Shadows on the Wall

Matchbox

dir Sam Hargrave
scr David Coggeshall
prd David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Robbie Brenner, Jules Daly
with John Cena, Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris, Arturo Castro, Danai Gurira, Golshifteh Farahani, Corey Stoll, Bill Camp, Daniel Bernhardt, Randeep Hooda, Kristoffer Hivju
release US/UK 9.Oct.26
26/US Mattel 2h06

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Snappy banter punctuates this action movie, which mindlessly leans into the wackier excesses of the Fast & Furious genre with a flurry of spectacularly set-pieces. Ace action director Sam Hargrave creates a strange mix of gritty violence with childish storytelling. Fight choreography is fierce but messy. On-location chase scenes are ridiculous, but the crashes are spectacular. And amid the endless barrage of gunfire, only anonymous goons get hit.

After recovering a nuke, super-spy Sean (Cena) learns of the death of Smalley (Camp), who ran the Ohio garage where his childhood pals hung out, playing with his collection of Matchbox cars. At the funeral, Sean reconnects with the old gang: ambulance driver Aimee (Biel), contractor Crosby (Richardson), multi-skilled journalist Charmaine (Parris) and scientist Ted (Castro). And all of them are kidnapped by arms dealer Mosier (Stoll), who wants that bomb. They manage to escape, but now find themselves on an adventure from Morocco to Bucharest and Budapest. And no one they meet seems trustworthy.

Comical elements arise in the tension between these childhood friends, who aren't remotely prepared for all of this violent mayhem. In a prolog, we also learn that Sean had an unrequited crush on Aimee, which unsurprisingly informs how they bicker and reconnect. There is never even the slightest sense of peril in the midst of various double-crosses, kidnappings, shootouts and desperate rescues, all while a nuclear warhead remains on the loose.

Playing with miniature cars has given them ideas that will come in handy. Of course this goofy group of middle-school buddies has fun in between the scary moments, using their range of individual skills when required. They even get to dress up for a fancy casino party. All of them are able to balance the action and comedy effortlessly, anchored around Cena's stony charisma. Biel and Parris also bring the steeliness, while Richardson and especially Castro give the film some heart. Gurira (as Sean's tenacious boss) and Farahani (as a seductive contact) make the very most of simplistic roles.

This is one of those screenplays is aware that it was patched together with elements of every action movie ever made, with an endless stream of corny dialog and not a single original idea. That means that it's thoroughly undemanding and watchable, keeping us engaged even if it never generates a moment of true suspense or anything that to wither feel or think about. But the absurdly outsized stuntwork is a guilty pleasure.

themes, language, violence 7.Oct.26

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