Back In Action: A Movie Review
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Back in Action with Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz on Netflix the other day. They had a few hiccups along the way, but I was happy to see that it was finally soup. Jamie Foxx had his health scare and even came to our area to get back in tip top shape, after Cameron Diaz came out of retirement to shoot this film. After the delays, it was released this month!
They are both superb actors and they did not disappoint this time around either. I saw them act together in the 2014 version of Annie which was memorable. I did not see Any Given Sunday which they did in 1999. But here, they are a couple of CIA operatives out on different missions and living life in constant danger. They are also privately a couple in every sense of the word.
When Emily Reynolds (Cameron Diaz) realizes that she is with child, she and Matt Reynolds (Jamie Foxx) both agree that it is time for them to go undercover and assume new identities. We see them 15 years later as husband and wife with two children living in a protected environment in suburban Atlanta.
Then one day, an agent (Kyle Chandler) from their past shows up on their doorstep and Matt (Jamie Foxx) realizes that he still has an item that they want very badly. Thus, the true action begins. Their teen and pre-teen children Alice (McKenna Roberts) and Leo (Rylan Jackson) are in shock as they sit in a window at a gas station and watch their parents go into karate mode while battling their attackers. It reminded me of Carl Douglas’ song, Kung Fu Fighting.
With their mouths open, one of the children later asks the parents, “Who are you?” They flee to London to Emily’s mother’s house to find the hidden item. Her estranged mother Ginny Curtis is suprisingly Glenn Close who has a much younger insecure lover, Nigel (Jamie Demetriou). Shortly after their arrival, all hell breaks loose. The pace picks up as bodies fly around the room similar to scenes from the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelie Jolie).
I will not give too much more away but Back in Action kept me on the edge of my seat. The scenery was great. I could see it again because when I see a movie the first time, I focus on the storyline, but the second time around I look for things I missed. In one scene, there was a fancy lit-up lock that opened on the Thames River with precision timing. There were a few other high-end venues that I would like to revisit such as a club where they located their underaged 14-year old daughter while she was partying with her much older friends.
Their children are fantastic actors, as well and they actually looked like they could belong to Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. Sometimes, the directors don’t get the blend right, but this time, they were on point. The more I write this piece, I am quite certain that I will watch it again. There are so many takeaways along with subtle lessons on how to connect with teen kids. I highly recommend Back in Action for a great escape and a reprieve from everyday routines.
Lynn M,
January 25, 2025
