Fans love the recent movie, Red Notice. The audience reviews compliment the buddy-comedy with action sequences. However, most critic reviews of Red Notice consistently nag about the lack of plot and efforts from writers and directors. While the movie will not make the audience question their own principles, the comedy and action still make the movie an enjoyable watch.
“It was so good! When you put Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson in the same movie you know it is gonna be good. The plot twist at the end? I did not expect it at all, a very good plot twist.” Rian Jacobs (‘24) says.
Red Notice was released on Netflix on November 5, 2021. The plot follows an FBI profiler John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) who teams up with one of the world’s most wanted art thieves, Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) to track down their common adversary, The Bishop (Gal Gadot).
Within a few days, Red Notice beat Bird Box for Netflix’s biggest movie debut with 328 million total hours viewed on November 30, compared to Bird Box’s 282 million total hours viewed. Even with its big release, Red Notice only made $178,143 worldwide in the box office versus its estimated budget of $160 million.
The best parts of the movie were when Hartley and Booth were in the Russian prison and the twist at the end. The whole Russian prison part was hilarious and their breakout created the action it needed. While the twist at the end was unexpected, it still fit into the story. The twist was earned and set the movie up for a sequel.
However, the worst part of the film was the car chase scene. After sitting around with no maintenance for 70 years, it seems unlikely that the chase could have happened at all. Somehow these cars run perfectly, have a full tank, and enough air in the tires. Such a small detail still has the potential to overcome the audience’s suspension of disbelief. The action was great and even reminiscent of Indiana Jones, but the small detail sat at the back of my mind and ruined it.
Other Barstow students felt similarly. “One thing I did not like was how unrealistic it was, like the old car that had gas. But I still hope for a sequel.” Jacobs (‘24) also said about the movie.
The way the movie ended suggested there would be a sequel. Johnson was hopeful about the franchise returning. “I would love to do more… It’s up to the audience, so we will see. I will tell you that just based off of reaction so far and what we’ve been able to cull from the audiences, there’s a good chance that we will see a return of this,” he told SiriusXM. Release dates are uncertain as of now, but there could be a Red Notice 2 as soon as November 2023.
In general, the movie was well made and enjoyable. It is a good movie to watch on a rainy afternoon. Even though most critics dislike the movie, people should not be deterred from trying the movie. People should still consider watching it.
