BACK IN ACTION (NETFLIX) (2025)



SYNOPSIS
: Years after giving up life as CIA spies to start a family, Emily (Cameron Diaz) and Matt (Jamie Foxx) find themselves dragged back into the world of espionage when their cover is blown.

MOVIE REVIEW:

After Taron Egerton’s starrer Carry On being critiqued as one of the best action thrillers of all time, Netflix is back to normal programming. Back in Action is another action comedy probably written by Netflix’s in-house algorithm or AI and stars Cameron Diaz who made a comeback after being absence for a decade and Jamie Foxx who nearly died of a stroke during the filming process.

The spy action comedy brings to mind Mark Wahlberg’s Family Plan, another one of Netflix releases which sees the main character as an ex-assassin on the run with his family. Swop out Wahlberg and Michelle Monaghan (to be fair, Monaghan’s character is not an ex-spy) with Diaz and Foxx, reduced the children from three to two and we have Back in Action.

We shall not bore you with the a long synopsis of the movie but anyway, spies Matt (Foxx) and Emily (Diaz) decides to call it quits after the latter is pregnant. The two got married and fifteen years later, their enemies are back to reclaim a lost “key” from their last mission that could controlled every system in the world. Like seriously.

Director and co-writer Seth Gordon known for his comedies, Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief brought every conceivable comedy trope and cliché to the table including forced family awkward situations, family drama and parents singing to outdated pop songs. The jokes and gags are often banal and repetitive despite Diaz and Foxx having an incredible chemistry together.

Fortunately there is Glenn Close who appears midway as Emily’s estranged, absentee mother who coincidentally also is a retired spy with a much younger live-in boyfriend, Nigel (Jamie Demetriou). These two at least adds some energy to the monotonous of things with their silly antics and dialogue. And then there is also Kyle Chandler who plays Matt and Emily’s friend and colleague at CIA and Andrew Scott again playing a high-level officer at MI6 after Spectre.

Globetrotting is a must for any spy action comedy so London has to answer the call. The action set pieces are generally over the top especially the prologue and the overall quick cuts and dizzying choreography qualifies more of a sub-par John Wick. Credit however goes to the several vehicle chases which at least look like it’s shot practical. Nowadays, a rarity in Hollywood. Not truly a shock, Back in Action is yet another forgettable action output from Netflix. Maybe Diaz should on hindsight consider a better comeback effort.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee



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