Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh team up for “Mayday”, an action comedy for Apple TV that ends up being the buddy movie I didn’t know I needed. The pair turn out to be a good match, with Reynolds turned down a few notches to a more bearable comic setting, and Branagh showing off his wide acting range that too often goes underappreciated. It’s their chemistry that ultimately drives this breezy and unexpectedly charming crowd-pleaser.
“Mayday” is co-written and co-directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the filmmaking duo behind 2023’s underrated “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”. Together they tell a story that is laced with cool action, full of witty humor, and packed with a surprising amount of heart. While their film has its dramatic moments, Goldstein and Daley never take things too seriously. And they smartly lean on Reynolds and Branagh who are more than capable of carrying the load.
The story is set in 1987, some forty years into the Cold War. Reynolds plays Troy “Assassin” Kelly, a United States Air Force Pilot who is assigned a top secret black ops reconnaissance mission for the CIA. But while piloting his SR-71 Blackbird over Soviet Russia, Troy is forced to eject just before a mid-air collision with a MiG-29. A hard landing leaves him injured, unconscious, and alone in a dense forest behind enemy lines.
Troy wakes up to find himself in a cabin and nursed back to health by Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), an ex-KGB agent who is obsessed with American culture, especially “Top Gun” and the music of Bruce Springsteen. With the nearest border over 1,200 miles away, Troy must rely on Nikolai to help navigate the rugged Russian wilderness, evade the relentless Soviet forces, and make it to an extraction point. In exchange, Troy agrees to fulfill Nikolai’s dream by taking him to America.
But escaping proves much harder than planned. With both Troy and Nikolai wanted by the Soviets, their capture becomes a top priority for the KGB. Meanwhile the Americans can’t send out a rescue team because doing so would be acknowledging espionage. So the duo are left to their own devices and must find their own way out of Russia. And along the way, they both learn there is more to their two countries than they’ve been led to believe.
As the movie zips forward we’re introduced to a handful of side characters who barely leave a mark on the story. Maria Bakalova pops in as Nikolai’s estranged daughter Anna, but her entire angle seems plucked out of the blue. It’s somewhat similar with David Morse as Troy’s ailing father. He simply isn’t given enough time to register the way the movie wants him to. Then you have Marcin Dorociński as the dogged yet generic KGB agent leading the Soviet pursuit. The performance is fine. It’s the character who needs more work.
But at the end of the day, “Mayday” is all about Troy, Nikolai, and the unlikely friendship that grows throughout their crazy adventure. For some of us, Reynolds’ brand of sarcastic comedy can be smothering. But here he is noticeably dialed back and the results are often laugh-out-loud funny. Branagh’s dry, straight-faced delivery matches Reynolds laugh for laugh. He lands plenty of good gags on his own while also teeing up some of his co-star’s best lines.
Goldstein and Daley liven things up with several entertaining action set pieces that aren’t exactly groundbreaking but that add some fun energy to the proceedings. Combine it with the steady diet of good humor and a feel-good finish, and you have a surprisingly enjoyable buddy movie with a good grasp of what its audience wants. And as more serious awards season contenders prepare to soak up most the attention in the coming months, it’s nice to kick back with an easygoing throwback movie like this.
VERDICT – 3.5 STARS
