Comedy
Wonder Man
For a superhero show, ‘Wonder Man’ is surprisingly light on violence, but a bit heavy on swearing, sexual allusions and meta-Hollywood references.
Anyone who works in an office has had days where they wished they had called in sick. For Zara, today is definitely one of those days.
Zara is a trade processor at Lochmill Capital, a London-based pension management company. Basically, she helps people invest for retirement. A lot of money crosses her desk every day, money that could prove very tempting to the wrong people.
And that’s exactly who shows up at the Lochmill Capital office one day, armed to the teeth and looking for a payday: the wrong people.
Once Zara and her terrified coworkers are herded into a conference room, Zara’s day somehow gets worse. The thieves need someone on the trade-processing team to transfer the money into their account, and she’s the unlucky winner. Zara is forced at gunpoint to activate the transfers, and the thieves make a narrow escape with four billion British pounds in their metaphorical pockets (about $5.5 billion in U.S. dollars). That’s the biggest armed robbery in British history.
Zara is left terrified, traumatized, and guilty. But the trouble doesn’t end after the robbers make their getaway. As the police investigate and start hunting down the culprits, it becomes clear that for their plan to work, the thieves would have needed an inside man—preferably, someone on the trade processing team. Whether she likes it or not, Zara is a part of this now, and she’s not getting out any time soon.
Yeah, she really should have called in sick.
Steal was created by Sotiris Nikias, a British crime author making a foray into television, and it’s not hard to tell. Every scene is filled with the pulse-pounding tension of a thrilling page-turner—which is impressive, considering the first episode takes place entirely in an office building. The high stakes and intense pace are more than enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.
But if you are on the edge of your seat, you’ll have to deal with violence and frightening situations, too. Obviously, being held at gunpoint is no fun, and the extended hostage situation may be distressing for viewers. The threat of an innocent person being hurt or even killed hangs constantly in the air.
A few times, the thieves make good on that threat. Two of Zara’s coworkers try to fight back or signal for help, and they’re brutally beaten in retaliation. Plenty of blood is shown, and while one victim survives, it’s unclear whether the other was so lucky.
And, of course, you’ll need to deal with some R-rated language issues, too.
If you’re in the mood for something to help you chill out and relax at the end of a long day, Steal is probably not for you. This intense, nail-biting thriller will certainly keep you engaged—but that means facing some bloody and distressing situations along the way.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
When armed robbers break into her office, Zara is forced to help them carry out the heist of the century.
The heist takes up almost the entire episode, which means the tension is kept at a maximum throughout. The thieves hold the employees at gunpoint and force them into a conference room; when one employee says he doesn’t believe they’ll shoot, one of the robbers beats him with the gun instead. Blood flies as the employee is brutally beaten and kicked, then dragged away. Later, the office receptionist tries signaling for help through the window. He’s similarly beaten and tied up in the bathroom.
Zara shows up to work with a nosebleed. A coworker asks if she’s hungover, since she typically gets nosebleeds after drinking. While on the phone with the bank to confirm the money transfer, she claims to be hungover as an excuse for acting strange.
The f-word is used seven times, and the s-word is used twice.
Lauren Cook is serving as a 2021 summer intern for the Parenting and Youth department at Focus on the Family. She is studying film and screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. You can get her talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to her family to how Inception was the best movie of the 2010s. But more than anything, she’s passionate about showing how every form of art in some way reflects the Gospel. Coffee is a close second.
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