Red Notice is fun in the same way the drive to work can be ‘good’: you might enjoy yourself as you pass the time away, waiting for it to end, but by the time the day is over you might struggle to remember what made it so ‘good’ in the first place.
Sometimes, I just want to watch an ‘easy’ film. I love Villeneuve’s new intricate adaptation of Dune, but is it unbecoming if I want to turn my brain off for a couple of hours and let myself be spoon-fed with factory-made adrenaline rushes? The chemistry-driven action comedy is certainly the right place to let yourself relax and go along with the ride; a bit like a lazy river except with more gun fights, slow-motion explosions, and a plot that has jumped right out of a Mad Libs book. Red Notice differs from the usual formula with an intriguing plot, but rarely experiments enough to stand out.
It's no surprise that Red Notice’s main gimmick is the relationship between FBI Agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) and art thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds), modern action stars that have both been around the block enough to know how it all works. And they do. After Agent Hartley is accused of being a thief himself, he is arrested and thrown into the same cell as the thief he was chasing. The quick wit between the pair heavily resembles many of Johnson’s other on-screen relationships: Statham, Hart, Effron. Agent Hartley’s exasperated silences aren’t boring – it compliments Reynolds’ onslaught of whimsical taunts – but it is far from fresh.
No matter how hard it tries to standout, Red Notice remains relatively unrememberable. The plot is filled with twists and turns as he betrays her and she betrays them and we all betray each other, an engaging experience as the amount of hints given could point to a number of possible payoffs (although the main back-stabbings are sadly foreseeable). The action is kept to a minimum so that when the montage of bombastic choreography finally does appear, it isn’t as oversaturated as expected.
What is truly surprising is its ability to merge this overly abused genre with some of the forward-thinking elements of a modern heist drama. This isn’t a Soderbergh film, but things do tend to come together nicely instead of trying to smash the pieces together like an impatient child; it builds itself up in an orderly fashion without ever becoming too obvious.
Apart from the odd quip here and there, very little of Red Notice seems to stand out. It’s a thrill ride that takes you across the globe, the lushes jungles and Italian architecture serving as nothing more than backdrops for the duo. Gal Gadot adds an extra level of mystique alongside her co-stars but isn’t around enough to make much of a difference and, as cliché it may be, the trio imply their return with the next big heist. Very few sequels outshine the original – it might be better for Red Notice to remain unremembered than hallmarked for its bitter return like the rest of its fallen compatriots.
Red Notice is streaming on Netflix.