{"id":583873,"date":"2023-07-22T18:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-22T15:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/special-ops-lioness-review-zoe-saldana-and-nicole-kidman-in-taylor-sheridans-simplistic-paramount-series\/"},"modified":"2023-07-22T18:15:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-22T15:15:00","slug":"special-ops-lioness-review-zoe-saldana-and-nicole-kidman-in-taylor-sheridans-simplistic-paramount-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/special-ops-lioness-review-zoe-saldana-and-nicole-kidman-in-taylor-sheridans-simplistic-paramount-series\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u2018Special Ops: Lioness\u2019 Review: Zoe Salda\u00f1a and Nicole Kidman in Taylor Sheridan\u2019s Simplistic Paramount+ Series"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a23e52c5a733\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a23e52c5a733\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/special-ops-lioness-review-zoe-saldana-and-nicole-kidman-in-taylor-sheridans-simplistic-paramount-series\/#Special_Ops_Lioness\" >Special Ops: Lioness<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    There\u2019s a moment late in <em>Barbie<\/em> when a character lays out all the contradictory demands placed on women: to be strong but not too strong, pretty but not too vain, ambitious but never aggressive, and on and on and on. It\u2019s an inconceivable standard for <em>anyone<\/em> to meet, even a perky toy doll, and the film\u2019s conclusion is that the only way to live with them is by letting go of the pressure to try.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    But the thing about cultural <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>s is that they\u2019re damnably hard to shake. There are always going to be people trying to thread that needle, no matter how clearly impossible it is. And so we get stuff like Paramount+\u2019s <em>Special Ops: Lioness<\/em>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> that tries so hard to meet some broadly palatable ideal that it largely forgets to do anything interesting.<\/p>\n<div class=\"review-summary-card\">\n<div class=\" lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-a-125 u-background-color-honey-light \">\n<div class=\"lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column u-width-275@tablet u-border-b-1@mobile-max u-border-r-1@tablet u-border-dotted lrv-u-margin-r-150 lrv-u-padding-r-150 lrv-u-margin-r-00@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-r-00@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-b-125@mobile-max lrv-u-margin-b-075@mobile-max\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-u-font-family-primary u-font-size-34 u-font-size-38@desktop-xl lrv-u-line-height-small lrv-u-margin-b-125 \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Special_Ops_Lioness\"><\/span>\n<p>                    Special Ops: Lioness        <\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>                    <span class=\"lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase lrv-u-font-family-accent lrv-u-font-weight-bold lrv-u-color-brand-primary lrv-u-font-size-16 lrv-u-display-block\">The Bottom Line<\/span><br \/>\n                    <span class=\"c-span  u-font-size-22@tablet u-font-style-italic lrv-u-font-family-secondary\"><\/p>\n<p>    Great army ad, lackluster drama.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"lrv-u-line-height-large a-children-icon-spacing-none lrv-u-font-family-accent lrv-u-font-size-18\">\n<p>                            <strong>Airdate:<\/strong> Sunday, July 23 (Paramount+)<br \/><strong>Cast:<\/strong> Zoe Salda\u00f1a, Laysla De Oliveira, Michael Kelly, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin H\u00e9bert, Jonah Wharton, Stephanie Nur, Hannah Love Lanier<br \/><strong>Creator:<\/strong> Taylor Sheridan<br \/>\n            <span><br \/>\n                                            <\/span>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    The new non-<em>Yellowstone<\/em> Taylor Sheridan thriller centers on Lioness, an elite team led by CIA agent Joe (Zoe Salda\u00f1a) that infiltrates groups of terrorists by sending undercover operatives to ingratiate themselves with their wives and daughters. The latest recruit is Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira), a strong female character in every stereotypical sense. For starters, the literal one: In Marine Corps basic training, she hits pull-up counts and running speeds that put her in the 99th percentile \u2014 \u201con the <em>men<\/em>\u2018s scale,\u201d her superiors marvel, lest we presume she\u2019s only good for a girl. Additionally, she\u2019s the stoic silent type. She rarely gets emotional, even when reflecting on her own tragic backstory, and is prone to neither comedy nor frivolity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    At the same time, she\u2019s conventionally attractive \u2014 as <em>Special Ops: Lioness<\/em> takes pains to emphasize with a scene that has her s<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a> naked for the flimsiest of plot reasons. And before we get to know her as a soldier, we see her as a damsel in distress. While fleeing an abusive boyfriend so one-dimensionally awful he might as well be twirling a mustache, she runs straight into a Marine Corps recruitment center, where she\u2019s so impressed by the officer for scaring him off that she enlists almost on the spot. Tough but also vulnerable, pretty in a casual way, talented enough to attract notice but never so crass as to actually pursue career advancement: check, check and check, never mind if it leaves Cruz feeling less like a human than a jumble of focus-group-approved traits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    In fairness, some flatness isn\u2019t necessarily unusual for a series just starting out, and critics like myself were only sent the first episode of <em>Special Ops: Lioness<\/em>. If its moral universe seems too black-and-white to be interesting \u2014 America good, terrorists bad, war-torn Middle Eastern countries perpetually tinted yellow \u2014 we can hope future storylines will add some welcome shades of gray. If its characters seem overly simple now, perhaps we\u2019ll get more depth as we get to know them better. If nothing else, we can surely look forward to more from Nicole Kidman, who appears only briefly as Joe\u2019s CIA boss, or Morgan Freeman, who does not show up in the pilot at all.