So Red Notice came out and there was this insane hype around it. Well, not so much hype but more buzz. It was supposed to be this blockbuster, globe-trotting, treasure hunt a la National Treasure and the like. Another casualty of the Wuha, this thing went straight to Netflix. When it dropped, it hit with a f*cking thud. Critics hated this thing. They ravaged it in reviews but, surprisingly, it is overwhelmingly favored by regular audiences. This is on some Zack Snyder/Michael Bay type bullsh*t. Obviously, i needed to check this thing out myself because, you know, curiosity. I’ve been know to love sh*tty films in my day and the draw of this one was real strong. I love the Rock. I love Ryan Reynolds. I love the idea of a throwback team-up so i dove right in.
Bro, i hate this f*cking movie.
Halfway through this thing and i see why people like this movie so much. Great set pieces, strong chemistry between the leads, easy to follow plot; This movie is a paint-by-numbers adventure which is easily accessible to the masses. The purest form of turn-your-brain-off, popcorn entertainment. SH*t like this would have thrived in the theater over the summer. There is a ton of potential here, particularly between Ryan Reynolds and the Dwayne Johnson. If this thing franchises out, it’ll be on the strength of those two cats. They play well off each other a la Lethal Weapon or Die Hard with a Vengeance. I would legit enjoy more of my time with this movie but f*cking Gal Gadot is THE WORST! I’ve never really seen her in anything outside of her Wonder Woman role and that thing is more posturing than actual acting, so i didn’t have barometer for her true skill. If this is it? If Red Notice is the depth of her acting range? F*cking big yikes! I wanted to properly review this flick because there is a lot of good and a lot of bad, what the f*ck was up with that editing, but Gadot is just so bad in this, it hurts. Every time she says anything, any time she needs to emote, I’m just taken right out of the movie. Horribly miscast, man. This was too much for her level of skill. I can see someone like Jodie Comer, Charlize Theron, Eva Green, Rachel Weisz, or Olga Kurylenko absolutely killing this role. Actually, this would have been the perfect vehicle for Ana de Armas. She’s not that much younger than Gadot and has proven she can carry a similar film with her performance in Knives Out. Armas is very good at her job. Not Gadot. Never Gadot. She bad at this sh*t, man.
They had her trying to sing Downtown by Petula Clark, man. Such a bad time…
