6 Underground has everything you to want from a Michael Bay film – amazing action sequences, a charming leading man, incredible special effects and more explosions than you can count. All of this jammed into a two-hour movie and let me tell you, I loved every minute of it.
Suspenseful yet funny and heartfelt when it needs to be, 6 Underground is exactly the action film the world needed while we wait for the next John Wick. More gruesome than I expected but never overdone, the story follows Ryan Reynolds as he does what he does best – play a character with a mix of well-written dialogue, a quick wit and buckets of charisma to become the ultimate leader for the team of agents he carefully assembles. Made up of 6 off-the-grid ‘ghost’ agents, Reynolds (known in the film as ‘One’) sets his team on a mission to solve a major geopolitical situation, one which he’s not sure they will make it out of alive.
6 Underground is enjoyable to watch not only for the incredible car chases, suspenseful fight scenes and expensive special effects, but for the gorgeous scenery this all occurs in front of. From Italy to Hong Kong, whether underwater, dangling from tall infrastructure, or inside gorgeous international buildings and landmarks the scenery is a crucial element to the beauty of this film and is given plenty of time to be appreciated alongside the fast-paced, well-edited action.
Reynolds is exactly as you expect him to be, driving the story forward with his trademark character featuring the perfect blend of heart and humour, not all that different from his portrayal of Wade Wilson in Deadpool. Credit also desperately needs to be given to the actors making up the rest of his team, all of which play their individual characters perfectly; from Ben Hardy (probably best known for Bohemian Rhapsody yet showcasing a very different set of skills here) to Corey Hawkins (BlacKkKlansman, Straight Outta Compton) and French actress Melanie Laurent (Now You See Me, Inglourious Basterds) these actors comfortably create a unique team of characters each with their own rich backstories or side stories.
The talent behind the camera also needs to be recognised as the ingenious dialogue in 6 Underground is another huge aspect of the film’s success. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick – the pair responsible for the likes of Deadpool one and two and Zombieland – team up again to create the same energy and humour their known for. And for director Michael Bay, 6 Underground will simply be another success story added to his action-movie empire that includes the likes of the Transformers films, Armageddon and 13 Hours.
Everything from the soundtrack to the humour to the incredible action sequences, explosions and special effects 6 Underground totally and completely satisfied my hunger for a good action film. The ensemble cast created memorable and passionate characters whose backstories and current perils are felt for and yet the film somehow made me laugh as many times as it made me hold my breath in suspense. Highly recommend to any fan of action films and my only suggestion is to watch it in a dark room and on a big screen.
Score: 5/5
Available to stream on Netflix from Friday 13th December.