The Union review – Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg heat up Netflix action film
The rapport between the stars will keep you entertained in a ridiculous international caper with something in common with justice
Like a good covert operation team, everyone involved in the latest in a long line of expensive yet generally forgettable Netflix action flicks is clear on the mission. They know their role, and what they’re being paid for. Mark Wahlberg , playing to type as a downhome blue-collar guy, enters the movie shirtless. Halle Berry, as a veteran intelligence agent, kicks ass while wearing a Catwoman-esque all-leather uniform. JK Simmons, as the head of a covert group of working-class secret agents (hence, the Union), conveys no-nonsense avuncular authority as only JK Simmons can. And Julian Farino, director of such shows as Giri/Haji and Entourage, wrings each of the many combat scenes for snappy but never stressful suspense.
The purpose of the story, aside from the vague notion of justice, is not completely clear, however. The plot of The Union is subtle, especially its belief that the stars that is Wahlberg along with Berry will mask an arrangement that is questionable even in the context of silly caper norms. In Berry’s case, Roxanne is a long-time operative for the CIA, a secret Federal organisation (maybe?) made up of blue-collar workers who operate without notice, but gets through its unpretentious effectiveness and shuns their CIA for its exclusiveness. The film begins by introducing the Union in crisis, and the mission to find the identity of a CIA defector from Trieste is shattered, leaving many Agents dead. One of them is Roxanne’s most trusted associate Nick Faraday (Mike Colter). In a short, concise explanation, there is a “nobody” is needed to finish the task. Enter Wahlberg’s Mike Roxanne, her high school love interest.
Mike is living the kind of life Roxanne is referring to as an “small” life in the same New Jersey home town. Mike lives with his mother (Lorraine Bracco) and is extremely close to his friends from childhood and works in the construction industry; and there’s a frequent remark about his latest affair with their seventh grade English teacher. The script, written by Joe Barton and David Guggenheim provides a believable reverberation the Roxanne and Mike’s relationship and their relationship, however The Union benefits tremendously from its lead actors. Wahlberg and Berry who have been close friends for more than thirty years (with some images from the 90s on the screen credits prove it) are well-worn and natural chemistry right from the start and they are convincing as two individuals who are instantly able to rib and be charming to one another despite not having spoken for the past 25 years. Of course, he’ll accept being taken to a drug-induced prison in London and then taking part in a dangerous task, as long as it involves keeping her.
Naturally, he’s been enticed by the philosophy of the group: small men who stick their hats on the big-moneyed evil one (cartoonish Iranian terrorists, North Korean agents, Russian spies, debonair Londoners). In other words, as Simmons’s director Brennan says: “Street smarts over book intelligence. Blue collar not blue blood. We are the ones who create our cities, keep the production lines running, that’s who we are. We get shit done. Because we are expected to get their work done. “Nobody ever gave us anything for a time in our life.”
The vaguely stated mission is to snatch information from the government about any person who has served in the western-allied nation, and which is kept in a hilarious Deal or No Deal briefcase and thus ensuring the safety of the citizens. The class-based politics that are tense give the film a hint of a sly grin. Its success is due the talents of Simmons and Wahlberg who are both skilled in playing charming, normal people as well as Berry as a shrewd fighter who struggles to control her vulnerability to emotional turmoil.
The majority of its 47 minutes of running time, The Union keeps up the pace of mission, information fighting, and flings, through ever-changing plot twists and a car chase through Croatia which seems to go on for the rest of time. The atmosphere is fun and the action is impressive the film isn’t nearly as cheap and boring as Netflix rivals like the Man From Toronto as well as the Lift.
The two main actors usually appear more like lovers turned ex-lovers instead of romantic partners. Warning: The Union is in the annoying Twisters club of not allowing audiences to kiss for no reason other than waiting for the possibility of a sequel. In spite of all the petrol or broken glass, stunts and adolescent scenes that has been poured into The Union, I can’t affirm that it has the energy to make that happen but at the very least, it exceeds expectations.