‘Mayday’ Review: Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh in Apple Action-Comedy

It feels appropriate that Mayday is set in 1987. This is the sort of action-comedy buddy movie that used to regularly populate multiplexes and could easily have been made in the period in which it is set. Now, of course, this sort of fare usually goes to streaming, in this case Apple TV. David Ellison is among the producers, so presumably this project came about before his newfound religion about theatrical releases.

Ryan Reynolds plays Troy Kelly, a hotshot naval pilot nicknamed “Assassin” for comical reasons that are only revealed late in the film. Flying a secret spy mission, he’s forced to eject from his plane to avoid a deadly collision and finds himself trapped behind enemy lines in Soviet Russia.

Well, they’re not completely enemy lines. The wounded pilot wakes up tied to a bed in a remote cabin in the woods whose sole inhabitant, Nikolai Ustinov (Kenneth Branagh), informs him that he had to restrain him while performing surgery on his leg without anesthesia. It turns out that Nikolai, who urges Troy to call him “Nick,” is a lover of all things American. His favorite possession is a bootleg VHS tape of Top Gun, the poster of which hangs on his wall.

“I have never had McDonald’s,” the genial Nick tells Troy. “But I suspect that I would love it.”

Nick attempts to reassure his suspicious houseguest, telling him, “Believe me, I am your safe haven,” and urging him to stay at the cabin “just until the Cold War dies down.” Troy nonetheless manages to escape, briefly setting Nick on fire in the process, and makes his way to a nearby bar where he unwisely seeks help. He’s promptly attacked by three Russians only to be suddenly rescued by Nick, who displays amazing fighting skills for a middle-aged man. Bringing Troy back to the cabin, Nick informs him that he’s a former KGB agent who specialized in covert ops.

The two men then take it on the lam, hotly pursued by a vicious Soviet agent (an impressively scary Marcin Dorocinski, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One), with Nick attempting to help Troy escape from the country by stealing a radio phone that would enable him to securely call for a rescue.

Collaborating directors-screenwriters Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Game Night) have devised some terrific action sequences, beginning with the exciting flight ejection scene in which Troy attempts to dodge flaming debris until his parachute catches fire. There are also several superbly choreographed fight scenes, mostly involving a very game Branagh, including an excellent final battle with the Russian agent aboard a plane with a very open door. Some of the mayhem devolves into silliness, including a foot chase through Red Square (doubled by Budapest’s Heroes’ Square abetted with digital effects) and a vehicular chase in which Nick and Troy drive a nuclear missile launcher.  

But the real, albeit predictable fun, comes with the interplay between Branagh, delivering a superb deadpan comic performance as the heavily bearded Nick — the actor seems to be making a specialty of playing Russians, this coming after Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Tenet — and Reynolds, displaying his usual crack timing and wisecracking screen persona.

Mayday goes on too long and veers into nonsensical directions, with one episode depicting the pair breaking into a Soviet official’s home that descends into bedroom farce. A would-be poignant subplot involving Troy’s father (David Morse), seriously ill from asbestos exposure after working as a shipyard worker, doesn’t amount to much. And Maria Bakalova isn’t given nearly enough to do as Nick’s estranged daughter, whom he hopes to bring with him to America.

But the popcorn film proves an entertaining diversion, thanks to the mismatched-buddy comic chemistry of the two leads. It makes you hope for the hinted-at sequel in which the pair embark on a road trip through America together.