‘6 Underground’ Film Review: Michael Bay Returns with Another Loud, Dumb Action Epic
Ryan Reynolds stars in an ensemble piece that wants to emulate the “family” of “Fast & Furious,” only without actual characters
Simon Abrams | December 11, 2019 @ 12:01 AM
Last Updated: December 11, 2019 @ 9:31 AM
Christian Black/Netflix
The predictably loud and shockingly boring action caper “6 Underground” is one-man-brand director Michael Bay’s answer to the “Fast & Furious” series.
The biggest difference between Bay’s globe-spanning adventure and the Vin Diesel-Dwayne Johnson car-racing movies, which have increasingly aped the “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise, is that Bay’s gang of superficially inclusive do-gooder mercenaries (they want to depose an evil, Middle Eastern dictator!) are more vocally cynical.
Led by “One” (Ryan Reynolds), a disillusioned tech billionaire who refers to his teammates by numbers instead of names, Bay’s group spends a lot of time talking about how little they care about anything but their humanitarian mission until eventually they realize that they do care — for each other. That generic theme is mostly annoying since Bay’s usual focus on spectacular violence is generally at odds with his characters’ ostensible values.
Then again, it wouldn’t be a Michael Bay movie if he didn’t slavishly cater to the lowest common denominator (get ready for some sexist and gay-panic jokes!), so it makes sense that Bay’s antiheroes are more obnoxious when they’re trying to be good than when they’re knowingly bad.
And “knowingly” is the key word in that last sentence: only the explosions, gore and lingerie in the movie feel authentic to Bay’s oft-copied style, especially after the it’s belabored, eye-roll-inducing set-up: through a series of exhausting flashbacks, One introduces us to his crack team of juvenile killers, each one more jaded and disgruntled than the last. Five (Corey Hawkins, “BlacKkKlansman”), a sniper looking for redemption after a mission goes wrong, is ironically the least sympathetic of the bunch since he’s the one that credited writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (“Deadpool 2”) try hardest to get viewers to like. Five repeatedly asks One to stop looking at his group as a means to an end, and start looking at them as a “family,” a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in the “Fast & Furious” movies.
But it’s hard to buy what Five is selling given how indistinct his teammates are. Three (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, “Widows”), a dimwitted but efficient hitman, seems to want to impress his dementia-addled mom, but that plot point isn’t touched upon beyond one barely-related joke later on. And fellow teammates Two (Mélanie Laurent), a French killer and former CIA agent, and Six (Ben Hardy, “Bohemian Rhapsody”), a British parkour expert, don’t add much beyond some European accents and a few more warm bodies for Bay to throw around.
More to that point: a reflexively cruel death that occurs early on in the movie suggests that Bay doesn’t really care who dies as long as they expire after some car explosions, tired banter, canned sexual tension, and a lot of wide-angle landscape photography of international cities like Florence, Las Vegas and Hong Kong. Throw in some mediocre, bass-heavy pop songs, including a hilariously bad techno cover of “Carmina Burana,” and some Shrek-worthy pop culture references that also serve as punchlines (really, an “8 Mile” joke?), and you’ve got “6 Underground,” a movie that’s about as fresh as Y2K and El Niño jokes.
That hole where the movie should be is something of a problem given that “6 Underground”‘s characters either coyly buy or struggle with their self-image as rebels with a conscience. Bay seemed to be moving away from these types of characters with “Pain & Gain,” his equally glib, but generally superior 2013 true crime meathead auto-critique.
But “6 Underground” feels like Bay’s vain attempt at getting his boorish mojo back now that helming more “Transformers” sequels doesn’t seem to interest him anymore. Which itself would be interesting if everything in “6 Underground” wasn’t so tiresome. The explosions are, in fact, good and big, and the gore and gams are more plentiful than in “13 Hours,” Bay’s humorless, and seemingly interminable 2016 Benghazi war thriller.
But “6 Underground” is as tedious as Bay’s last three post-“Pain & Gain” features since it’s an effects-driven story that features way more plot and dialogue than it needs. Who cares about rooting against the evil dictator of Turgistan (Lior Raz from the original version of “The Kindergarten Teacher”), a ruthless despot who likes art, crushes dissent and has an impotent, but fair-minded brother (Payman Maadi, “The Night Of”)?
