Since Die Another Day, I have been wanting to see Halle Berry in another spy action film and despite the casting of her co-star Mark Wahlberg, I had really high hopes going into Netflix's 'The Union' but ultimately my hopes were dashed. The Union is your typical popcorn spy film set in an international location, with fancy gadgets and expensive cars.
There is nothing unique about the story. Rox (Halle Berry) is the field agent leader of an elite covert group of special agents that work for an organization called - you guessed it - The Union. They are on a mission to extract a CIA asset when the mission goes left and agents are killed include Nick (Mike Colter). The backup plan is they need someone who can fly under the radar to assist them and that is where Mike (Mark Wahlberg) comes in. He is Rox's ex from high school and just the perfect nobody from New Jersey to assist her.
She recruits him under the guise of them reconnecting. What I found frustrating during his recruitment is that his training lasted all of two weeks and he now has some type of skill to go on field missions after two weeks of training. We meet the merry band of agents but do not get enough backstory from them or see enough of them in the field. The big boss Tom (J.K. Simmons) offers the most comedic relief with his dry sense of humor.
When it is time for Mike's big mission, everything does not go as planned and the team is setup again and they lose one of their own and split up - we never see the team in the field again. They sort of disappear and Rox and Mike are left on their own to retrieve the briefcase with the list of all the spies real identities and their families. Just when it seems they have the drop on the woman in charge - Nick turns up alive and well, claiming that Tom is the leak (when it is clearly him - there goes that predictability).
The only interesting tidbit is that Rox and Nick were married and are legally separated, leading into some back and forth between him and Mike. Now with Mike and Rox on the run from the CIA after Nick set them up - the big climax and showdown of the film falls flat. Yes - we get a big car chasing scene but not enough fight choreography for my taste. I really wanted to see Rox go toe to toe with Nick. She did have one fight scene with a day player which did bring the action but as the lead of the film, I thought she would have more to do.
Mark Wahlberg was kind of just there playing an interchangeable character from any one of his other action films. He gave us nothing and let Halle carry this film. He and Halle had zero romantic chemistry and that is probably why they did not touch lips once. If you are looking for something to watch this weekend and eat popcorn, this movie is an option but do not expect to be moved by it.
The Union is now streaming on Netflix.
Comments