Red Notice: around the world hunting for eggs

Today we talk about Red Noticethe film that is among the most watched of the week on Netflix which mixes a bit of action with American humor… too classic.

Red Notice

After foiling a plot by notorious art thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) to steal one of Cleopatra’s priceless golden eggs, Special Agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) is framed for the subsequent theft of the egg by his informant, another notorious art thief known as L’Arciere (Gal Gadot). Forced into an uneasy alliance with Booth, Hartley races to prove his innocence.

The review

Ironically for a film all about twists, turns, cons, and double-crosses, Rawson Marshall Thurber’s Red Notice is pretty devoid of surprises. And we mean that in the nicest way possible.

As far as the plot is concerned, it is certainly a film of those that are quite simple in terms of reading. Featuring a frantic foot chase through a museum, a prison break from a mountaintop fortress, and a hi-tech heist at an “Eyes Wide Shut” masquerade ball, it includes all genres of espionage/crime archaeological/adventure you would expect.

His main selling point is the explosive charismatic double act of Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds, and neither of them deviate one bit from his longtime and widely loved screen persona. As the falsely accused art crime specialist nurtured, Johnson is steadfast and serious, hiding a big, warm heart beneath those bigger, tougher pecs. Riffs and quips from Reynolds as the easy-going thief, delivering probably improvised quips, often delivered at the level of whispered comedy.

Occasionally, they loosen up the romantic lines (served with a jaw-dropping side order of daddy-issue confidences) to make way for Gal Gadot as the wily antagonist the Archer. But while he’s always seemingly one step ahead of them and clearly more capable, Gadot remains a supporting player amid all the film’s globe-trotting antics, only occasionally popping in to screw up their plans and join a scene.

The mix actors-location

So it’s very familiar territory, whether you’re a fan of the genre or the stars. Thanks to those stars’ incredible likability, it’s mostly comfortable viewing, with Johnson and Reynolds bickering and battling in a variety of exotic locales, including Rome, Bali, Valencia, and a jungle (Johnson’s sixth now?) in Argentina . Despite achieving Bond/Indy-like levels of international activity, however, the film suffers from a visually uninspiring feeling of being tied to the stage and shrouded in green screens. It’s full of visuals and they really show, from ersatz explosions to some obvious digital doubles that have nothing to do with the laws of gravity. This creates a level of artificiality that lowers the ante significantly, making it feel less like a world adventure than a seriously expensive playground knockabout.

Rawson writer-director Marshall Thurber is a better maker of comedy (Dodgeball, We’re The Millers) than he is action movie (The Skyscraper with Johnson), so it’s as a comedy that Red Notice works best.

And since this is his third collaboration with The Rock (the first was another kinetic buddy picture, Central Intelligence), he knows how to get the best out of his big lead. Which means letting him continue to do what everyone loves him to do, while he gets him partnered with someone who’s also left to play to his strengths. While flawed, Red Notice is at least a solid blast of light-hearted fun. And there’s nothing wrong with that.