A disgraced federal agent teams up with a skilled art thief to
clear his name and stop a far more skilled art thief in the process. ACTION/COMEDY
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Red Notice (2021)Written and Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Ritu Arya, Chris Diamantopoulos |
I had such little faith in Red Notice last year that I decided to skip it on our Sneak Preview podcast, where we discuss films as they come out. I love Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, and Thurber made one of my favorite comedies (Dodgeball), but it just looked so generic and predictable. At the time, Netflix's output wasn't exactly stellar, and early critic reviews were horrendous. So I left it. Having finally watched it, is it groundbreaking and creative? Of course not. But it's silly, popcorn fun that somehow works thanks to the chemistry of the three leads.
Johnson is Special Agent John Hartley, who is framed for stealing one of three valuable golden eggs and sent to a Russian prison, where he just sent talented art thief Nolan Booth (Reynolds). Knowing they've both been set up by the elusive Bishop (Gadot), they decide to escape prison and team up to find the other eggs, thus clearing Hartley's name and stopping the Bishop. It's entirely Reynolds doing his shtick while Johnson rolls his eyes and somehow acts inconspicuous. Apart from the final twist (it's a heist movie, after all), the whole thing is predictable as hell. But it's never boring and it's always entertaining. Honestly, what more could you want from a buddy cop heist movie produced by Netflix and starring three of the most bankable stars in Hollywood? It wasn't gonna be a classic, but at least it's not a train wreck. I found it to be delightful and I will probably watch it again at some point. |