A friend recommended Netflix’s “The Union” for this week’s movie review and I can’t say that I’m mad about it.
I found the film leaning heavily on its comedic delivery more than its action sequences and that’s what makes it work best in my book.
It’s gotten to the point where most spy films are just recycling the same old stunts and storylines – Union follows in a similar vein but the dialogue saves it from being a snoozefest.
Plus, the A-List actors elevate the streaming flick, too.
The Union is an American spy action comedy thriller film directed by Julian Farino from a screenplay by Joe Barton and David Guggenheim.
It stars Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry, Mike Colter, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Alice Lee, Jackie Earle Haley, Jessica De Gouw, and J.K. Simmons.
The movie is rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, suggestive material, and some strong language and clocks in at 107 minutes long.
New Jersey construction worker Mike McKenna’s (Wahlberg) lackluster life changes unexpectedly when his high school sweetheart Roxanne Hall (Berry) re-enters his life after 25 years.
She is now a secret agent for a covert organization known as “The Union” and recruits him, initially against his will by tranquilizing him. Mike wakes hours later in London where Rox explains how she got him there,
In turn, he hurries out of the luxurious hotel and meets her boss, Tom Brennan (Simmons).
They brief him on a high-stakes mission, claiming his unassuming identity is the perfect cover.
The Union is in turmoil after a botched operation in Trieste, which led to several agents’ deaths.
In desperate need of a fresh face, they turn to Mike, a “nobody,” for a critical mission to retrieve government intelligence about law enforcement agents in various agencies.
The briefcase containing sensitive information on individuals who have served allied Western nations is being auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The perilous operation spans across Europe and includes a series of international threats, including Iranian terrorists, North Korean agents, and Russian spies.
Mike goes through vigorous training, normally done over six months, but condensed to under two weeks.
He is given another identity, undergoes psychological tests, and is trained in hand-to-hand combat and sharpshooting, all while trying to keep up with the highly skilled Roxanne.
Sent by The Union with five million to buy an opportunity to bid at the intel auction, Mike is immediately ambushed by someone they believe is another interested party.
The team barely gets him out in time, but the auction access device gets irreparably damaged.
Out of money, The Union decides to also fight dirty, tracking down the Koreans’ mercenaries in hopes of acquiring theirs.
The Union successfully infiltrates the Koreans and ends up grabbing their device.
However, the Union’s communications expert Athena (Lee) is found and killed in the van.
The team watches from a distance in horror as their headquarters is bombed and is forced to go into hiding. The next evening the team regroups for the auction.
But, in true spy-movie action, things continue to fall short, but Mike and Rox are committed to seeing the job through and rely on their relationship to keep themselves alive.
I think that this film is fair to middling in the excitement department because I spent more time laughing at Wahlberg’s sassy comments than keeping my eyes glued to the TV for the action sequences.
However, it’s a solid streaming movie and worth checking out if you’re a fan of Wahlberg or Berry!