There’s nothing memorably ruthless about Raz’s villain since Bay generally focuses on One’s mission of getting everybody together for one last set piece. Reynolds’s character also tellingly spends more time generalizing about what Raz’s character symbolizes — a mustache-twirling villain with delusions of grandeur who benefits too much from a lack of international vigilance and oversight — than in distinguishing his nemesis from every other bloodthirsty despot.
Then again, there are several moments in “6 Underground” where Bay seems content either to prop up or knock down his usual fetishes, like when One’s teammates announce their arrival at a swank private party by blasting Lucasfilm’s signature THX stereo sound effect (they even identify it as such). Bay’s latest will find its ideal audience at Best Buy, when it will be used to demonstrate various HD-TVs’ technical specs; Bay seems to know and relish that eventuality.
The Evolution of Ryan Reynolds, From 'Van Wilder' to 'Detective Pikachu' (Photos)
Ryan Reynolds has made a case for himself as America's favorite Canadian-born actor, marrying his smarmy, irreverent, "Deadpool" brand of humor to his on-screen and off-screen personae. In the process, he's become one of the most likable and bankable movie stars on the planet, to the point that no one batted an eye when the adorable, live-action Pikachu sounded exactly like how Ryan Reynolds always sounds. But before "Deadpool" and "Detective Pikachu," opening Friday, Reynolds endured an up and down career as a teen heartthrob, an action star, a rom-com darling and even a failed superhero before climbing back to stardom.
"Hillside" (1991)
Reynolds' career began with "Hillside," a Canadian-American teen soap from Nickelodeon that aired in the States as "Fifteen." Consider it an angsty alternative to "Degrassi."
YTV
"The X-Files" (1996)
In an episode during the third season of "The X-Files" titled "Syzygy," Reynolds can be seen playing a poor sap who gets hanged off the edge of a cliff by two murderous teen girls.
Fox
"Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (1996)
If you're looking for the birth of Reynolds' heartthrob image, look no further than the TV film pilot for "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Reynolds plays Sabrina's hunky crush Seth, who sports a winning smile and a quintessentially ridiculous '90s haircut.
Showtime
"Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place" (1998)
Reynolds' first lead role came in the ABC sitcom "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place," in which he played Michael "Berg" Bergen, a sort-of dopey grad student who works at a pizza joint while figuring out what he wants to do with his life.
20th Century Fox
"National Lampoon's Van Wilder" (2002)
Reynolds' deftness as an aimless 20-something earned him his first movie lead in "National Lampoon's Van Wilder," in which he played the titular party-boy slacker who is challenged to finally graduate from college and get on with his life.
Lionsgate
2003
Reynolds attended the MTV Movie Awards with Alanis Morissette. The couple announced their engagement the following year, before splitting in 2007. Morissette said her album "Flavors of Entanglement" was inspired by the breakup.
Getty Images
"Blade: Trinity" (2004)
Reynolds shifted gears and made his first steps toward becoming a comic book/action film star in "Blade: Trinity." His performance as vampire hunter Hannibal King required dozens of hours of intense physical training.
New Line
"The Amityville Horror" (2005)
Reynolds bolstered his rep as a beefcake star with his often-shirtless appearance in the remake of "The Amityville Horror."
MGM
"Smokin' Aces" (2006)
"Smokin' Aces" was the first film in which Reynolds got a chance to perform alongside a top name in Hollywood. Here, he and Ray Liotta play a pair of FBI agents assigned to protect a Vegas gangster who has made an immunity deal with the feds and is now being hunted by multiple assassins.
Universal
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009)
Reynolds made his first go-around as Deadpool in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." It's a slightly different take on the Deadpool character we've come to love, with Reynolds playing Wade Wilson as a quick-witted mercenary before transforming into the all-powerful, evil and mute Deadpool. Thankfully he got the chance to do a more playful reboot of the character.
20th Century Fox
"The Proposal" (2009)
That same year, it looked like Reynolds' career was heading in a different direction from superheroes when he starred in "Adventureland" and teamed with Sandra Bullock on the romantic comedy "The Proposal." The latter was one of Reynolds' biggest hits, earning $164 million domestically.
