Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have teamed up to deliver some great comedies including Vacation, and Game Night as well as the fantasy adventure Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Now they are taking on the action comedy with their latest film Mayday starring Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Marcin Dorocinski, Maria Bakalova, and David Morse. Could this film bring the action fun or will it fail to cross the border to hit the target?

 

Mayday follows hot shot U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly who is sent on a top-secret mission into Russian territory at the height of the Cold War, but the operation implodes, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines. Discovered by Nikolai Ustinov, a gruff ex-KGB agent with a penchant for American culture, Troy thinks he’s toast - but could an unlikely alliance between the two lead to Troy’s rescue, and a bond neither saw coming?

 

I had avoided the trailers for this one for no reason other than I just didn’t watch it. This team-up didn’t seem like one that would ever work, but at the same time these are the ones that often work the best. The film itself is entertaining, fun and filled with action capturing the tone of buddy action films of the 80s and 90s. The biggest reason this works at all is in fact due to Reynolds and Branagh, who are fantastic together.

 

The story is simple enough playing up the fish out of water on both sides using the misinterpretation of both countries as the catalyst. This journey is not only a fight to survive behind enemy lines but also discovering the truth beyond what propaganda and movies tell people. Their complete opposite personas work great together with Reynolds bringing his usual quick wit although toned down and Branagh being the stoic Russian who still brings humor to his seriousness. Their dysfunctional growing relationship works in every way making for a fun duo that both can carry the action well.