3545. Red Notice (2021)

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber

Running Time: 118 mins

Red Notice is an American film about an FBI agent who, after being suspected of double-crossing Interpol, is thrown into a cell with the world’s second-best art thief. However, to clear his name, he must team up with the burglar to steal Cleopatra’s priceless ancient eggs from the world’s number one art thief. 

Netflix have spared no expense in making Red Notice, a star-studded, action-packed globetrotting blockbuster that has all the credentials of a real popcorn classic. Granted, it doesn’t exactly set the world alight with new ideas, seemingly borrowing most of its story from a blend of Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones and James Bond, but it’s a charming and blissfully simplistic mish-mash of beloved blockbuster clichés, full of action and a trio of dynamite A-list leads.

Red Notice is no masterpiece, but I can’t help but say that I loved pretty much every minute of it. A film that’s more than aware of all the clichés and tropes it’s playing with, it’s determined to have as much ridiculous, high-octane fun as possible without getting too caught up in the pretentious realms of ‘storytelling’ and ‘character depth’.

But even without the sarcasm, it’s really nice to watch a film like Red Notice that’s just there to have a great time, and it seems like its leading stars are having a lot of fun too.

Featuring a trio of blockbuster A-listers in Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot, Red Notice absolutely spoils you with talented action heroes that pull out all the stops in this movie. Working as a bit of a buddy comedy alongside its blockbuster fare with the pairing of Reynolds and The Rock, there are a lot of laughs in between the crazy storytelling and the delightful action.

There are times when Red Notice seems to teeter on the edge of being too ridiculous and self-aware to be a genuinely great blockbuster, but the relentless charisma of Reynolds and Johnson in those leading roles, along with the constant barrage of laughs you get from their mismatched pairing means that you’ll be having too much fun to notice.

With the exception of an action-heavy final act that goes on a little bit too long (oh, and one of the most painful celebrity cameos you’ll ever see), Red Notice is an absolute blast from start to finish. It’s a simple story, two heroes have got to find a valuable MacGuffin before their arch-rival does. And that’s about it.

But when things are this action-packed, this lively and this fun-loving, what more could you want? Red Notice is far from a perfect film, but it’s the perfect kind of turn-your-brain-off blockbuster that would do more than well lighting up the big screen around the world. So, that’s why I’m giving it a 7.6 overall.