There are popular actors who I see in movies and I immediately want to watch because of them, mostly because they have a history of taking on cool roles. The plot and directorial style also matter. I saw Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg as leads in The Union (2024) and streamed it to watch.
Marketed as a spy thriller, I expected the usual action formula: plenty of gunfire, car chases, a secret organisation, international locations and a hero who somehow survives things that would put an ordinary person in the hospital. And that was what I got but in a mediocre way. Then I remember it's produced by Netflix.
Written by Joe Barton and directed by Julian Farino, The Union is an American spy thriller starring familiar actors Halle Berry, Mark Walhberg, J. K. Simmons, Mike Colter, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and other supporting actors.
The movie focuses on Mike McKenna (Mark Walhberg), an ordinary construction worker whose quiet life gets turned upside down when Roxanne Hall (Halle Berry), his old high school sweetheart, suddenly returns. He doesn't know that Roxanne is a highly trained intelligence agent and she has returned to take Mike on a dangerous mission. They meet at a bar and she sedates him.
When Mike wakes up, he is recruited into The Union, a secret intelligence organisation that takes a different approach to espionage. Rather than rely on trained agents, they look for ordinary people who have practical skills, street sense and can blend into everyday life. In other words, the sort of people you would expect to be agents.
Mike is brought to London, The Union's headquarters and thrown into a world of spies, stolen intelligence and assassins who seem far more prepared for the dangerous life than he is. He doubts his ability to help The Union secure the intelligence they seek. Roxanne tries to turn him into someone who has a fighting chance of surviving the job. Will Mike succeed in his new assignment?
My Review And Rating
Action thrillers are one of my favourite genres so I can say a thing or two about them. Having watched this movie, it's clear the filmmakers had no intention of making it a serious action movie; just something entertaining and fun with elements of espionage, gunfights and car chases and small humour. The movie doesn't demand much from its viewers. The plot is straightforward and sometimes asks us to accept things as they are without questioning the reasoning behind it. For example, the idea that a construction worker can be thrown into international espionage and made ready within a short time is not easily believable. But I shrugged, accepted it and enjoyed the movie.
Mark Walhberg is an actor that easily fits into his roles especially the slightly cocky guy who finds himself in a situation beyond his experience and of course there will be a woman around to help him become experienced. He plays the regular guy with a predictable life very well in this movie and gets the opportunity to be more than he thought.
Halle Berry is one of my favourite actresses and playing intelligence agents or other action roles is not new to her. She's confident and physically capable. As Roxanne, she brings a tougher energy to the action scenes and her connection with Mike gives the movie much of its entertainment. I like the part about them being high school sweethearts, it gives the story a personal touch. They give the vibe of unfinished business but their chemistry is sort of bland as though there's a small gap that keeps them apart.
Despite the dull chemistry, I had the most fun with the action scenes. There are shootouts, hand to hand fights, car chases through European roads and escapes that gives the film some energy. This level of action is not like John Wick or Extraction (top action movies, in my opinion) hence why I say this movie is not to be taken seriously. Instead it works better as a relaxed movie night film than as a serious spy thriller.
I didn't like that some of the dialogues were predictable and some of the jokes missed their mark. Some scenes were easy to see coming and some interesting ideas were left underdeveloped. I'm not sure if these are to pave way for a sequel but I hope not.
I like the idea that usefulness is not always connected to status. Mike is an ordinary construction worker yet he's bumped up to field agent and used to take down bad guys. His everyday experience and instinct become useful to The Union and I wish the movie had developed this idea more.
Rating this movie, I'd give it 6.5 out of 10 stars. It's a predictable and easy to watch action movie featuring familiar faces we love to see on screen. You need a chill action film to watch, I'd recommend this one.
All images above are screenshots from the movie
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Rating: 65/100