Touchstone Pictures
2010
Reynolds attended the Tony Awards with his then-wife, Scarlett Johansson, who won an award for her Broadway debut in "A View From the Bridge." The actor filed for divorce that December after just over two years of marriage.
Getty Images
"Buried" (2010)
Some of the biggest critical acclaim of Reynolds' career came when he starred in the claustrophobic thriller "Buried," spending the whole movie trapped underground as a hostage buried alive. The movie played at Sundance and won Reynolds a Goya Award nomination.
Lionsgate
2010
Quickly on the rise as a star, Reynolds was named People's Sexiest Man Alive, and he told the magazine he prefers to sleep in the nude "because if anyone breaks into your house, I can't think of anything more frightening than a naked 6'2" man coming at you."
"The Green Lantern" (2011)
In what was meant to cement Reynolds as an A-list star, Reynolds starred as Hal Jordan in DC Comics' tentpole film "The Green Lantern." But the superhero movie was critically panned and a box office disappointment, setting Reynolds back a few years. Needless to say, no "Green Lantern" sequel is imminent.
Warner Bros.
"Safe House" (2012)
Over the next three years, Reynolds starred alongside several Oscar winners, starting with Denzel Washington in "Safe House." Reynolds played a CIA agent assigned to guard an alleged turncoat played by Washington as the duo are hunted through the streets of Cape Town.
Universal
2012
Reynold married his "Green Lantern" co-star Blake Lively in an intimate ceremony at Boone Hall Planation in Mount Pleasant, S.C., on Sept. 9.
Getty Images
"R.I.P.D." (2013)
Reynolds' next dance with a top star wasn't as well received. In "R.I.P.D.," Reynolds starred alongside Jeff Bridges as one of a pair of deceased lawmen who operate from the afterlife to stop the undead from attacking the living. The film was slammed as a hybrid rip-off of "Ghostbusters" and "Men in Black."
Universal
"Woman in Gold" (2015)
Reynolds received a better reception when he starred alongside Helen Mirren in the prestige flick "Woman in Gold." Reynolds played a fledgling lawyer called upon by an elderly Jewish refugee played by Mirren to help recover a family painting long ago stolen by the Nazis.
BBC Films/The Weinstein Company
"Deadpool" (2016)
Reynolds finally found his signature role when he played the irreverent, smart-alecky "Merc with a Mouth" Deadpool. The R-rated superhero comedy held nothing back in its knowing winks to the audience, along with its bloody, profane style and action scenes. The film made $783.1 million worldwide.
20th Century Fox
"Deadpool 2" (2018)
By the time the second "Deadpool" came out, Reynolds had wholeheartedly embraced the character and leaned into every aspect of the film's marketing. He made hilarious and subversive videos with Celine Dion, riffed on Bob Ross and "The Princess Bride" and even took over Stephen Colbert's monologue. The second film was an equally impressive smash, earning $785 million worldwide.
Sony
"Feud" with Hugh Jackman (2018)
Reynolds and Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman, carried on an extended fake feud as the best of "frenemies" throughout 2018, trading barbs and fake political smear ads on social media, all culminating in Jackman and Reynolds exchanging commercials for each other's brands.
Getty Images
"Pokemon: Detective Pikachu" (2019)
In a promotional short for "Detective Pikachu," Blake Lively ribbed Reynolds for not even attempting to change his voice to portray the iconic Pokemon. But Reynolds' charm along with the "Deadpool" style marketing proved to be the perfect fit for the family film.
Warner Bros.
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The actor has evolved from goofy comic foil to an irreverent action star
Ryan Reynolds has made a case for himself as America's favorite Canadian-born actor, marrying his smarmy, irreverent, "Deadpool" brand of humor to his on-screen and off-screen personae. In the process, he's become one of the most likable and bankable movie stars on the planet, to the point that no one batted an eye when the adorable, live-action Pikachu sounded exactly like how Ryan Reynolds always sounds. But before "Deadpool" and "Detective Pikachu," opening Friday, Reynolds endured an up and down career as a teen heartthrob, an action star, a rom-com darling and even a failed superhero before climbing back to stardom.