6 Underground

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ben Hardy, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco, Corey Hawkins, Lior Raz, Payman Maadi, Kim Kold, Elena Rusconi
Directed by: Michael Bay
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy, Thriller
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Six people fake their deaths so they can do good in the world and they start with a dangerous mission to replace a criminal dictator.

Review:

Tim: I recognize that 6 Underground didn't garner the best reviews for Netflix. It's a Michael Bay film, but it's Bay unrestrained- it was like Netflix threw a bunch of money at him and refused to put any parameters on him. This movie has been called the most "Bayesian" Michael Bay film and those descriptors are not far off. Michael Bay is a polarizing director. I've loved some of the things he's done and I groaned audibly at times as well. Bay created two of my all-time favorite movies in Armageddon and The Rock, but he has a string of decent movies that should have been better. 6 Underground (which is a terrible title) falls closer to the second group, although I still consider this a good movie.

I believe this movie works because of the comedic elements. It's a film that never takes itself too seriously. So much of what we see on screen is utterly ridiculous. That could sink the movie, but it's all played for laughs and good fun. It was essential to have Ryan Reynolds play the lead here- he has perfected that ability to do something dramatic while retaining a sense of snark and the right amount of apathy or disinterest. It's like he is having fun and that's more important than what anyone else thinks about him. That's contagious here and Reynolds gives the whole movie that tone, which is the only way this movie could have worked. Sure, large parts of this movie are utterly absurd, but it's all in good fun and I had a good time watching this movie.

The film starts out with a lengthy car chase scene, which is absolutely superb. It's Bay at his best (and his worst). The number of car flips and explosions is too extreme, but it's a thrilling, hilarious, intense sequence that feels unique- it's not something you have seen a hundred times before. It does a great job of setting the stage and tone for the entire film. You know that nothing you see will be all that intellectual, but it's going to be a wild ride. I really loved the opening sequence. The middle of the movie is fine, but we get fewer crazy action scenes. This time is spent mostly in flashbacks, allowing you to learn about these characters more. That's important, although all those scenes were clearly less compelling than the present-day ones. The movie does rally for a fairly epic conclusion set onboard a yacht. The scenes with the giant magnet were absolutely incredible. Again, they were unrealistic, but such fun. The visuals were impressive, too.

The cast was good- it felt like they had fun making this movie. Reynolds was fantastic in the lead role. The part felt designed for him. It allowed him to leverage all his strengths and the movie is better for it. He's charismatic, funny, and a bit profane. I'll never not enjoy Reynolds when he's leveraging his strengths and it was great fun watching him here. I like Melanie Laurent and she was solid here. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo gave the most forced performance. Too often, Bay's films try to force humor on the audience and it almost never works (see many of the worst parts of the Transformers movies). Here, Garcia-Rulfo got closest to that, unfortunately. Ben Hardy was good- physically, his performance is excellent. His acting was so-so. Adria Arjona feels like an afterthought. I loved Dave Franco's role here. He added so much with his entertaining performance. Corey Hawkins was good- he got some great opportunities to show his talent.

6 Underground was always going to be a polarizing movie. Michael Bay is a polarizing director. It's hard not to feel like he's a peddler of low cinema. I see that sentimentality in all of his films. However, it's also too one-sided to completely dismiss him. He has perfected the art of explosions and his action sequences can be quite good. Here, it felt more in fun, like Bay was in on the joke (rather than trying to pass something off as high cinema). For that reason, I had a good time watching this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Extraction, The Rock