6 Underground

Netflix unleashed Michael Bay and gave him (within its limits) apparent freedom with all of the good, and bad, which that entails. So, here we have a film that generally does not make much sense and lacks coherence and causality. However, that is quite possibly due to the fact that Bay simply blew most of the budget on the best action sequences of (not only) his filmography. The introductory scene in Florence is a formal and logistical masterpiece, for which it would be difficult to find an equivalent in terms of topographic breadth, variety of formal elements, the number of production ideas, and the narrative and spatial trajectories of the individual characters, as well as the detailed planning and shooting. It may seem that Bay has become enchanted with the style of Tony Scott’s late creative period, but that is not entirely true. As a devotee of superficiality, Bay never slips into genuine experimentation with alternating formats and framerates. He merely adopts the concept of a cubist collage of scenes, which allows him to flawlessly map a particular moment, whether action or the state of mind and mood of the characters. At the same time, he discards the existing definition of a money shot as the single moment with which an entire sequence culminates and instead stitches together dozens of such scenes one after the other or, better said, for each moment of action, he finds the most perfect field of view, from which he creates the money shot. Everything is subordinated to the maximum wow effect, not only at the level of the overall collage, but also of its individual fragments. Bay stages breathtaking, logistically demanding shots with several action plans (which is true of both large units and numerous half-details) and with tremendously well-thought-out filling of the frame with movement and energy. It is reminiscent of the aesthetics of John Woo at his absolute creative peak (think Hard Boiled), just hypertrophied into a wild chase through the historic centre of a European metropolis instead of shoot-outs in studio interiors. ____ The rest of the film typically does not offer anything to match the opening sequence; rather, it comprises mainly static dialogue scenes and action sequences set in spatially limited locations. Let’s also acknowledge that, in many respects, 6 Underground is a painful illustration of its director’s limitations, whether in the overarching bombastic idea that only a dandyish billionaire can save the world from evil or in the inability to depict the suffering of war refugees in a manner other than embarrassing kitsch. All masters have their limitations and some are not even respectable people, but that does not diminish their virtuosity in their respective fields. 6 Underground is a bombastic project not just because of Bay, but largely because that is exactly what Netflix wanted from him in order to show off in grand style. Despite the impression of its own uniqueness, Netflix merely repeats what Cannon Films did a few decades previously and the main B-movie studios did long before that, when they attracted distinguished filmmakers to join them with the promise of absolute creative freedom, so that they could earn respect in Hollywood while feeding their distribution platforms with filler trash flicks. Just like those predecessors, Netflix will also turn out a handful of top-rate productions among its original projects, as well as quite a few half-baked films which, conversely, would greatly benefit from the intervention of a producer and script editor. However, 6 Underground raises the question of whether it is actually a badly made film as a whole or, conversely, a perfect product of Netflix algorithms. Due to its episodic narrative and frequent recapitulations, it does not work according to standard dramaturgical rules, but it is perfectly suited for fragmented viewing on mobile devices on the way to work. It is also evident that the entire project is intended to be the start of Netflix’s own blockbuster franchise. After this spectacular kick-off, let’s hope that Netflix approaches it in a similar manner as Mission: Impossible once did and hire a new director with a distinctive style or approach to the genre for each subsequent instalment. ____ Either way, the fact remains that Bay put forth his audio-visual masterclass here and 6 Underground will go down in the history of the genre. And so what if that’s thanks only to a single sequence in an otherwise forgettable film. After all, it will not be the first in that respect; it suffices to recall Bullitt (or, better said, let someone try to remember anything from that film other than the iconic car chase). (06/01/2020) (less) (more)