If you thought the pairing of Ryan Reynold and Dwayne Johnson was a match made in heaven… add Gal Gadot and you have nirvana. Red Notice is one of the best films of 2021. It’s a popcorn flick that will make you want to go back for seconds, even thirds.
Only 15-minutes in and these were the comments heard from my family that joined me on this ride: “This reminds me of a Bond movie.” “Ryan Reynolds has the best delivery.” “I love The Rock”. Red Notice is filled with laughs, amazing action, and twists and turns that will keep you guessing the entire time.
The film wisely uses Curse of Oak Island narrator Clint Clotworthy for a fictional historical documentary giving the backstory of the items up for theft… the three eggs of Cleopatra. As the viewer, we get to travel around the world with locations like Rome, France, Egypt, and Hawaii, which stood in for Argentina.
Johnson is an FBI agent, John Hartley, who must pair up with Reynolds (Nolan Booth), an art thief, to catch the world’s most wanted art thief, Gal Gadot (Sarah Black). The marriage of convenience is setup after Hartley is framed, by Black, for stealing an egg. Their relationship is riddled with quips, riffs, and bonding. I wonder if that’s how their relationship was on set? Their connection gets messy when they face off against Gal Gadot for the first time.
Interpol agent, Inspector Das (Rita Arya), who was paired with Hartley before his arrest, is on the hunt for Booth and Hartley while they’re on the run. Arya is so steadfast in her role that my youngest started to dislike her for trying to catch the duo.
The action is top notch. The fight choreography is great. The Rock even falls into a pond he may have swum in previously in The Rundown. The movie never really takes itself seriously and, thus, is a tonne of fun.
Unfortunately, Netflix subscribers must wait until November 12th to take the ride, but you’ll be able to catch it in theatres this week. If you have a chance to see this on the big screen, do it.
