Quick show of hands, who among you got through “6 Underground,” I mean ALL the way through it?
Because I was ready to give up, ten minutes in. I may be a big Ryan Reynolds fan, but even I have my limits.
‘Absolute s–tshow,” as one wag in the cast declares.
And everybody knows, NOBODY stages a s—tshow like Michael Bay.
Bay goes so over-the-top for this $150 million action extravaganza, it’s like he’s making a parody of his entire career — mercifully “Transformer” free.
The opening gambit lays it all out here for us, the Bay trademarks stuffed into a car chase that goes on and on and on and…
It’s Alfas and Rollers, Ferraris and Beemers, Minis and megayachts, thousand dollar sunglasses and 20-grand suits, exotic locales and exotic underwear, supermodel hookers and Cover Girl secret agents in male wish-fulfillment fantasy sex scenes.
All of it cut into a blur of explosions, crashes, blood-bursts, heads exploding, bullets raining and all of it set to pop and rock music — a montage of mayhem and Muzak.
One-liners, some whispered, most shouted – “Never underestimate the power of a really nice suit.” “This is where you ask me if I’m afraid!” “Evil goes unpunished.”
That’s the premise, Reynolds as a billionaire inventor and adrenalin junky who pulls together this “team” to see to it that the world’s a bit nicer without certain villainous humans in it. His “family” is a group of specialists with numbers, not names — “2 — C.I.A. Spook,” “3 — The Hitman.”
They fake their deaths (elaborately) and become “ghosts,” because “ghosts have one power above all others — to haunt the living, for what they’ve done.”
Dave Franco’s the driver in that excessive, glib and gory opening chase. Melanie Laurent is the “spook” having a bullet taken out of her by Adria Arjona in the backseat. I forget her number.
Ben Hardy is “The Skywalker,” a parkour-practicing thief, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is the hitman, Corey Hawkins is the ex-military sniper recruited for The Big Mission.
That would be taking out a Middle Eastern dictator and yadda yadda yadda, who cares?
If you’re into Michael Bay, this is on a par with his lesser action comedies, even though Reynolds brought his “Deadpool” writers with him to the party.
He owes them. And you know what? That favor’s been REPAID, with a really crappy not-that-flip-and-funny screenplay.
“There is NOTHING else I’d rather be doing with my life!”
If you’re not into Bay, fast forward to the BIG STUNT/EFFECT in the final act if you’re not going to sit through the whole thing. It’s a doozy, more impressive than anything I can remember in a Michael Bay movie.
It took a lot to get through this, because I re-HEEEL-ly hated that stupid, talky, bloody and endless opening chase. I’ll cut it a teensy bit of slack for A) Ryan Reynolds and B) that really cool effect at the end.
But that’s it. Done with this. Unless it becomes a damned franchise.
Rating: R for strong violence and language throughout, bloody images and some sexual content.
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Melanie Laurent, Dave Franco
Credits: Directed by Michael Bay, script by Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese. A Netflix Original.
Running time: 2:08