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‘Back in Action’: Foxx, Diaz, a great team

Jack Travis
/
kuaf

Cameron Diaz is back on-screen for the first time in over a decade, and she hasn’t lost a single step. She co-stars with Jamie Foxx in Netflix’s “Back in Action.” Ironically, Diaz’s last movie also starred Foxx. It was 2014’s “Annie.”

Diaz plays Emily, and Foxx plays Matt, a power couple who work as spies for the CIA. But when they get together and Emily becomes pregnant, they decide to make a family and leave their lives of action and thrills behind.

The film is, admittedly, pretty formulaic. It doesn’t offer too many twists or turns. But Director Seth Gordon knew he wasn’t making a “Mission: Impossible” movie.

Emily and Matt have been retired for 15 years when their cover is blown, and their family is suddenly in danger. With terrorists and mercenaries after them for a techno McGuffin called “The Key,” they leave their humdrum life behind to retrieve it and protect their kids (played by McKenna Roberts and Rylan Jackson).

“Back in Action” is a Netflix action comedy released in January (which is usually a dumping ground for disappointing movies). This film didn’t have anything to prove. And action comedies can go so wrong, so fast (see: “Argyle” and “Ghosted”). Thankfully, Diaz and Foxx have an effortless chemistry that makes their action look fine and their comedy look great.

This pair knew they weren’t trying to be “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” They weren’t trying to be “John Wick” or any other action movie that takes itself seriously. Instead, “Back in Action” knew the exact level of seriousness it needed to hit (minimal), and it got the job done.

But the comedy is where this film truly shines. It is packed to the gills with extremely sharp writing that’ll leave audiences gasping for breath because they’re laughing so hard. Jackson comes out of nowhere with the most cutting lines a kid can deliver, and they’re brutally hilarious.

The rest of the extended cast do their jobs well enough. Glenn Close plays Emily’s mother, with whom she has a strained relationship. Kyle Chandler and Andrew Scott play spies (CIA and MI6, respectively). They all do fine with the roles they’re given.

The weakest link in “Back in Action” comes down to Jamie Demetriou playing Nigel, an MI6 trainee who needed fewer scenes or to be dialed back just a little. Everyone else in the movie was playing in a spy comedy, and his role, for some reason, was written to be more of a cartoon character. He gets a few laughs, but more often than not, Nigel is just a bit too obnoxious for the level of cool that Emily and Matt bring to the movie.

In terms of pacing, “Back in Action” doesn’t waste a single minute. It doesn’t linger on unfunny jokes or action scenes that grow stale. The story jumps ahead, and everyone’s always off to the next moment before the audience has a chance to grow bored.

“Back in Action” is a hilarious film that’s way funnier than it has any right to be. At the core of this movie is Foxx and Diaz playing off each other so well that whether they’re spies or a middle-aged couple, it’s believable. And folks are probably laughing.

Obvious sequel bait is present at the end, but “Back in Action” is a perfectly fine movie on its own. The movie already beat the odds to be as entertaining as it was. No need to tempt fate again.

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Courtney Lanning is a film critic who appears weekly on <i>Ozarks At Large</i> to discuss the latest in movies.
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