The movie equivalent of beige
Summary
Back in Action has some fun moments with Diaz and Foxx making for an appealing duo; aside from that it’s nothing new with a forgettable script and an overuse of songs during the fight scenes making it harmless but unremarkable.
Plot: Former CIA spies Emily and Matt are pulled back into espionage after their secret identities are exposed.
Review: At this stage I feel like I could just copy and paste reviews for Netflix movies as it tends to always be the same thing. Generic fluff we’ve seen a hundred times before and Back in Action is another such film. I was interested in watching this purely due to Cameron Diaz coming out of retirement for it and Jamie Foxx had a stroke back in 2023 while making it.
It’s nice to see both actors together on screen and their characters are appealing, so we are rooting for them even if there is nothing remotely original about the story. It does at least have a decent twist I wasn’t expecting and there are some nicely choreographed fight scenes.
Like so many of these movies, practically every fight scene is accompanied by a song which is fine every so often, but as I’ve said before when nearly every set-piece has a song it takes away any sense of tension or threat.
This movie isn’t meant to be taken seriously and it’s lighthearted fun with nothing to particularly love or hate… it’s just… fine.
The script has a couple of funny moments, but nothing really laugh out loud; the character of Nigel is painfully unfunny and there are moments when you can tell you’re watching people acting where it just feels off.
It’s for the most part well-paced and doesn’t go too long between fight scenes making it an easy and inoffensive watch. I also liked the score which is especially James Bond-esque during the speedboat chase finale.
Overall, Back in Action is your typically bland and soulless Netflix movie which has some enjoyable moments but there’s nothing that really makes it stand out.