For all the action films Netflix churns out, their CGI remains the biggest let, down and the studio's latest, Back in Action, fails to be the exception. A possible reason for this could be that that actors demand hefty salaries, given there's no possibility for them to reduce their base pay in lieu of receiving a percentage of box office receipts, therefore leaving little for the technical departments to work with. While many Netflix original films falter because of this accounting, Seth Gordon's Back in Action might be the best example to date as to how this allocation can actually pay dividends.
The most egregious act of CGI in the film comes early on: an opening sequence in which a plane crashes into a mountain and a one-parachute/two-people escape occurs. Other mediocre visuals follow, but, quite frankly, the charming dynamic between leads Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz renders them insignificant.
Foxx and Diaz are utterly charming as Matt and Emily Reynolds — former CIA spies who left the field 15 years ago in favour of an idyllic suburban existence to raise their children, Alice (McKenna Roberts) and Leo (Rylan Jackson). When a run-in at a nightclub exposes Matt and Emily online, their enemies quickly find them and force the Reynolds family into hiding across the pond.
Back in Action provides its leads with the space to demonstrate their comedic chops and bright personalities, which, for Diaz in particular, have been missing from our screens for over a decade. The two have an effortless dynamic, owing to their friendship forged when filming 1999's Any Given Sunday, that translates into a true on-screen partnership. They have the familiarity of old friends, which we can feel as the audience — every knowing look and banter-filled exchanged contains their long history and the inherent understanding that comes with that.
It's not much of a surprise that Foxx and Diaz win us over without even trying; both have proven track records and are known for their amiable personas. The performances of McKenna Roberts and Rylan Jackson, though, do come as a welcome revelation.
Back in Action will inevitably draw many comparisons to Robert Rodriguez's early-aughts family spy film franchise, Spy Kids — comparing favourably in many ways (and others not so much), particularly in the strength of the young actors playing kids who discover their lame parents are actually kick-ass CIA agents.
Just as Spy Kids relied on young actors to create a wholly-realized film, Back in Action asks the same of Roberts and Jackson, who play their archetypes of rebellious teen and the nerdy pre-teen, respectively, compellingly. Both instigate and deliver moments of humour and, thanks to Gordon and Brendan O'Brien's script, Roberts and Jackson bypass the tired trope of constantly bickering siblings.
Back in Action doesn't blow the lid off the genre like Rodriguez's film did nearly a quarter century ago, but it does offer two hours of good-natured laughter and entertaining-enough intrigue. The end of the film sets up a sequel (if it's not called Back 2 Action, what are we even doing?), and I hope the streaming data gives Netflix enough confidence to green-light a second one based off of the family dynamics alone. Swish action sequences are great, but there's something to be said for a cinematic family unit that we can ride or die with.