The Union

Mark Walberg stars as Mike, a blue-collar construction worker from New Jersey, in Netflix action flick The Union. He’s content living in the same small town with the same friends he’s had all his life. However, everything changes when his former high school girlfriend Roxanne (Berry) walks into the bar one night. Just as it looks like the pair are about to rekindle their romance, he’s tranquilised and taken to London. Here, it’s revealed that she’s part of an elite secret taskforce known as The Union, who wish to recruit him to help recover sensitive intel before it’s sold on the black market.

What follows is the standard genre affair of high-speed car chases and bombastic shootouts as the group of heroes (also including JK Simmons, Alice Lee, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Jackie Earle Haley) work to reclaim what was stolen. Although the high production values make for sleek action sequences and a high level of cinematic polish, bland characters and a poorly paced plot result in this flick becoming another of Netflix’s disposable blockbusters.

After Mike is tasked with his mission following a brief training montage it appears the main story is underway, with plenty of set pieces to punctuate the action as the team zero in on their target in what appears to be the gripping climax. It’s at this point when the script throws a spanner in the works in the form of a surprise twist and the protagonists are thrown back to square one and must find a means of recovering the intel all over again. It wasn’t much fun the first time, and the new plot revelations don’t make the same mission more fun the second time around.

Walberg and Berry do a commendable job in the leading roles. Both stars bring a likeability to the characters that will have viewers rooting for their success. Despite the actors’ talents, there’s not much depth to their onscreen relationship or their connection with the other team. With no sense of camaraderie uniting The Union, the comedic and more dramatic moments fall flat.

Despite its big-name actors and glossy production values, a lacklustre plot and undercooked characters make The Union a largely forgettable outing.

Andrew Murray

The Union is released on Netflix on 16^th August 2024.

Watch the trailer for The Union here: