Tue 16 Nov 2021
Movie Review: RED NOTICE (2021).
Posted by Steve under Action Adventure movies , Reviews[7] Comments
RED NOTICE. Netflix, 2021. Dwayne Johnson (John Hartley), Ryan Reynolds (Nolan Booth), Gal Gadot (The Bishop), Ritu Arya, Chris Diamantopoulos. Screenwriter/director: Rawson Marshall Thurber.
A “red notice†is a global alert issued by Interpol to hunt and capture the world’s most notorious criminals. In this regard, an FBI profiler (Dwayne Johnson) is called upon to nab the world’s most wanted art thief (Ryan Reynolds), but as chance will have it, they become reluctant partners in crime, but with the goal of obtaining Cleopatra’s bejeweled “third egg” ahead of a master thief (Gal Gadot), who seems to be able to outwit them both at every turn.
Following constantly (and mostly futilely) in the of all three wake is Inspector Urvashi Das (Ritu Arya).
It should be noted that this is a comedy as well as a slickly-made action thriller.
It should also be noted that this film follows solidly in the footsteps of movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, without supplying anywhere near the thrilling experience that that earlier movie did when I saw it the first time. Or even the second or third time. This one’s OK on its own terms the first time, but watch it again? I have no interest.
Gal Gadot is a pleasure to watch, but I think “The Rock†is getting up there too far in years to keep making adventure movies such as this. And while Ryan is a motormouth when it comes to wisecracking and joking around, one wonders when if ever he also might grow up a little.
While the movie is fun to see — and it really is a lot better than the trailer above — a lot more money was spent in producing it than the folks behind the syndicated TV series Relic Hunter had at their disposal,for example, and I’m not so sure the results are all that much better. If you’re already subscribed to Netflix, it won’t cost you anything to see this one, but if you’re on the fence as to deciding whether to sign up or not, I’d have to tell you that this one’s not the deal-breaker you’ve been waiting for.
Unless , that is, you’re a Gal Gadot fan. Why else would I have watched this one?
November 17th, 2021 at 8:04 am
Two word review: It sucked.
I don’t think I need to go into all the things wrong with it (and the waste of $200 million to make and sell this is appalling), but you can read pretty much any mainstream review if you want the details. The director also did The Rock’s last Bomb, SKYSCRAPER, and I was unable to force myself to sit through either in their entirety. Everyone involved has done so much better work in the past.
November 17th, 2021 at 1:44 pm
I liked Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern, one of my favorite heroes. But seemingly no one else did!
One wonders how expensive TV mystery series like MURDOCH MYSTERIES, ENDEAVOR or BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES are.
Or how expensive the great silent serials of the 1901’s were like LES VAMPIRES, JUDEX, THE HAZARDS OF HELEN or THE SPIDERS. Betcha these all got much more filmmaking bang for the buck that this $200, 000, 000 film (which I haven’t seen).
November 17th, 2021 at 1:53 pm
Quite a bit of the 200 million budget was spent on paychecks for the actors. Wikipedia reports that both Johnson and Gadot were paid $20M each.
General consensus: Reviewing the film for the Los Angeles Times, Justin Chang wrote, “A depressing reminder of what Hollywood considers ‘original’ material these days, Red Notice plays one of those self-consciously convoluted, ultimately derivative long cons that strain so hard to seem breezily insouciant they wind up wearing you out. By the end, it’s the clichés that warrant a rest.”
November 18th, 2021 at 8:59 pm
One other thing, perhaps trivial.
The tuxedos worn by the men in RED NOTICE look terrible, to judge by the illustrations. They look cheap, tacky and clumsy.
Meanwhile, the white tie and tails worn in SLEEPING CAR TO TRIESTE look terrific.
This seems to be a common problem in new movies.
It doesn’t make sense. Here’s a film with 200 million to spend. And all the advantages of modern technology. You could get robots using lasers to tailor the men’s tuxes. Despite all this, everything looks hopelessly bad, compared to a vintage British film of apparently modest budget.
A conundrum.
November 18th, 2021 at 9:42 pm
The two male leads may dress up just fine in real life, but I think you’re right. Seeing either one in a tux in this movie is like seeing a duck in a raincoat. Edmund Lowe and Fred Astaire they’re not.
November 18th, 2021 at 11:34 pm
Steve, Mike — Yes indeed.
November 20th, 2021 at 11:02 pm
I enjoyed this one for what it was, a diversion with attractive actors that didn’t cost me anything extra. I even forgave the absolute horse hockey about Interpol, here a completely mythical creation replete with it’s own multi national agents instead of the controversial ex Nazi front private agency whose leaders have a tendency to end up in prisons all over the planet themselves.