Red Notice

What a weird movie. There wasn’t a hint of originality, a trio of not-quite-Shakespearean actors were cast in the lead roles, and the script and the way it was handled were quite unimpressive. Forty minutes into the movie, I was already bored, checking my watch every few minutes to see if it was going to be over soon. Gal Gadot may have a nice figure, but her acting is comparable to that of a Ukrainian clothes hanger, Ryan Reynolds' contribution was that he spent the entire movie rambling on and on (to a point when I started secretly hoping that his character would get killed off), and Dwayne Johnson is just The Rock. It was a very long two hours and I'm absolutely certain I won't watch it ever again. (07/01/2022)

A TV B-movie with A-movie actors, a promising theme, a weak screenplay and the oh-so-mediocre Rawson Marshall Thurber in the director’s chair. Red Notice could be great a modern take on Indy (they even have Swastikas) and the search for Cleopatra’s golden eggs, if it weren’t for lots of nonsense and ridiculous (even if unexpected) twists. The Rock, Gadot and Ryan Reynold all act how they always act and if this had had more inventive (better filmed) action and if it hadn’t been filmed in a studio, it could have been a wonderful guilty pleasure, but this way it is only just an entertaining snack. P.S.: Not even Jablonsky was trying... (17/11/2021)

Reynolds is playing Reynolds as usual, The Rock is playing The Rock as usual, and Gadot isn’t acting at all (as usual). A fun and snappy, but pitifully unimaginative film (the budget paid for the central three actors, and there was clearly no money left for special effects, so it looks like a run-of-the-mill B-movie). In three days, I will have no memory of seeing the film. It will do as a way to pass a Saturday night. The lower your expectations, the more you'll enjoy it. (13/11/2021)

Red Notice is a pure genre film for sure. Netflix didn't take any chances and simply offered a trio of action movie veterans another (joint) project. It follows a basic pattern, Reynolds has plenty of one-liners, Gadot is sexy, and Johnson uses his muscles. I don't think anyone will be surprised if more sequels are made. We also get the nice pairing of Gadot and Cleopatra, another of which we got in Death on the Nile, and next year she'll hopefully be playing her in a really no-frills big budget narrative film. (18/04/2022)

Red Notice didn't entice me due to the likeable cast, with the Gadot-Johnson-Reynolds trio proving themselves in their roles. Plot-wise, it is basically a rehash of older films and aside from a minor plot twist, which was predictable from a certain point on, it doesn't have much to surprise. Some scenes feel too forced – lately filmmakers feel the need to put unnecessary artificial animals in their films – and you could talk at length about how Red Notice disregards the laws of physics, but whatever, a film like this should be taken with a grain of salt. The film could have easily been a quarter of an hour shorter, but it still managed to keep me interested, tense and even entertained at times (thanks mainly to Reynolds). (14/01/2022)