Red Notice (2021) Review

Red Notice (2021)

Red Notice follows Agent John Hartley and art thief, Nolan Booth, who are both set up by another art thief, code named The Bishop, forcing them to team up to take her down and recover the lost egg of Cleopatra. 

If you’ve seen one Rock movie, you’ve pretty much seen them all, and with Red Notice, a flick from Johnson’s own company, Seven Bucks Productions, that still holds pretty true—entertaining as usual, and this time with the added charisma that comes with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. While this art heist blockbuster certainly breaks no new ground, let’s be real, we’re here for the long awaited pairing of Reynolds and Johnson, and boy does it payoff. Booth is a snarky, chatter box who is impossible to shut up (practically Deadpool with a pretty face), while Hartley plays it stern, obviously indulging Booth’s antics though to get what he wants.

Even then, this still manages to surprise with some intelligent storytelling, funny gags, and intense action that doesn’t falter for a second. Obviously, with a film like this, it’s best to just leave the brain cells at the door and enjoy the ride, as the story has its fair share of corny and brainlessly fun moments. But while formulaic, it make for a really good time and it helps that there’s a slight intelligence to the movie that keeps you pulled in early. 

We get a pretty fun cast too, starring Chris Diamantopoulos, Rita Arya, Gal Gadot, Ryan Reynolds, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The pairing of Johnson and Reynolds is simply golden here, as Johnson delivers on his trademark ‘play it straight’ persona, broody, but charismatic as all hell, working to perfection against the witty and hilarious antics of Reynolds, even bringing out a solid performance from Gadot who shows a modicum of personality for once. 

Red Notice, directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, is a Rock movie we’ve seen a thousand times, right down to the obligatory jungle scenes, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable, especially on the backs of winning performances from Johnson and Reynolds.

8.2/10