The Reel Review
When a Navy aviator is shot down over Russia during a 1987 Cold War-era spy mission, an ex-KGB agent who loves American culture and is now living off the grid decides to help him escape the country. Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh star in this buddy spy action comedy/thriller.
As expected, this Apple original production showcases a slick, visually well-done production and quick pacing, even though the goofy story from co-writer/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Spider-Man: Homecoming) is mind-numbingly stupid, including all the dumbed-down 1980s Russian stereotypes and some ridiculous action sequences.
Reynolds reprises his snarky Deadpool-flavored comedy with Branagh sporting a pretty convincing Russian accent in a rare stent for him as a comic action character. Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) appears as Branagh’s daughter with a secret (one of the main reasons her father left the KGB) with David Morse (Contact) as Reynolds’ ailing father. Mayday is stupid but has enough chuckles to kill a couple of hours.
REEL FACTS
• Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein say the aerial maneuvers at the start of the film were real, done by a French aircraft that itself was digitally altered to look like the now retired, highly secretive SR-71 Blackbird U.S. military aircraft.
• Tom Cruise personally cleared the Top Gun clip used in the film.
• A mid-credit scene in the closing credits shows how Ryan Reynolds’ character got the Navy aviator nickname Assassin.
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