5. Red Notice

A fun-filled romp with beloved A-list stars or a soulless exercise in branded entertainment products? Brian and Hemal discuss – you decide.

Released almost as a surprise directly onto Netflix in 2021, Red Notice stars Dwayne Johnson as a heroic federal agent (when does the man NOT play a heroic federal agent?) who is forced to team up with Ryan Reynolds as a smarmy art thief. Together they battle various antagonists – chiefly Gal Gadot, who does a lot of twirling around in a fancy dress and jumping out of windows.

The movie was written, directed, and produced by Rawson Marshall Thurber – his third time working with The Rock (he was also responsible for Central Intelligence and Skyscraper). Despite the comical implausibility of his name, Thurber seems to have his thumb on the pulse of the American cultural zeitgeist – giving the people what they want, some might say, or perhaps delivering tepid lowest common denominator fare. It’s a fine line, friends.