Kenneth Branagh plays an ex-KGB agent who secretly loves America, and I want to shake the hand of whoever thought that up. It’s the character nobody asked for and everybody needed. I’d put him in the same company as Phil Dunphy or Michael Scott: written and performed so precisely that you lean in every time he opens his mouth. That’s not a comparison I hand out.
Ryan Reynolds is doing the Reynolds thing, and I like the Reynolds thing. Usually the problem is the movie around it. Here it’s dialed back from Deadpool levels, which turns out to be exactly right. He’s quick without steamrolling the scene, so the one-liners land instead of pile up.
The other surprise is how modern it feels. It’s a period piece that never goes stiff or museum-like. The setting is convincing, the filmmaking is contemporary, and the two never fight each other. The set pieces are genuinely good, the pacing never sags, and the action is fun in the way action is supposed to be fun. I sat there trying to think of what I’d change and came up empty.
A lot of that comes from knowing exactly what it is. No reaching for a bigger theme. No third act pivot into something self-important. Two hours of entertainment, delivered.
It landed on Apple TV, which has been a coin flip for movies. This one is firmly on the good side of that ledger, and I hope it’s a sign of what’s coming.
Smart, well made, and built to entertain, with a supporting performance you’ll be quoting for weeks. Easy yes. I had a blast.
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