'6 Underground' Review: Netflix flick starring Ryan Reynolds unleashes massive dose of Michael's Bayhem earning your undivided attention
Michael Bay needs no introduction. This was the director who gave the world some moolah-making flicks and for his first Netflix-bankrolled feature, Bay is back with a $150 million film that spikes adrenaline from the opening frame.
'6 Underground's first ten minutes is manic mayhem with a nitro-yellow Alfa Romeo shredding the streets of Italy. Bay pulls out all stops as a high-speed chase leaves the city in tatters as he destroys a motorcycle, a bunch of cars and manages to get Italian nuns to flip the bird.
And in the midst of this bada-bing, bada-boom wanton destruction is Ryan Reynolds with a bunch of off-the-grid, skillful operators/vigilantes, who manage to kill a Mafia lawyer and try to make a getaway. There's isn't a lot of time to think as the action sequence is a visual delight, but is an absolute blur at the same time. As far as this opening sequence goes, it's top-notch and typical Bay as it blows s**t up. '6 Underground' has his signature on it as the R-rated flick jampacks some state-of-the-art tech, top-velocity chases, and an absolutely wafer-thin plot. But, this calls, scratch that, earns your attention.
By the way, we still haven't moved on from the opening sequence yet. While tearing down Florence's narrow streets, the members are identified in typical Reynolds' voiceover. Starting off with himself. One or better known as 'The Billionaire'. There's Mélanie Laurent— a CIA spook, who is a mix of sexy and deadly; a slick damsel in Adria Arjonas 'the doctor'; Manuel Gracia-Rulfo as 'The Hitman'; and Ben Hardy, a fast-talking parkour burglar nicknamed 'The Skywalker'.
Dave Franco's the 'driver' and all of them know each other only by their numbers so as to better protect them from bonding. In Bay's dictionary, they're ghosts who are insanely skilled and downright lethal who've faked their deaths to “haunt the living for what they’ve done.” And for all the talk about ghosts, they manage to induce some horror, splash blood generously on-screen and slam the baddies to death. The director ensures all important details are established in the opening sequence, so breaks of any kind for the audience are strictly forbidden. And no, no blinking either.
Like we said, this one's a visually, stunning, gorgeous affair. Laurent and Arjona qualify for hot and impressive action women, with ample screentime and this means it vaults over the primary reason why they joined a billionaire-funded vigilante squad in the first place. There's not much background, and with Bay, it's just not needed. Reynolds' One makes a fortune out of his micro magnets — devices that wreak havoc in the final scene but hides the fact that he's an efficient killing machine. Their mission: Take out Rovach (Lior Raz), an evil dictator, also number one in One's kill-list. There are nine remaining by the way. So a potential sequel? We hope so.
Rovach rules with an iron fist and has no qualms about killing off his own people. The man's a lunatic and One's not-so-simple scheme is to whack four of his generals in Vegas and weaken him by freeing his captive, democracy-supportive brother, Murat (Payman Maadi). Our introduction to Murat is when he's held captive in a plush building in Hong Kong. An early death in One's team means he goes out to recruit Delta Force Sniperman, Blaine aka Seven (Corey Hawkins) and that's when some of the mayhem simmers down. By now, the team also bonds better, against One's rules and resentment.
'6 Underground' is impressive and if Netflix is looking at raking in viewership in hordes, then Bay is their go-to guy. A simple narrative, tighter framing, explosions galore and some swash-buckling action is sure to have the audience press the rewind button multiple times.
'6 Underground' is available for streaming on Netflix.