Netflix is known for their either hit or miss originals, and Red Notice is a movie that falls just in between those categories. Anything with Ryan Reynolds in it is bound to give a few laughs, and paired with The Rock and Gal Gadot, Red Notice definitely piqued my interest.
There will be some spoilers in my review, so reader beware.
Synopsis
An FBI behavioral analysis teams up with Interpol to catch one of the world’s most nitrous art thieves. With no jurisdiction outside of the United States, what will he be able to do to stop the criminal?
What I loved
I’m a big fan of what would be categorized as cringe comedy and the comedy in this film was great for that. I love breaking up what are supposed to be serious moments with comedy, and I think this film did a good job of this. I’m not a spy movie type of person usually, but this movie was a lot more of a comedy than a classic spy film in my opinion (which is why I enjoyed it).
Ryan Reynolds makes any role he plays his own. I’m a big fan of the brand Ryan Reynolds has as a funny man. I can see the jokes coming from a mile away, but they’re somehow just funny coming from him. This role (like almost every role he plays) is the comedy sidekick that brings that comic relief to the film. If you are not a big Ryan Reynolds comedy type of person, then this movie isn’t for you.
The throwbacks to other films piqued my interest too. There were a lot of throwbacks to classic spy films, but this film also reminds me of other classics. There was a scene that almost was straight out of Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which I very much enjoyed because I love Indian Jones. Having references to other movies, intentionally or not, always makes a movie more enjoyable in my opinion. This movie gave me a lot of National Treasure mixed with James Bond vibes that I truly enjoyed.
What I didn’t love
The hot girl trope is so tiring. Gal Gadot plays the hot female antagonist who gets whatever she wants just by being hot. I’m just so tired of films beating the life out of the “I’m pretty, so I get what I want” trope. The horse is dead, you can stop beating it. I love Gal Gadot and while she has some great woman-power moments it’s overshadowed by the blatant "a male wrote this script" energy.
For an action-adventure movie, there wasn’t a lot of classic “action”. There were maybe two or three "battle” scenes. When Netflix categorized this movie as action/adventure, I kept looking for the action, but it just wasn’t entirely there. It should be categorized as comedy/adventure because this movie is more comedy than anything else.
This movie is enjoyable, but nothing I’d actively seek out to watch again. With props to other movies, I’d rather just watch those movies again than this one. It’s a good quick laugh, but not much else.
Verdict
This movie by no means will be nominated for an Oscar, but if you have two hours to spare and want a laugh, this movie is for you. The cast is what makes this movie enjoyable (I mean The Rock, Wonder Women, and Deadpool), what more could you ask for.
I give Red Notice a 3 out of 5.