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    And even from here, <em>Special Ops: Lioness<\/em> isn\u2019t all bad. De Oliveira imbues Cruz with enough gravitas to suggest hidden depths that the script has so far declined to plumb. She\u2019s liveliest when bristling under the authority of Salda\u00f1a\u2019s cryptic, slightly sardonic Joe. Meanwhile, Salda\u00f1a draws a poignant contrast between Joe\u2019s icy professional demeanor and her tender private one, as in a visit to the husband (Dave Annable) and kids who\u2019ve become nearly strangers to her after so many months sequestered in distant, classified locations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    But too much of the hour is marked by indifference, incuriosity and a lack of imagination. Its requisite action scenes (John Hillcoat directed the pilot) are unmemorable at best and downright confusing at worst. They\u2019re there because you\u2019d expect them from a military spy thriller, not because anyone had any particular ideas about how to make them look cool or exciting. Its dialogue is boilerplate. A bonding scene between Cruz and her new teammates should be an opportunity to showcase their personalities. Instead, we get boring clich\u00e9s like \u201cI don\u2019t trust anyone who doesn\u2019t get drunk with me,\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m a fucking Marine, what\u2019d you expect?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Its script seems to be constructed with the assumption that most of the audience will only be half-watching while scrolling <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> on their phones anyway. Consumed that way, it\u2019s probably less noticeable that (for instance) the timeline seems to skip forward at an erratic pace \u2014 certain events that seem like they should be weeks apart turn out to have transpired over days, while entire months fly by without so much as an onscreen caption to acknowledge the passing of time. Actually pay attention, like I did for this review, and you might find yourself asking questions like \u201cWhy is Cruz, a character we\u2019re made to understand is really good at pull-ups and not very interested in people, singled out as a top recruit for a mission that calls on her ability to befriend and manipulate a shopaholic socialite?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    But there is one aspect of <em>Special Ops: Lioness<\/em> that shines through clear as day no matter how much or how little of your focus you\u2019ve directed toward it, and that is its reverence for the U.S. Marine Corps. To call it an hourlong recruitment ad would be understating just how heavy-handed it is. It\u2019s not enough that an officer saves Cruz from her abusive ex. Later, she recounts what happened to another officer so that he can underline the show\u2019s theme in more explicit terms: \u201cWe are the strong. We protect the weak. We are merciless in that endeavor.\u201d A more thoughtful drama might hang on the last part of that statement, and springboard from there into difficult conversations about how far that mercilessness goes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    This one shrugs off any misgivings about its characters\u2019 mission with the reasoning that \u201cif you ain\u2019t cheating, you ain\u2019t trying.\u201d Which sounds good coming out of a soldier\u2019s mouth, as long as you don\u2019t think too hard about how that line of thinking might play out in practice. But that seems to be par for the course for a series enamored more of impossible ideals than actual human nature or lived experience. In a weekend when even Barbie\u2019s being forced to confront the gap between fantasy and reality, it\u2019s <em>Special Ops: Lioness<\/em> that comes out looking like it\u2019s populated by plastic action figures.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004\">\n!function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\nif (f.fbq) return;\nn = f.fbq = function() {n.callMethod ? n.callMethod.apply(n, arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);};\nif (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\nn.push = n;\nn.loaded = !0;\nn.version = '2.0';\nn.queue = [];\nt = b.createElement(e);\nt.async = !0;\nt.src = v;\ns = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);\n}(window, document, 'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '352999048212581');\nfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-reviews\/special-ops-lioness-review-zoe-saldana-nicole-kidman-taylor-sheridan-1235540945\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a moment late in Barbie when a character lays out all the contradictory demands placed on women: to be strong but not too strong, pretty but not too vain, ambitious but never aggressive, and on and on and on. It\u2019s an inconceivable standard for anyone to meet, even a perky toy doll, and the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":583874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/LNS_105_GL_1114_0561_RT-H-2023.jpg?w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[28997,144479,101169,76544],"class_list":["post-583873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-nicole-kidman","tag-special-ops-lioness","tag-taylor-sheridan","tag-zoe-saldana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}