Red Notice Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs
Netflix's most expensive film to date is also one of its most formulaic.
Without question Netflix's biggest roll of the dice to date is their new action-comedy blockbuster Red Notice, which with a stonking $200 million budget represents the streaming giant's most expensive movie project in history.
Hyped by Netflix and stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot as one of streaming cinema's first major "true" blockbusters, it goes without saying that a lot is hinging on how the film is received by audiences - certainly more so than critics.
Despite all the hubbub about its game-changing potential, the most surprising thing about Red Notice is just how utterly familiar and boilerplate it is.
While few were expecting anything but a broadly entertaining spy caper, this film is formulaic to the point of near-parody, almost as though it were conceived by an algorithm to be as broadly inoffensive to as wide an audience as possible.
And honestly, that's probably not too far from the truth, because while lacking in originality Red Notice is an aggressively watchable film, albeit one that isn't likely to stick around in your memory for long.
It's sure to be a massive ratings hit for Netflix, and if it pulls the required viewing figures you can bank on Red Notice 2 being greenlit soon enough.
But a sequel will also need to make some significant improvements, and so here's what just doesn't quite work...