It makes perfect sense that writer/directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley would finally make a movie actually set in the 1980s. They started with a remake of an ‘80s classic in “Vacation.” They made up for that misfire with the excellent “Game Night,” a 2018 comedy that played like the kind of ensemble laugher that was released in theaters far more often a generation ago. Then came their future cult classic “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” a flick that has grown on me since its SXSW premiere, which was built not only on a game that was huge in the ‘80s but told in a style of fantasy-comedy that was far more prevalent back in Reagan’s reign.
With their Apple TV original “Mayday,” Goldstein and Daley have made a love letter to both “Top Gun” and ‘80s buddy comedies, not only in their setting and Bruce Springsteen needle drops but also in their tone, action, and sense of humor. It’s a movie that mostly works, thanks largely to fluid direction from the pair and a truly entertaining performance from Kenneth Branagh, flexing his comedic and action chops in a way he’s rarely allowed to.
Branagh plays Nikolai Ustinov, a Russian who is startled to find Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Ryan Reynolds) in his snowy backyard. It’s 1987, and Kelly was on an off-the-books mission behind enemy lines near the end of the Cold War when he had to eject. Being taken captive by an ex-KGB agent isn’t ideal, but Kelly soon discovers that Ustinov isn’t your average Russki. He’s obsessed with America, largely through their pop culture offerings like “Top Gun,” The Boss, and the dream of how good McDonald’s must taste. He’s a disillusioned Russian, but Branagh doesn’t just play him like a fan boy, finding something remarkably grounded and fun in this character. It’s the loosest and most entertaining the actor has been in a long time, one of the most unexpected performances of the year, and a nice counter to Reynolds’ smarmy schtick.
Of course, every buddy comedy needs its oil-and-water, and the Reynolds brand actually fits this character well, even if one wishes he would be allowed to lean into his Ugly American potential a bit more. It feels like Reynolds didn’t want to play a character some might read as unlikable, but we still get just enough of Deadpool’s American exceptionalism countered against a character with a root cellar and pounds of butchered bear to give the movie the feeling of true ‘80s action comedies, films that turned very different personality types into unlikely allies.
In this case, Nikolai and Troy hit the snowy Russian roads, trying to get both of them to safety. As soon as Nikolai saves Troy’s life in a wonderfully staged fight sequence in a very Russian watering hole, he becomes an enemy to his country, too, but will the Americans take in an ex-KGB agent in 1987? At its core, “Mayday” becomes a movie about two people who are forced to become allies because of the personal impact of the Cold War: an Air Force pilot who is on such a covert op that his country can’t even rescue him and a former KGB agent who has turned on his country—one can totally picture Arnold Schwarzzeneger and Bruce Willis in these roles in 1987.
The truth is that most of the movies that inspired “Mayday” weren’t this well made. Most notably, Barry Peterson’s cinematography is remarkably fluid, giving the film a constant sense of motion from one set piece to another. It may sound minor, but a 111-minute buddy comedy needs to flow not just in its well-executed action scenes but from scene to scene, and the team behind “Mayday” do a remarkable job at keeping things moving. Prime Video’s “The Runner” drops today, runs about half an hour shorter, and feels twice as long. Rhythm and pace are so important to a film like this one, and Goldstein and Daley nail that department.
At times, “Mayday” feels a little too wink-wink, so aware of itself as an ‘80s homage that it lets potential character beats sink into the Russian snow. Supporting characters like those played by Maria Bakalova (as Nikolai’s daughter) and David Morse (as Troy’s father) feel like wasted opportunities, and Reynolds sometimes does that thing he’s done so often lately in which it feels like he’s playing “Ryan Reynolds” more than an actual character in a tough predicament. Branagh picks up the slack more than once, finding truth in a role that could have been a caricature, and even selling the idea that he could pull a Liam Neeson or Bob Odenkirk and be a late-career action star if he wanted to take that path.
More people need to see “Game Night,” and “Honor Among Thieves” was a box office disappointment that seems to be finding new fans every day. With “Mayday” getting dumped on a weekend that most people are accustomed to barbecues and family trips instead of movies—Labor Day is notoriously one of the lowest performing at the U.S. box office—it sometimes feels like these guys are just cursed. But they are developing the kind of consistent resume that history treats kindly. One is tempted to suggest they break out of their nostalgia-heavy brand of filmmaking, but they don’t do it cheaply or manipulatively. Time has been kind to some of the movies that inspired Goldstein and Daley, and it will probably take time for it to be kind to them, too.
