You are into those old school action comedies where two completely different people are thrown together, spend half the movie arguing and somehow end up becoming friends, kinda like rush hour then Mayday is basically made for you. I went into this expecting another Ryan Reynolds movie where he does the usual Ryan Reynolds thing, and yep, I wasn't completely wrong.
The story takes place in 1987, during the Cold War, and is about Troy “Assassin” Kelly, a cocky American Navy pilot played by Ryan Reynolds. After a mission goes wrong, Troy ends up stranded in Soviet territory and eventually finds himself relying on Nikolai Ustinov, a former KGB agent played by Kenneth Branagh and im sure by now you can sense where the problem might be . Troy is basically the stereotypical American action hero, while Nikolai is this strange Russian man who is fascinated by American culture. Somehow these two end up having to work together, and watching them go from distrusting each other to becoming an unlikely team is probably the best part of the movie.
I genuinely wasn't expecting Kenneth. B to be one of the funniest parts of the movie. Nikolai could have easily become a ridiculous Russian stereotype, but Branagh gives him enough personality and vulnerability to make him feel like an actual person. He is fascinated by America, has this slightly eccentric personality and, surprisingly, gets involved in some genuinely impressive action scenes. There were moments where I was watching him fight and thinking, “Wait, Kenneth Branagh can actually do this?” Several reviews have specifically highlighted how much he elevates the film. Ryan Reynolds is, well, Ryan Reynolds. If you've watched enough of his movies, you already know the personality you're getting. Troy is sarcastic and constantly making jokes and seemingly incapable of keeping his mouth shut.
You mix the two together and the movie works much better. Their chemistry carries a lot of the story. You get the classic action movie dynamic where one character is constantly annoyed by the other, but gradually they begin to understand each other, again like in Rush hour and I actually liked that the film wasn't completely obsessed with making the Soviet characters cartoon villains. There is some attempt to show that the Cold War wasn't simply “Americans good, Russians bad,” and that people on opposite sides of a political conflict could still have things in common. The message isn't particularly deep, but I appreciated the effort.
I also really liked the '80s atmosphere. The movie clearly wants to feel like a love letter to the action movies of that era, especially like top gun(which I still haven’t watched by the way). From the Cold War setting to the general aesthetic, Mayday is deliberately nostalgic. It doesn't feel like it is trying to reinvent the action genre, it is basically saying, “Remember when movies were allowed to be this much fun?” I don't think Mayday is trying to be the next great spy movie. It just wants to be entertaining. It wants you to laugh, watch some ridiculous action sequences and enjoy the chemistry between two actors who clearly seem to be having fun and on that level, I think it succeeds.
Would I say Mayday is a masterpiece? Absolutely not, for me, If you're looking for a serious Cold War thriller, typical America vs Russia movie, this probably isn't it but if you want an entertaining old-school action comedy with two surprisingly enjoyable leads, Mayday is worth the watch.
Rating: 80/100