Netflix kicked off its 2024 streaming lineup last January with Lift - a soulless Mission: Impossible wannabe that ended up being the platform’s worst movie of the entire year. Here we are, a year later with their newest original, Back in Action. While certainly a cut above Lift, this also marks a rough start to their annual release calendar.
This action comedy stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, who play retired spies living in suburbia with their family. When a former colleague appears on their doorstep with a warning, they must uproot their lives and leave the country to try and clear their names. We’ve seen this cookie-cutter framework countless times before, but it’s a formula that makes for easily digestible viewing. I didn’t hate my time spent with this movie, even with all its glaring flaws (there are so, so many). Netflix has this algorithm down to a science, because despite a track record of lacklustre quality with projects like this, it’ll bring in the viewership they want.
The movie plays as both a family comedy and a spy thriller, but doesn’t particularly excel at either. The comedy functions more successfully than the action does, even though it never had me in stitches. I had a few good laughs and a dozen or so chuckles, which left me wishing the whole thing had leaned further into its own silliness. The action sometimes feels forced into the story during moments it doesn’t belong, and the quality of these sequences varies wildly. The bizarre needle drops during these scenes gives 2023’s Ghosted a run for its money with how completely out of place they are.
The most glaring issue here is that the plot unfolds in favour of its own convenience rather than logically. Characters frequently behave in favour of plot advancement rather than like human beings with free will. When conflict is called for, it’s conveniently and instantly inserted. The bad guys constantly just pop up when they’re needed, even if it’s literal seconds after learning the family’s location. This might seem like a nitpick, but the whole movie is riddled with lazy conveniences like these, when they could’ve easily been written more organically into the story.
As is the case with many of these streaming hits, the cast is solid, with big names attached to draw in audiences. Foxx and Diaz both have good screen presence, but the supporting actors are the ones who steal the show. Once Glenn Close’s character and her age-inappropriate lover (Jamie Demetriou) make their entrance, the movie becomes quite a bit more entertaining. Demetriou is responsible for the majority of genuine laugh out loud moments throughout, and while his character could’ve been annoying if overused, he was sprinkled in just often enough to make it work well. Andrew Scott is such a talented actor that he’s able to churn out even the clunkiest of dialogue and make it sound good. Honestly, he’s a better actor than this movie deserves.
Back in Action is a passable action comedy that’s dragged down by writing that favours convenience over narrative cohesion. Netflix knows how to produce a streaming hit, I only wish the quality matched the viewership numbers a little more often.
Review by: Benjamin Garrett
1.5/5