This was supposedly Netflix’s most expensive film, and honestly, I may have had quite high expectations going in.

Let’s start with the great things about the movie. The movie is packed with great action scenes (without lazy computerized graphic effects), maintains the audiences’ focus using a simple yet effective storyline and manages to include multiple moments of humour to keep the audience entertained. At times it feels like Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds are just playing themselves and the chemistry between the duo alone could make great comedic scenes. Ryan Reynolds delivers funny one-liners and his comedic timing is perfect. Meanwhile, The Rock plays the usual serious guy who due to the nature of comedy, seems to always be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Ed Sheeran also makes a cameo, singing “Perfect” in an Egyptian wedding before he adorably swings his guitar around when the Interpol arrived.

There are also areas that I wished were a little different when it comes to the movie. One of them is Gal Gadot’s character. I understand that the writer and director wanted to keep the plot simple and easily digestible, instead of going through a contrived plot route. However, it seems like Gal Gadot’s character lacked a lot of depth in this process. We see her maintaining the same smug know-it-all facial expression throughout the film and never really know much about her character at all. At least Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds both had an emotional moment discussing their childhoods. Gal Gadot’s character, on the other hand, falls flat.

Then there is the delivery of the “twist”. I’m a sucker for great plot twists. In this film, I did see a twist coming, though the movie’s twist was not what I actually had in mind. I initially thought Dwayne’s character is another art thief who is working by himself. After all, why go after the third egg in Argentina when he supposedly wants to catch Gal Gadot who is heading to Egypt? But the twist turns out to be that Dwayne and Gal Gadot were working together instead. I would normally be jumping out of my seat at a plot twist, but this one fell short and it did not feel satisfying. Perhaps the typical adventure plots ala Indiana Jones with the plot twists have been used too often that this felt a bit cookie-cutter. Nevertheless, the movie could definitely use some kind of a plot twist. Without it, it might not have been as enjoyable to some.

PS: Also, just an appreciation that the movie displayed the definition of Red Notice in the beginning of the film. Helps so much in understanding the context at the end of the film.