Red Notice (2021)
Red Notice
- 2.5/5 Cameras 🎥🎥.5
- Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber
- Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot
- Where to find it: Netflix
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The title of Netflix’s latest big-budget release refers to a
global alert issued by Interpol to find and arrest an individual, a Red Notice,
and follows the unlikely pairing of John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) an Interpol
agent, and widely renowned art thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) as they attempt
to catch the world’s most wanted art thief ‘The Bishop’ (Gal Gadot). The plot,
much like the script, is fairly uninspired, with events transpiring almost exactly
how you would imagine they would in a film of this nature.
Despite casting action-comedy heavyweights Ryan Reynolds and
Dwayne Johnson, Red Notice is nowhere near as funny or as charming as it needs
to be able to compete with its predecessors, such as the highly superior Free
Guy also released in 2021 and also starring Ryan Reynolds. Most of the films’
jokes fall flat and in ways feel forced, with the few generally funny lines
being delivered by Ryan Reynolds’ Nolan Booth. It is worth noting, however,
that Reynolds’ and Johnson’s on-screen pairing does add a familiar and comforting
essence to Red Notice, making for an exciting ride that’s fun to watch. The
film’s villain, Gal Gadot’s ‘The Bishop’ on the other hand, does not fair so
favourably, with the Wonder Woman actress having very little chemistry with her
fellow actors and feeling stiff at times, although I do believe this is more
due to the quality of the script rather than her abilities as an actress.
As is the case with many Netflix productions, Red Notice had
a glaringly large budget of $200 million, a fact that makes the quality of some
of the visuals even more shocking. Audiences in the modern era of cinema are used
to seeing CGI blur the lines between computer-generated imagery and reality on regular
occasions, which makes the sight of the film’s two main characters, John
(Dwayne Johnson) and Nolan (Ryan Reynolds) standing, in one scene, in an offensively
unrealistic bull-fighting arena all the more disappointing.
Red Notice isn’t entirely unwatchable, however, and does
have some qualities. One of these qualities is the beautiful (non-CGI) locations
showcased in the film’s almost 2-hour runtime. Audiences are taken on a
globetrotting adventure spanning from Rome to Egypt, amongst others, that makes
you want to live the glamorous life the criminals in the movie have. Although I
will say, the film could have done without the constant use of locations cards,
and writers should have more faith that audiences can see pyramids on their screen
and assume the location of the scene has moved to Egypt, rather than it being
literally spelled out for them.
Overall, Netflix’s insistence on churning out unoriginal
content to keep subscribers happy and to gain new users has once again led to a
film that, despite its fun moments and charming lead characters, is
ultimately forgettable. Rather strangely, though, when the film ended, and the
credits started to roll, I couldn’t help wanting more, so perhaps Red Notice
did something right after all.
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