Back in Action
Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx star as former spies-turned-parents in Netflix action-comedy Back in Action. Although the couple left their dangerous occupations in favour of an everyday suburban lifestyle after having their first child, their past catches up with them when their location is blown. With their whole family now a target, they have no choice but to take their kids along for the ride as they attempt to reclaim their old lives. What follows is a by-the-numbers outing that does just enough to pass as entertaining.
Foxx and Diaz are the main reason to watch. Even with a large chunk of their lines being blasé gags about parenthood, they nevertheless share a warm chemistry from the outset, with the high energy levels and charm the leads radiate onscreen assuring that viewers keep rooting for them to succeed. The collection of action sequences is likewise well executed. Apart from some questionable CGI during a plane crash,h which concludes the first act, the car chases and fight scenes that make up this feature’s centrepieces are slickly produced with stylish cinematography and snappy pacing.
Everything else about this film, however, is as generic as it gets. From talk about an important football game in the opening that inevitably serves as the feel-good epilogue, a forgettable big bad whose only motivation is money, and a mother butting heads with their angsty teenage daughter, audiences will have seen these tropes a hundred times before. With no surprises to be found along the way, Back in Action gives audiences exactly what they’d expect to see from a movie with this genre and premise.
Alongside the two leads, Glenn Close is another huge name attached to this project. She plays the exceedingly wealthy mother to Diaz’s character, who appears around the halfway mark. Despite the veteran star giving her all, the script never knows what to do with her. She’s mostly sidelined to a running joke about having a much younger lover (Jamie Demetriou), which is as odd as it sounds.
Diaz and Foxx’s charismatic performances bring some personality to an otherwise standard action flick. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done before, and audiences will likely forget about this one shortly after the credits roll.
Andrew Murray
Back in Action is released on Netflix on 17th January 2025.
Watch the trailer for Back in Action here:
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