Delayed Reaction: Red Notice

Premise: An FBI agent and a thief team up to thwart a bigger thief.

 

I guess the idea behind this is that Netflix was going to cast their way into a hit. I mean, this cast is almost algorithmically perfect. Dwayne Johnson is maybe the last real headlining star who has churned out box office successes almost single-handedly. Ryan Reynolds is quietly a huge box office draw. Few actors shill for their movies as hard as him. He made Deadpool a hit. Somehow, Free Guy turned into a success. I don’t think we appreciate how big of a star he actually is. Gal Godot is less proven. Her biggest claim is making Wonder Woman work where all the other DC films at the time had failed. The amount that she came out of the DC ordeal unscathed is remarkable. Putting those three stars together in a movie is the equivalent of earning base hits for an RBI rather that swinging for a home run.

 

I don’t know how to rate Red Notice. It reportedly cost $200 million. Regardless of whether it had been a theatrical release or not, this was never making that back. Director Rawson Marshall Thurber doesn’t make movies at that level. The spy comedy genre isn’t one that makes blockbusters. I can’t come up with a scenario where that would ever have worked. So, if Netflix thought this was going to become valuable IP for them, this is a failure. The movie is about as notable as Central Intelligence at 4x the budget.

 

Now, if I ignore any industry expectations or production history, then this movie is perfectly enjoyable. Johnson and Reynolds’ personas are well matched. Johnson is a good straight man who is able to be flummoxed. Reynolds works best when he can be a sarcastic irritant. Both move between high and low status pretty well. Godot is a slightly weak link. She’s not a versatile actress, and this movie doesn’t quite know how to use her specific kind of charisma. This movie might have too many alphas.

 

Nothing in the plot itself is especially clever or new. It falls in that category of movies where, while I didn’t predict the exact twists, I’ve seen all the possible variations before. It’s been only a couple days since I saw this movie and most of the specifics already escape me. Don’t get me wrong. I had a base level enjoyment of the movie. I don’t regret watching it. If Netflix makes a sequel, I’ll probably see it opening weekend. I’m not investing any more thought into this series though until then.

 

Verdict: Weakly Don’t Recommend