“Red Notice” brings an action in theatrical format and, thanks to Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds, also concentrated star power. Is that enough to make the Netflix production a highlight?

“Red Notice” is said to be the most expensive film that Netflix has ever produced. No wonder all three main actors receive over 20 million US dollars each. Netflix is more about blurring the boundaries between a “real” movie and a streaming production.

This works exceptionally well because although various international stops in the film were made in front of a green screen, “Red Notice” can be imagined perfectly on the big screen.

Red Notice: Should You Watch It?

Action, adventure, and humor have been the ingredients for a successful blockbuster for decades, and this recipe also works with “Red Notice.” Fans of Dwayne Johnson (“Hobbs & Shaw”) and Ryan Reynolds also get their money’s worth. Everyone else at least knows what to expect.

Reynolds, who found his star role with “Deadpool,” plays a barely adapted version of the same role he has played for years. Johnson doesn’t convince new talents either, but he glides through the film with his typical mix of 70% coolness and 30% humor.

Gal Gadot (“Wonder Woman”), who is seen much less often than Johnson and Reynolds, is not a particularly interesting opponent, but ultimately “Red Notice” is not a film in which one expects or needs masterful acting.

A Complete Entertainment Package

The main thing is that there is no boredom, and “Red Notice” manages that wonderfully. No scene lasts too long. A regular change of scene and a generally high tempo keep you as a spectator in tune.

“Red Notice” cuts a significantly better figure than some of the last “Fast & Furious” films and the Netflix production “6 Underground”, which offer mindless action. Still, in the long run, they are exhausting and tiring.

With a pinch of “Mission: Impossible” and “Indiana Jones,” “Red Notice” does not commit itself to one genre either and has a pleasant lightness that makes two hours fly by.

Netflix films have a habit of disappearing quickly into oblivion. It will be no different from the collective memory with “Red Notice” because films of this kind are not uncommon. But “Red Notice” doesn’t want to offer innovations but entertainment, and it succeeds.