Back in Action: Movie Review

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Andrew Scott, Kyle Chandler, Glenn Close, Jamie Demetriou
Director: Seth Gordon

If the idea of former spies pulled back into the game for one last job feels very familiar, it's because it is.

While Prime Video's Mr and Mrs Smith TV series and Citadel may have recently made in-roads into the genre, the more-broadly pitched Back in Action puts Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx's Emily and Matt back into the game after their former boss Chuck (Friday Night Lights' Kyle Chandler) tells them they're suspected of still having the MacGuffin they were charged with finding on their final job.

With evil forces narrowing in on the pair, they're forced on the run - along with their two children - to England. But MI5's on their case before they know it.

Back in Action is perfectly adequate fare for those looking for something soulless and mindless on a Friday night.

But as the driver that brought Cameron Diaz out of retirement, it almost seems redundant before it's even started. It helps there's little chemistry between Foxx and Diaz, and the movie simply feels like a string of fight and chase scenes pulled together by the Horrible Bosses' director.

It tries to mix comedy, action and heart, yet somehow fails to master all of the genres, before leaving an open-ended conclusion that deliberately pushes for a sequel that no-one appears to be crying for.

Thankfully, there are moments that this generic movie manages to provide that proffer entertainment throughout - but they are too few and far in between to fill out the 100-minute run time. More effective when it comes to moments of snappy banter than trying to shoehorn in the children's disappointment in their older parents, Back in Action seems to want it all, but doesn't appear cocksure of how to actually get it.

Ultimately, like its generic title, Back in Action is sadly more filler, than killer.

Back in Action is streaming on Netflix now.