Many years ago, Marcus Antonius gave Cleopatra three bejeweled eggs as a wedding gift two thousand years ago to symbolize his love for her. However, as time went by, history eventually forgot these offerings until two of them were discovered by a farmer in 1907, with the third remaining undiscovered.
In the present day, FBI criminal profiler Special Agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) is assigned to assist Interpol agent Urvashi Das (Ritu Arya) in the investigation on one of the eggs displayed at the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. They found out that it was fake so Das immediately ordered for a lockdown in the museum. But before the room is sealed shut, Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds), an international art thief, manages to flee.
Hartley and Das eventually apprehended Booth in his home in Bali, and the egg is taken into custody only for another thief named Sarah Black AKA "The Bishop" (Gal Gadot) to take it away and frame Hartley.
Das confronts Hartley the next day, believing he is the one who stole the egg. As a result, she has him imprisoned in the same cell as Booth in a remote Russian prison. Fueled by their interest to defeat the Bishop, the two must now work together to escape and find the elusive thief.
"Red Noticed" is one of those films that is slightly entertaining and absolutely predictable.
Three of today's most popular stars, Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, lead the film. In fact “Red Noticed” only manages to make it through its 100-minute runtime thanks to the charm and quirkiness of its performers. But to be honest, there is a certain amount of boredom with these actors portraying the same characters over and over again.
Dwayne Johnson plays a federal agent, which is the same type of character he has played in films such as “Central Intelligence” and the “Fast & Furious” franchise. At this point, it's tough not to question his limited acting abilities. Ryan Reynolds, on the other hand, is becoming ridiculously proficient at portraying "Deadpool" in all of his films that it starts to get annoying. Lastly, Gal Gadot, the film's main antagonist, did her hardest to be a terrifying villain, but it is really not the image for her.
As for the plot, it is far from satisfactory. The script is okay, but it tries far too hard to imitate or rip off films such as “National Treasure”. Another issue is that the entire film is riddled with plot holes that conveniently work in favor of the main trio's goals. Everything just seems to work, without any effort or struggle.There is a scenario in which Harley and Booth must escape the highly protected prison, and after fighting their way through a slew of inept guards, there is a plane readily available nearby that they can use to fly away. It’s as if the writers got tired of writing interesting ways for their characters to skedaddle their way back to the main story. If Netflix is going to spend $200 million on a film, it should be a decent one with a well-written plot and interesting characters.
Obviously, as a heist slash action movie, it should have fantastic moments. Alas, there is none. The ultimate reveal in “Red Notice” might be good at first glance, but it makes no logic at all in hindsight. It feels like a last minute decision by the filmmakers as it comes off as inorganic and forced.
In conclusion, I find this film as an unapologetic popcorn film that really does not care if it's good or bad as long as it is making money. It's really a shame that the talent here is squandered by a mediocre story. If the directors and producers had cared more about giving the movie a soul, it could have been something enjoyable.
1.5/5
