Film: 6 Underground
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Corey Hawkins, Dave Franco, Melanie Laurent, Ben Hardy, Adria Arjuna
Director: Michael Bay
Streaming: Netflix
Review: Klep Napier
Rating: 2 X’s out of 5X’s
Netflix has become the leading force in releasing new content to stream. Not only that, but the quality of players involved is somewhat amazing and difficult to match. From Scorsese’s team of Notable gangsters to Will Smith’s world of action meets fantasy, Netflix has not be afraid to spend a couple of dollars on keeping their platform fresh. But that’s not always a good thing. Netflix’s newest project comes from the mind of on screen adrenaline junkie, Director Michael Bay [Armageddon, Bad Boys, Transformers]. Bay teams up with Deadpool Star Ryan Reynolds in ‘6 Underground’, a story about a billionaire [Reynolds], who's had enough with the ways of the world and the people of power who rule and harm the less fortunate. He decides to put together a team of skilled individuals who then fake their own deaths in order to scratch themselves out of the system to help him on his journey to correct things making life dangerously hard for a certain dictator.
6 Underground on the surface sounds like it’s a good idea so let’s breakdown where it actually wins. The production value of action sequences is nothing shorter than what you would expect from Michael Bay. The film Jumps right in, leaving you with your eyes wide during every frame of the opening sequence. You can see that not a penny was wasted on the overall wow factor. Outside of this, we’re afraid the film comes up short. So let’s talk about where it loses. Although the action is what sets this thing apart, there isn’t anything memorable about the film other than the [spoiler alert] 20 minute car chase which opens the film. There, we get a brief introduction to what seems like it’s going to be an awesome cast, including Dave Franco [Now You See Me, The Neighbors] that all but falls short once the adrenaline rush come to a halt. Dubbing each main character with a number instead of using their character names while working a job just feels a little Reservoir Dogs.
As far as the lead, Ryan Reynolds struggles to be anything other than a wisecracking, sarcastic douche bag with all the charisma. In other words he’s Deadpool in this one too. Now that’s not saying he isn’t enjoyable to watch, we’ve just seen it all before. Midway through the plot or lack there of tends to dry up. By the end you barely remember why you even started watching. Overall 6 Underground gives Michael Bay the budget to play with dangerous toys but does no justice for it's cast and audience as far as substance goes. We recommend if you’re going to stream this film enjoy the ride with low expectations.