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'Strike Back: Season Four' More bang, louder boom
Courtesy of CinemaxHigh-octane action-fueled series Strike Back, in its fourth and final season, plays to the gallery with a bigger boom and a louder bang
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Courtesy of Cinemax
High-octane action-fueled series Strike Back, in its fourth and final season, plays to the gallery with
a bigger boom and a louder bang.
In its fourth year, the Cinemax Original action series Strike Back returns for its last 10 episodes, the first of which premiered on Aug. 1 in Indonesia ' the same day as the US.
When Michael Stonebridge (played by Philip Winchester, who also features in the series 24: Live Another Day) and Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton, 300: The Rise of an Empire) of the elite British intelligence undercover unit Section 20 set out to crack a missing-persons case in Bangkok, they quickly realize that what seems to be a simple kidnapping is actually the first step in a massive terrorist plot with global implications.
Stonebridge, Scott and the rest of their team -- Philip Locke (Robson Green), Julia Richmond (Michele Lukes) and Kim Martinez (Milauna Jackson) -- soon find themselves crisscrossing Asia and Europe as they battle the Japanese yakuza, Russian mafia, cyber terrorists, elite mercenaries and other deadly forces.
Shot on location from Hungary to Thailand, the final season features nonstop twists and turns, as Scott, who's also dealing with a life-changing personal matter, and Stonebridge find themselves in the eye of an escalating international political storm.
'It's going to be lots of stunts for this season. I've been in the show since the beginning, but I feel like every season, it gets bigger, yet a little scarier,' Lukes told a selected media, including The Jakarta Post, at a press junket in Bangkok in December last year.
'A lot of stunts, but they are super fun and we do all stunts ourselves. It's the last season, and I feel a bit sad because we do a lot of fun stuff in this series,' added the British-Singaporean.
To add a little freshness, Strike Back has brought in extraordinary talents including the charismatic Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Tomorrow Never Dies), Dustin Clare (Spartacus), Will Yun Lee (The Wolverine), Joseph Gatt (Game of Thrones) and British mixed martial arts champion Michael Bisping.
On Yeoh's appearance in the show, Lukes said that the actress' character added color to the overall story of the season.
'In general, we have an amazing new bad guy, Michele Yeoh, who is phenomenal. The final season will be in a similar format to previous seasons, where the team is trying to stop Michele Yeoh's character from creating trouble.
'In Richmond's journey, she has pivotal scenes with Michele Yeoh,' she added.
Another interesting development in the final season is the presence of Scott's son Finn (Christian Antidormi).
'Finn comes to Bangkok to meet his father, who is on a mission, for the first time. You'll see a connection between Scott and Finn, and the fact that they've never met before, it builds an interesting story,' said Antidormi, adding that Stapleton and him, both from Australia, also had similarities in terms of personality and character.
Commenting on the surprises that the series has offered, Stapleton said that Legacy would be an interesting closure season. 'It's an exciting season ' also with the characters. But it's a final season, so it's exciting at one side, but it also makes us sad.'
Aside from the boom and the bang, Stapleton said that it would be an emotional season for his character. The exploration of that father and son relationship, however, was fun for Stapleton.
'Damien Scott, he's still on missions and yet he's trying to look after his kid. Scott's still cheeky, naughty, by the way,' he added.
As for the Stonebridge character, Winchester said that the final season was the determining moment for the character.
'Will Stonebridge remain as a soldier, or has his time ended ' those sort of questions, which is life imitating art. We're just answering those questions. And what it means to be a soldier in a modern society where there's no black and white, only grey,' he added.
After four years of companionship on Strike Back, Winchester, Stapleton and Lukes have similar feelings on the series' imminent end.
'I think I'm going to miss the whole Strike Back family. It takes a thousand people to make this, and we feel like we're part of that,' said Winchester.
Echoing Winchester, Stapleton said that he enjoyed the closeness among everyone involved in the production. 'The friendship and the family have been developed over four years; we've done this every year. For about seven months [of the year] I spent time with these people. In that respect, the strength of the friendship gets stronger.'
Meanwhile, Lukes said that she would miss doing the stunts. 'I love the stunts, the weapons. I love jumping off helicopters. I know it's crazy, but you don't often get that opportunity.
'I will also miss the team, and the travelling part,' she added.
Cinemax's four seasons of Strike Back are a continuation of the original six-episode series Strike Back, which aired on Sky TV in 2010, and are based on the novels by Chris Ryan, the pen name of a real-life former British Special Forces operative.
The series was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2012.
