3 best new Netflix and Prime Video arrivals for a mid-week binge (Mar. 3-6)
Another big week beckons
As I've said countless times by now, there's no such thing as a down week if you want to be one of the biggest and best streaming services in the world. A hyper-competitive market has led subscribers to explain pretty continuous feeds of new shows and movies to watch, and both Netflix and Prime Video have to work hard to keep up with that demand.
War Machine
- Streaming on: Netflix from 6 March
Alan Ritchson's a pretty damn solid actor, but it's fair to say that his reputation has been built at least partly on his extraordinary physique – not least in the form of his extremely successful turn as Reacher for Prime Video in the last few years. Now he's crossing the aisle to front a military thriller for Netflix, showing he's not tied down in the way I'd assumed.
War Machine looks like a pretty fun twist on the format established by Predator decades ago – put a load of hyper-competent human soldiers up against an alien-designed killing machine to see how they fare. The answer is almost certainly to involve a lot of blood and sweat (although maybe not many tears), and seems like an almost guaranteed schlocky hit for Netflix.
Young Sherlock
- Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video from 4 March
Prime Video's punching back this week, too, though. It's enlisted director Guy Ritchie to return to the character that gave him some of his biggest box-office success ever: Sherlock Holmes. Rather than a continuation of the Robert Downey Jr. series of films, this new streaming series rewinds the clock and shows us the detective's precocious younger days.
Young Sherlock sees Holmes rock up at university with a prodigal dose of intelligence but some social skills that are a little rough around the edges. Predictably, it won't take long for a murder to grab his attention, and we'll also get an intriguing friendship with his eventual nemesis Moriarty. It looks like spirited fun, and a great diversion for mid-week bingers.
Vladimir
- Streaming on: Netflix from 5 March
If you want a star to front a steamy new drama, you could do a lot worse than recruiting an Oscar-winner – wisdom that Netflix has taken to heart for Vladimir. It has Rachel Weisz in its main role as a slightly depressed college professor who may or may not be going through a doozy of a midlife crisis.
She becomes instantly entranced by a younger new colleague named Vladimir, played by Leo Woodall. Is it just that he's actually willing to pay attention to her, or is there more to uncover? The trailer implies that their ensuing affair might not even be quite as real as it seems, which could end up making for some very entertaining situations.
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