THE STORY – When a U.S. Navy pilot on a top-secret mission during the Cold War gets trapped behind enemy lines, his only chance at survival is to ally with an eccentric ex-KGB agent.
THE CAST – Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Maria Bakalova, Marcin Dorociński & David Morse
THE TEAM – Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 111 Minutes
“Mayday” feels like the consequence of Hollywood’s indecision about greenlighting a sequel to “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.” Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the filmmakers behind the beloved franchise flick, are so eager to return to that series that their latest feature feels more like a job than something they’re truly passionate about. “Mayday,” a big-budget buddy comedy that’s heading straight to Apple TV+, is emblematic of many films to arrive on any major streaming service: big stars, big laughs, and even bigger spectacle. Yet none of the magic that makes most of Goldstein and Daley’s work can be found here, making “Mayday” an action-comedy that’s incredibly lackluster on both fronts.
Goldstein and Daley’s career isn’t necessarily consistent in quality, yet with successful comedies like “Game Night” under their belt, they’ve more than mastered their flavor of humor that feels quite effortless, especially when all the pieces fall into place. Whenever the pair have a solid script with a great ensemble to bring their words to life, it usually leads to an amusing time at the theater. With “Mayday,” the unorthodox pairing of a movie star like Ryan Reynolds and an Academy Award-winning thespian like Kenneth Branagh seems like a pairing no one could’ve ever imagined. On paper, at least, this coupling could support a story about men from different parts of the world forced to help one another in a time of universal distrust.
Set in 1987, forty years deep into the Cold War, the film centers on hot-shot Navy Pilot Troy “Assassin” Kelly, played by Reynolds, an incomparable talent rising through the ranks as one of the military’s finest airmen. Troy bleeds red, white, and blue, constantly ranting about his disdain for communism and its shortcomings, while ironically living in the United States where Ronald Regan is president. Troy personifies a braggadocious American brand of confidence that, according to him, is fueled by America’s encouragement of greatness compared to somewhere like the USSR. Besides his sickly father, he’s all alone, making him a more than worthy candidate for a covert recon mission beyond the Russian Border.
Troy desires to prove his commitment to his career, but it ultimately costs him as he crashes behind enemy lines, bleeding half to death. If not for Kenneth Branagh’s Nikolai Ustinov, a former KGB agent whose uber-obsession with American culture makes him an uncharacteristically valuable ally, Troy would be a prisoner of war. Despite Troy’s skepticism, together the pair must navigate thousands of kilometers across the snowy Russian tundra if Troy is ever to return home and Nikolai is to earn asylum for a country he idolizes. It’s a simple premise entirely conjured up for these two performers to bounce quips off one another while taking part in overly elaborate fight sequences that aren’t satisfying in any manner. There’s amusement to be found in seeing an aged Branagh go full action star in his thick, costumed beard and spotty accent. It’s even more amusing when audiences can clearly see when he’s swapped out for a stunt double clearly half his age.
Yet, Branagh can squeeze out some of the best aspects of Goldstein and Daly’s humor even when he’s also given the tough task of eliciting the film’s more emotional moments and trying to get something out of a screen partner that’s offering him very little. Reynolds is indistinguishable from any other performance he’s given in the past decade of his career. By this point, he’s long past his expiration point of “Deadpool” goodwill, because Reynolds is delivering the most bland performance we’ve seen from him in some time. The smart-alleck charm that once worked does no favors for him even when Branagh is giving him so much leeway.
Troy and Nick’s (Nikolai’s preferred name because he’s too Russian) relationship is thinly sketched out, mainly held together by circumstance and the close calls they have where they have to save each other, usually with Nick doing all of the saving. Anytime Goldstein and Daley’s screenplay tries to explore these characters’ dynamic or personal motivations through their relationships, it feels insincere. There’s a side plot involving Troy’s father that feels like a Hail Mary attempt to get Reynolds to give some semblance of an emotional turn. Still, it pales in comparison to Nick’s frayed relationship with his daughter Anna, Maria Bakalova, which is far more integral to the film’s narrative.
Goldstein and Daley’s direction isn’t able to give any of the elongated sequences of action any momentum. Every single set piece is almost a variation of the chase sequence of “Game Night,” with a weightless camera floating around at various angles. The bar fight early on in “Mayday,” where Branagh displays his physical prowess, is fun to watch, but nothing else comes close until the finale car chase involving a tank Troy and Nick steal to drive to the embassy. It’s a CG-rendered fest of the most underwhelming action, packaged in a film we’ve seen more than a million times by now. If this is the price to pay to get whatever Goldstein and Daley want to work on next, I don’t know if the price was really worth it.
