Fresh Foxx
Have you noticed that half the star vehicles on Netflix play characters that’ve concealed a career as a spy or secret agent from their family? That was the premise of True Lies in 1994, and it worked like gangbusters back then. But that plot has been recycled countless times of late, including by Arnold himself in his Netflix show FUBAR.
The new Netflix movie Back in Action does that as well. But at least has an irresistible hook, which doubles as another reason for its title: Cameron Diaz has returned from a decade-long retirement—it’s her first movie since the Annie remake, in 2014—while her co-star, Jamie Foxx, appears in his first big movie role since his health scare a couple of years ago, although Foxx’s stroke happened when the film was near the end of production.
There aren’t many surprises. But Foxx and Diaz are great together, and it’s especially welcome to see Diaz in the movies again.
Back in Action was directed by Seth Gordon, who made a smart documentary in 2007 ( The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters), and more recently has specialized in studio comedies like Horrible Bosses and the misbegotten 2017 Baywatch movie. Gordon also co-wrote the film, although its Writers Guild page lists 17 different writers who contributed “Additional Literary Material: (not on-screen).”
This is Gordon’s first directorial credit in the eight years since Baywatch. And while I remember the ghastly action scenes in Baywatch, they’re much better here. One highlight is a scene involving a flamethrower, joining Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Hidden in the pantheon of great movie flamethrower scenes.
Foxx and Diaz are introduced in a prologue, set 15 years before the main action, which works because the actors both possess the ability to look younger than they are. They’re on a mission to steal a valuable thumb drive, and when it all goes awry, the two parachute out of a plane into a new life of suburban parenthood.
In the present day, they’re the parents of young teenagers, retired as spies but still occasionally putting their skills to use, by spying on their daughter when she tries to go to a club. Predictably, their old life catches up with them, on a jaunt through England that includes the kids, rival spies, and plenty of explosions.
The cast goes deeper than just the two leads. Glenn Close has an enjoyable turn as Diaz’s estranged and very British mom, and I appreciated the casting of Andrew Scott as an antagonist, even if he’s not given much to do. And Kyle Chandler has a lot of fun in an against-type role.
Last year’s streaming series take on Mr. And Mrs. Smith, with Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, was probably a better version of the married-couple-as-spies premise. Nevertheless, I’m happy Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx are back.