For a film containing 3 of the hottest stars in film today, Red Notice truly fails to put the world on notice. Is this a bad film? Not at all. However, when Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot team together you expect gold. Yet what we got was a film that felt very vanilla. Ironically for a film full of twists, turns and surprises, this film fails to reach the wow factor that the filmmakers were searching for.
This Netflix Original follows three central characters: the best art thief in the world ‘The Bishop’ (Gal Gabot), the best con-man in the world ‘Mr Booth’ (Ryan Reynolds) and the man with many layers ‘John Hartley’ (Dwayne Johnson). Who all for one reason or another end up on the road to collect all three of Cleopatra’s eggs to collect a huge amount of money. The relationship between these three characters is fascinating, and is probably the best part about the film. To no one’s surprise, these three shine. Their antics and constant games of one upmanship are entertaining and very comedic.
The plot revolves around this but unfortunately this leads to the film lacking in other areas. It does not feel disjointed in any way, the story is well thought out, but somehow you still feel flat. The major talking points of this film should be the beautifully crafted twists seeped throughout the film but yet when they arrive, you feel indifferent. You just accept it and move on, which is what stops this film from standing out.
A big issue with this film is that it felt like a teenage boy having an identity crisis. It had no idea whether it wanted to be a comedy or an action film but never fully committed to combining the two. The opening sequence is the only part that truly shows it’s character and makes it clear what direction the film was going for. From there, this was no longer the case. Each scene felt like it was in a different genre which is a shame as other films have managed to combine these two genres successfully. If they had stayed committed to one genre or the other, this may have avoided becoming a film that audiences are likely to forget.
Red Notice 2 has been hinted at heavily both in and out of the film. Now the likelihood of me watching this is actually quite high, as I didn’t actively dislike the film. The sequel could easily be a success and make me eat my words. However, Red Notice needs to look itself in the mirror and realise what genre it is. It needs to utilise the relationships of these characters and build the foundations for a compelling story rather than relying on the fame and fortune of the actors and actresses involved. Unfortunately, in its current form, Red Notice is just pinned to a notice board watching the world pass it by.
3/5 stars
