy Burnet), the team is sent back into the field in a high-consequence season.

‘FUBAR’ Season 2 Has a Terrific Cast, but Guy Burnet Steals the Show

Schwarzenegger hasn’t lost a beat as the CIA legend who can’t escape high-threat jobs. He’s as tough guy-hilarious as ever, landing the character’s aged macho bravado with a hilarious edge. Barbaro is again tough, smart, occasionally foolhardy, and alluring to all the wrong people as Emma, and the pair have a strong, tit-for-tat dynamic that translates well. Carter adds considerable heart, sporting some of the season’s best emotional scenes, and Van Winkle and Feimster consistently play their capable-but-eccentric characters for laughs to success. Moss is a strong addition, believably adept at combat and nefarious schemes alike, and entertainingly in love with old flame Luke. Everyone puts in terrific work, but it’s Burnet who steals the show as the villainous, complex, but lovesick Theodore Chips. Never quite right with his pop-culture references, a little unhinged, and the down-baddest ex-MI6 agent of all time (and being perpetually enamored is James Bond’s main non-drinking-related character trait).

Season 2 boasts top-shelf humorous set pieces, including spy tangos, unique high-altitude maneuvers, puppets, and Swedish mafia surrounding a house (not to be confused with the Swedish House Mafia). The team walks the line between effective and errant, and they’re kept on their toes by a continually evolving villainous plan. The show similarly excels when pivoted into absurd directions, and the fight choreography is handled equally well by a talented cast. Still, the action could be bigger, grander in scale, or more creative in design. Much of the combat happens in close quarters, and while it’s amusing that the team spends so much time confined together, there’s more room for bigger, bolder, high-octane moments than the team took advantage of.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carrie-Anne Moss Have an Explosive Liaison in First ‘FUBAR’ Season 2 Trailer

He said he’d be back.

‘FUBAR’ Is Funny, Twisty, and Needs To Scale Down Its Cast After Season 2

FUBAR Season 2 is an engaging watch overall, with a host of surprises and excellent use of irony and absurdity without generally falling into slapstick. Yet some of its humor doesn’t land quite as well; Buckley has strong comedic timing as Donnie, but the season doesn’t know quite what to do with him until he’s forced on an excursion with Carter. There are also a few too many characters, which certainly lead to good opportunities for laughs and conflicts between everyone confined to a single home, but prove too much to balance in a single season.

FUBAR is an amusing and thrilling watch in Season 2. The core team shines, including Schwarzenegger, Barbaro, and Carter, who all earn dramatically interesting arcs throughout the season. The season’s antagonists are well-written for their genre-spanning purposes, and the pace is breezy overall, with quick-moving plot developments. The season does feel strained at times under the weight of so many characters, and the series should occasionally take greater advantage of its potential for scale and action. FUBAR has proven itself a series worth tuning in for with Season 2, but it’s still one in deep need of streamlining.

FUBAR

FUBAR mines refreshingly comedic, occasionally absurd moments in Season 2, but could use major streamlining.

Release Date

May 25, 2023

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Nick Santora

Directors

Phil Abraham, Stephen Surjik

Pros & Cons

• Arnold Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro, and Milan Carter all give great, layered performances and have complex arcs.
• Carrie-Anne Moss masters comedy and drama alike, while Burnet is exceptional throughout the season.
• Season 2 boasts some of the series’ best comedic set-pieces yet.

• The narrative struggles under the weight of too many characters, with some fine performers barely having anything worthwhile to do.