Overview
Fifteen years after vanishing from the CIA to start a family, elite spies Matt and Emily jump back into the world of espionage when their cover is blown.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A pair of spies who were assigned together as part of their covers fell in love and retire from their CIA roles after one last job that goes wrong. Fifteen years later, now with new identities and lives, including two teenage children, the pair find their past life catch up with them, and the unresolved issues of their last assignment places their family at risk. Drawn back into the world of espionage as they try to keep their family unit safe, they set about finding a macguffin key device which (despite the fact it would now be obsolete 15 year old computer tech) seems to still be a powerful weapon if it lands in the wrong hands.
Yup, it’s another generic Netflix spy comedy, which borrows liberally from the many similarly themed films that have come before it over the last few decades. Sprinkles of Spy Kids, Mr and Mrs Smith, True Lies, and other similar styled films are dropped into the typical Netflix mix of action and wisecracks.
But, you know what… I actually had fun with this one, despite the generic nature of it all. There are no surprises or twists that catch you out, because we have seen it all before, and the basic story plays exactly how you imagine it would. But this film holds up well largely due to the fun combination of Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz as the couple of ex-spies simply trying to raise a family. Diaz sizzles on screen, and reminds us of her action charm she displayed in films such as Knight and Day, or the Charlie’s Angels films, whilst Foxx delivers his usual cool presence alongside her. The pair have a great dynamic on screen together, and when combined with some pretty well presented action moments, it makes for a fun bit of disposable action fair to pass the time. There’s some decent support cast around them, albeit underused, such as Glenn Close and Andrew Scott (who I really wish we’d had more of), and Jamie Demetriou in a role that you will either love or find to be a huge annoyance (I loved it).
It probably helps that this is a film from Seth Gordon, who gave us Four Christmases, Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief, and Baywatch – all of which aren’t great films, but I’ve generally found enjoyable enough to deserve a singular watch, and his comic energy he delivers works enough for me.
Look, this isn’t a film to race out to watch – not when there are so many better films out there that use the same type of set-ups – but it is a decent enough rainy afternoon pick-me-up to put on to pass some time, if only to see Diaz back in action, and realise how much she has actually been missed since she stepped away from films in 2014.