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PG-13 | 1h 54m | Action, Comedy | 2025
Cameron Diaz is back in action, in “Back in Action,” after a decade-long retirement from acting. And would you look at this cast? Diaz, Jamie Foxx, Glenn Close, and Kyle Chandler. Stellar.
All I can say is, they must have all been in need of some quick cash, because “Back in Action” (a spy spoof akin to “The Incredibles” but without the superpowers) isn’t doing their resumes any favors. It’s got a bit of “True Lies,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” and “Kill Bill Vol. 2.” Still not doing any of them any favors.
Plot, Such as It Is
Our protagonists, Matt (Foxx) and Emily (Diaz), are ex-CIA operatives who retired due to Emily’s unplanned pregnancy. They’re now suburban parents with two teenagers.
Belarusian bad guys show up at their house and start shooting, because on their last spy mission, Matt stole a cyberterrorist weapon, hid it at his estranged mother-in-law Ginny’s house (Glenn Close), and lied about it for 15 years. The bad guys want the weapon, because it’s a special kind of MacGuffin-key-thingie, that, like most MacGuffins do, gives you access to everything, everywhere.
Emily’s mom Ginny (a retired MI6 spy) lives in England. Matt and Emily grab the kids and decamp to Ginny’s place, although they can’t stand her. She’s got a boyfriend, Nigel, a third her age (Jamie Demetriou) who hangs around her country mansion, apparently getting instruction in spy tradecraft from his sugar mommy.
Nigel would appear to be intended as some kind of side-dish of comic relief in a comedy-action flick, in case the main course isn’t amusing enough. When meeting Foxx and Diaz’s children, he spouts words to the effect of, Wow, I love kids. Let me just plop this on the table like a hot jelly on Christmas morning—would you like to call me Grandad? With his barely contained hysteria and flapping, Nigel would not appear to be cut out for spy work. Nor does he appear to be cut out to be the boyfriend of an elderly female—or any female, for that matter.
Glenn Close (eight Oscar nominations) is similarly saddled with bad writing. “I think I’ve got something! I’m sending it to you now!” It’s entirely possible AI wrote this entire script.
The Upshot
Diaz and Foxx worked together previously in the sports drama “Any Given Sunday” (1999) and the 2014 remake of the musical “Annie.” Their rapport parallels the subtext of “Back in Action,” about two top-shelf espionage professional colleagues returning to what they do best, but the bad script hamstrings their best attempts.
“Back in Action” aspires to Bondian globe-trotting, and while it’s a sight better than that other recent Netflix spy flick, the ridiculously bad “The Gray Man,” as well as various other Netflix straight-to-streaming offerings, that’s not saying much. It’s in the same category of disposable, forgettable Netflix fare. Now that AI appears to have been turned loose, it’s probably time to pull the Netflix plug. But it’s good to see Cameron Diaz back in action. Well, you know what I mean.
‘Back in Action’
Director: Seth Gordon
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Glenn Close, Kyle Chandler
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Release Date: Jan. 17, 2025
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
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