John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are the definition of a safe pair of hands. The duo responsible for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the upcoming Star Trek movie (Godspeed lads, many have tried before you) and more they’ve got a great line in absurdity, an ear for comedy and a sincerity that’s both rare and welcome.

And now, they’re saluting the buddy action movies of the 1980s with Mayday. Set during 1987, it follows Ryan Reynolds as an SR-71 spy plane pilot shot down over Russia and rescued by Sir Kenneth Branagh’s quiet local farmer. Who may not be a famer. Or quiet.

 

That looks delightful! Always a pleasure to see Reynolds play ‘fussy, and slightly rubbish’ as he did so well in The Hitman’s Bodyguard series, and Branagh dusting off the Tenet accent is oddly charming. Also, Branagh’s child-like glee wielding a VHS tape is lovely.

My guess, given the way his character fights and the moment where we see him moving in  slow motion towards the just-downed Reynolds, is he’s ex-Spetsnaz. The Russian Special Forces unit, Spetsnaz has a deserved reputation for being terrifyingly capable and clinically barbaric. That would certainly map onto his belief America is a land of opportunity and redemption. A reminder, this is set in 1987, things were very, very different.

There’s some fun comedy beats in here too. I love the ‘You ready for this?’ ‘…NO’ and who doesn’t love a spooky child gag? Also Branagh and Reynolds are physically so different they’re funny just standing next to one another.

This looks like a good time, and given the talent in front and behind the camera I’m confident this is going to be very sweet, very funny and have rather more heart than you first think.

 

Mayday hits Apple TV on September 4th.

 

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