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Red Notice has a triple-threat match of bankable box office names – Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot – backed up by director Rawson Marshall Thurber, who the former has worked with in both Skyscraper and Central Intelligence, but due to the COVID19 pandemic, not every film could get a cinema release when things were getting back to normal, so the big screen’s loss is Netflix’s gain.
The title is defined as the highest level of arrest warrant issued by INTERPOL for the world’s most wanted criminals. Looking to the first two of the leads, Johnson is FBI Agent John Hartley, a profiler regaring art thieves, while Deadpool is Nolan Booth, the world’s best art thief.
There’s a back story regarding how Cleopatra was given three eggs from Marc Anthony, each full of jewels, but while two were found in 1907, the third has been missing for years. Yep, stop ignoring the plot at this point…
When the pair first meet, in Rome, the film quickly mixes action with comedy, since The Rock has a feeling that Deadpool intends to steal the egg today… except it already has been and they’re looking at a forgery. But mere details, since it leads to a chase scene where they both throw themselves around in a way which would put any normal person in hospital.
However, before the film is 30 minutes old, Wonder Woman’s got one better on all of them, and it’s left The Rock up the creek and taking the blame, and locked up in a Russian gulag. Yes, I gave you the impression this is not a film to take seriously, since as you’ll soon realise, Red Notice is one of those films where two enemies (the men) have to team up together in order to defeat the female baddie who’s tricked them both.
Trying to bring back the law and order into things is Inspector Urvashi Das (Ritu Arya), Ritu being the insanely hot doctor from… BBC’s Doctors, who had a dalliance with Sid, and while I do enjoy that soap, it does occasionally have some dumb writing, and her character getting the sack while Sid kept his job – even though they were both equally capable – was a nonsense. Still, to expand on a phrase I used earlier, the BBC’s loss is Netflix’s gain.
Oh, and I also spotted the ginger-haired chap in his office with Gal Gadot, at one point, who’s an actor who’s appeared in a cough medicine advert which used to appear as a sponsor company during The Chase. Funny how certain things stick in the mind, but I can’t remember what I had for dinner last week.
Red Notice is more a series of set pieces than a coherent storyline, but the important thing is that it’s a fun film with a fair number of jokes that land well, and is a decent use of two hours of your time.
And don’t think I’ve given any spoilers, because anything I’ve mentioned comes within the first 30 minutes. After that, it’s like winding up a toy and setting it off for another 90 minutes, but all you have to do is sit back with the popcorn, enjoy the ride and check your brain at the door… and if you’re working from home, you probably did that in March 2020, already 😉
As an aside, when it comes to a scene involving a bullring, for a film costing $200m to make, it really does feature the most appalling CGI. However, that brief anomoly can be forgiven in the light of an amusing homage to the first two Indiana Jones films.
Then again, Ed Sheeran pops up at once point, so I take back my forgiveness.
But back to something positive, and oh, Netflix, let’s have more Ritu, please!
There’s also a slight post-credits ‘scene’:
Thanks to our friends at Netflix for the screener prior to release.
Red Notice is on Netflix from Sunday November 7th, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Check out the trailer below:
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 116 minutes
Release date: November 12th 2021
Studio: Netflix
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Dolby Vision, Redcode RAW (6K) (8K), Ultra Anamorphic Panavision 70)
Rating: 6.5/10
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Producers: Beau Flynn, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, Rawson Marshall Thurber
Screenplay: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Music: Steve Jablonsky
Cast:
John Hartley: Dwayne Johnson
Nolan Booth: Ryan Reynolds
The Bishop: Gal Gadot
Inspector Urvashi Das: Ritu Arya
Sotto Voce: Chris Diamantopoulos
Tambwe: Ivan Mbakop
Director Gallo: Vincenzo Amato
Security Chief Ricci: Rafael Petardi
Souvenir Stand Owner: Seth Michaels
Gelato Truck Driver: Sebastien Large
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.