A few months ago, I forced myself to sit through a Netflix movie called Red Notice. I had heard it was great fun from one of my brothers, so I wanted to give it a fair chance. Unfortunately, I had just watched a truly amazing action movie called RED. Now that was a masterpiece of quirky humor mixed with breathtaking action sequences.

Red Notice, on the other hand, was a hollow movie. Watching it back-to-back with RED ensured I’d see the contrast instantly. It’s supposed to rest on three things:

1. Three big-name actors
2. A bunch of lazy jokes
3. Tired action set pieces

After watching Red Notice, I didn’t care to take it to task in an article. It felt beside the point. The movie is awful, boring, and a waste of time. Sure, I could expand on those points, but what for? In this case, I didn’t think the movie deserved any more thought. Why am I writing about it now? Because someone else took on the challenge and succeeded in spades. I’ll get to that in a moment.

Bad Twist Ending

Twist movie endings often take me by surprise when I’m entranced by their stories. I didn’t see Red Notice’s final twists coming. But that’s only because they don’t make sense within the context of the movie. They turn all of the characters’ decisions into complete absurdities.

No one with an ounce of intelligence would have done things the way the three leads did, knowing what unnecessary risks they were taking. The entire plot could have been easily resolved much earlier in the film instead of relying on far too many coincidences and just plain dumb luck.

Only at the end of the movie does the audience realize everything that was happening behind the scenes. And those insights worsen the film.

Perfect Video Review

Again, I didn’t want to dissect all of the nonsense. Like taking a bite of a moldy strawberry, analyzing this movie felt distasteful and even a little demeaning. I already know what it’s going to taste like without having to sink my teeth into it.

Thankfully, someone else came to my rescue and said everything I would have said in a clever video review. So I recommend you check out the Critical Drinker’s review of Red Notice. He nails everything on the head, and I agree with basically all of his points.

What Red Notice Represents

Great video, huh? Now I’d like to share a few parting thoughts. Most modern movies come across as an amalgamation of previous things that worked well. Red Notice feels like it should be a lot of fun. A turn-your-brain-off kind of adventure. Yet it was a trial to sit through for me. There’s nothing terribly memorable about it or worth revisiting. Some movies I love to recall and replay in my mind. This is not one of them.

Sadly, I worry that most movies made in the last decade fall into the same category as Red Notice. Boring, safe, forgettable. Maybe the problem is that my taste in movies was cemented in previous decades, and I’m just incapable of changing with the times. Or perhaps the quality of storytelling has gone down.

If Red Notice is worth remembering at all, it’s as a warning. Hollywood can throw beautiful actors and actresses together, use the latest special effects, and create a frantic story that never slows down to let me realize it doesn’t make sense. But what do they accomplish? All they do is reduce my interest in coming back again. They’re all glamor and no substance.

Maybe it’s too much to look for depth in a silly action movie. It just feels like that’s what every bit of entertainment is today.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

The video is the copyright of its owner.

Want to Support the Deja Reviewer?

If you’d like to support the Deja Reviewer, please consider donating a few dollars to keep this site going strong. I’ll even send you an original joke if you do! Try it, and prepare to enjoy a good chuckle.

$5.00