After faking his own death, a tech billionaire recruits a team of
mercenaries for a mission to take down a brutal dictator. ACTION
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6 Underground (2019)Directed by Michael Bay
Written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese Starring Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent, Corey Hawkins, Adria Arjona, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ben Hardy, Lior Raz, Payman Maadi, Dave Franco |
You know, I really don’t hate Michael Bay like everyone else does. I don’t think he’s an exceptionally strong director and he has displayed his incompetence when he literally couldn’t explain his reason for directing due to a technical issue with the teleprompter. But, he has made mindless, entertaining action that I enjoy. And, yes, I’m including the first three Transformers films. So, judge me all you want, but that’s just my honest opinion. With all that said, even I’m having issues defending his recent films. For example, I found Transformers: The Last Knight so bad and incomprehensible that my head actually started to hurt. I didn’t think it could get any worse. Then, I watched 6 Underground. A movie which not only gave me a headache but was extremely hard to get through. Seriously, I’ve never checked a runtime so much. So, let’s dig into this dumpster fire of an action movie that was also supposed to be funny.
I think it’s safe to say that Bay’s already flimsy handle on storytelling is completely gone at this point. This is a movie that tries so hard to elicit emotion between the action, but completely falls flat on its face. I mean, there are several instances where I’m supposed to care about these characters, but instead felt nothing. It doesn’t help that there is zero chemistry among a cast of poorly written characters. Now, what about the action and comedy Bay tends to be known for, you ask? Short answer, they both suck. The action is the usual excessively edited moments that hurt your head more than they excite. Doesn’t exactly work in a post John Wick movie world. And the candy is the usual borderline sexist and racist jokes Bay tends to make. So, instead of being funny, they are the exact opposite and come off very lazy. This all just hurts more considering how hard the cast is clearly trying. Fact of the matter is, Michael Bay is a relic of a bygone era of a film. In light of the recent societal and political climate, 6 Underground just comes off dated. The story sucks. The action is overly edited. And the humor is just cringey. The actors all deserve better. Even the writers deserve better. Michael Bay, though, needs to either retire or actually attempt to mature a little. It should already be a sign that his most recent film went to Netflix instead of theaters. Even the studios are done with him. |