Apple TV+
Old-school buddy comedies are just as much a dying breed in Hollywood as mid-budget features. We do get them on occasion, but they usually don’t move the box office needle much — that is, if they get to have a theatrical run at all. These days, they’re more likely to get exiled to various streaming services where viewers watch and, in about six days, forget them completely. That’s just how it goes. I don’t think John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s new film, “Mayday,” on Apple TV+, is necessarily going to be an exception, but it’s one of those that actually tries and succeeds in delivering a helluva good time. It’s a fun and breezy action-comedy (much like Cillian Murphy’s forgotten 2016 film on Netflix) that’s not a sequel, prequel, remake, or another iteration of a long-existing IP. That’s not to say it’s wholly original — given its mimicking of classic ’80s and ’90s buddy comedies — but it does a great job as a genre piece.
“Mayday” follows U.S. Navy pilot Troy Kelly (Ryan Reynolds playing a variation of himself for the umpteenth time) during the Cold War in 1987 when he receives the biggest mission of his career: Operation Big Bird. He’s tasked with flying an SR-71 Blackbird alongside US Air Force Major Pete Sanders (Louis Cancelmi) to spy on the USSR in remote regions of Russia. They do just that, but when their cover is blown, Sanders gets killed, and Troy needs to catapult to save himself, landing in the Russian wilderness and passing out. He’s saved by Nikolai Ustinov (a very game Kenneth Branagh), an ex-KGB officer obsessed with “Top Gun” and America in general. After Troy recovers, Nikolai helps him get out of the country, hopefully alive.
Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh’s dynamic duo is frenetic, hilarious, and an absolute joy to watch
Apple TV+
Like most great buddy action-comedies — whether we’re talking “The Nice Guys,” “The Last Boy Scout,” or “Midnight Run” — “Mayday’s” success rides (or dies) on the chemistry of its stars. Luckily, Reynolds and Branagh have a ton. For the former, this is another occasion to draw on his “Deadpool-esque” humor, yet his performance is different and toned-down enough here to not feel repetitive or obnoxious. In fact, he’s aware that the premise is set up for Branagh’s character to shine. Butchering the Russian accent as always, but in a chucklesome fashion nevertheless, Branagh is hysterical as the Yankee-loving Slavic with an impossibly low-achieving dream of having a burger at McDonald’s in the U.S. one day. He’s weird, goofy, and sharp as a knife, with a set of skills that also make him a martial arts warrior. He’s the perfect mix of masculine and vulnerable that serves as the base for the friendship that’s eventually born between the two as they fight their way through Alexander Volkov’s (Marcin Dorocinski channeling another villain with ease) KGB soldiers.
But the movie’s beating heart is undeniably the dynamic between Reynolds and Branagh. It’s evident they were both having a blast shooting this, and that comes off in every scene where they share the screen. Whether they’re beating up bad guys (or each other), escaping incredibly tight scenarios, or just opening up emotionally about their dreams and fears, it’s when “Mayday” really hits that sweet spot of light-hearted entertainment.
Laughter, heart, and fast-paced action are still a proven recipe that Mayday employs with aplomb
Apple TV+
However, the reason the two stars get to have that great dynamic in the first place is the solid screenplay and its equally competent execution. Given that the two directors also co-wrote the film, they had a vision of what the action and the set pieces should look like. Granted, you don’t need to be an expert to notice that Branagh didn’t do those fighting sequences himself (at 65, that would’ve been a miracle). Regardless, they’re filled with vigor and adrenaline that make them pop. And that goes for every intense situation where Troy and Nikolai are close to getting caught (or killed).
The action and the visuals are pretty damn sound all the way through, which sort of begs the question of whether “Mayday” should’ve received at least a limited theatrical release before landing in Apple TV’s library. Filling up the space between the brawls and high-octane chases, the script also does an adequate job of humanizing the protagonists and giving them some surface-level backstories that prove just enough to empathize with them.
Overall, “Mayday” probably won’t make any “best of” lists at the end of the year, but at least it gives us some hope that straight-to-streaming flicks with A-listers can still be immensely enjoyable and not just easy cash grabs for everyone involved. Between low-budget indies and grandiose blockbusters, we need these low-calorie palate cleansers, too. And “Mayday” — with its welcome simplicity and straightforwardness — aptly functions as one, delivering nothing more or less than it initially promised.
