Back in Action Review – Your Regular ‘Time-Pass’ Kinda Family Flick
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Actor Cameron Diaz took a ten year break from her acting career to focus on her family life, so… odds are, the last time most viewers saw her kick butt on screen was in the action flick “Charlie’s Angels”. At least, it’s the case with me. So, it was kinda fun to watch her play a top spy with Jamie Foxx in the 2025 action-comedy “Back in Action”, which of-course also seems to be a clever nod to the actor’s Hollywood work.
Directed by Seth Gordon, who co-wrote the film with Brendan O’Brien, Back in Action follows former CIA agents Emily (Cameron Diaz) and Matt (Jamie Foxx), who have retired from their lives as spies to play full-time parents to their kids, Alice (McKenna Roberts) and Leo (Rylan Jackson). However, after 15 years of quiet living, Emily and Matt find old enemies knocking at their door when their identities and location are exposed by a social media video. Unaware of their parents’ true identities, the kids are suddenly dragged into a crazy chase across the countries as armed terrorists and mercenaries pursue the family, all in search of a “key” the couple lost during their final mission.
So “Back in Action” is essentially a tweaked version of Mark Wahlberg’s action-comedy flick “The Family Plan”, which also follows a family on the run, after their ‘boring’ car-salesman father reveals he used to be a deadly assassin. Just that in this film, teen Alice and her younger brother Leo have to come to terms with the fact that their both their ‘boring’ parents, were killer spies. On the other hand, Emily and Matt are more than happy to be back in their thrilling spy life, although it’s harder when you also have to protect your kids.
Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx are entertaining in both avatars, as CIA spies and regular parents; however, the action sequences in the film aren’t all that thrilling, and many scenes are rehashed bits from older films. You have the usual bike chases, cars flying, phone-throwing moments, and a few red herrings to keep you confused about who the ‘real bad guy’ is.
With its nearly 2-hour runtime, Back in Action would have been more worthwhile for viewers if the climactic moments hadn’t been dragged out and the creators had adhered to the typical 90-minute runtime common for action-comedies. Actor Andrew Scott feels wasted in his cameo and could’ve used more screen-time than some of the other supporting cast.
And yes, since this is action-comedy territory, things are ridiculously exaggerated. For instance, there are scenes where Max and Emily are walking around inside a plane that’s already half-crashed (yeah, that doesn’t even make sense in writing, does it?), or Emily casually stepping away from a speeding bike she’s riding as if she’s simply getting up from a stationary gaming chair after winning a round of Counter-Strike. So if you do not mind some mindless action fun, this is a decent one-time watch, especially for a family night.
Rating: 2.5 on 5. Watch ‘Back in Action’ on Netflix.
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