In fact, Gadot’s character, who is known as The Bishop, does sing an iconic pop standard from a half-century ago, delivering a rendition of “Downtown,” and that makes it two straight weeks for a cappella takes on that Petula Clark standard, and I much preferred the Anya Taylor-Joy version in “Last Night in Soho.” Here, Gadot sings “Downtown” while administering jumper-cable shock torture to a character’s testicles. (As it is, there’s a gratuitous in-joke about Johnson’s fast-and-furious rival Vin Diesel.)
It’s a breezy and intermittently entertaining and super slick work, but it’s filled with so many overly familiar notes and well-worn cliches, and there are so many winking nods to the viewer, it feels as if we’re about two rewrites away from this thing being a flat-out spoof on the level of “Airplane!” or “Hot Shots!” or “Scary Movie.” Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds are among the most charismatic stars in the world, but they collectively almost neglect to give legitimate performances here, as they’re so committed to playing off their own images, to the point where we half-expect them to take a pause halfway through the story so Johnson can demonstrate one of his badass workout routines, Reynolds can make a funny joke about his fake feud with Hugh Jackman and Gadot can start another sing-along a la her infamous “Imagine” celebrity medley. Problem is, there’s no movie inside this movie. Rated PG-13 (for violence and action, some sexual references, and strong language). Netflix presents a film written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber.
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