“What if I told you I know what happens when you die? You become a ghost trapped in a shadow land. A world of whispers, invisible, expect to other ghosts. Orphaned, unable to return to those you loved. But with loneliness comes freedom.”
Happy Friday 13th is what Netflix must have thought when they chose to release Michael Bay’s latest movie 6 Underground on this day. Instead of bad luck, the characters in this movie have a bucket full of good luck.
Ryan Reynolds plays One, the billionaire and the leader of the ghosts, a group of vigilantes who have faked their deaths to become invisible and be able to operate under the governments radar. They have decided to eliminate those the government cannot or will not.
The group is formed by Two, the C.I.A. spook (Mélanie Laurent), Three, the hitman (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), Four, the skywalker (Ben Hardy), Five, the doctor (Adria Arjona), and Six, the driver (Dave Franco).
Freshly formed, their first major mission takes place in Florence where they want to stop one bad man from doing more harm. The vigilante group’s goal is to bring down the regime of the current president of a country in the middle east. To do that, they need to eliminate those who help him first.
After an accident, One has to find a new team member and recruits Seven (Corey Hawkins) who changes the way the team operates entirely. What follows is a two-hour long mix of action, explosion, sarcasm, and comedy. In other words, your abdominal muscle training, begins. Despite the serious topic, you will have a great time and have a laugh during most scenes.
“There’s this trick that we all do, to get through our day. We take a box and into that box we place all the horrors of the world, all the wrongs humans do to one another. And then we close the box and pretend it doesn’t exist. Only some of us spend too much time inside the box. We’ve lost our ability to pretend. We know there’s too much unfinished business in this fucked-up world. Our job as ghosts is to do the dirty work the living can’t or won’t.”
At first, it is not known why the team exists and why they do what they do. Through flashbacks, you get to know more about the background of each of the team members.
Four years ago, One went to visit a refugee camp as part of a PR appointment. His plan was, to take some photos and donate money, gets crossed when the camp is attacked, and gas bombs are thrown over them. When he finds out that no one is stopping the guy who did it, he decides to take matters into his own hands. The former inventor, who made a fortune with magnet technology, decides to use his money to found the ghosts and starts recruiting people with certain skills and the wish to put their past behind and start a new life while fighting the wrongs in the world and help those who cannot help themselves.
You could say that One has big plans, but no plan how to achieve them, though. He does not want to use everyone’s real names, because this would form a bond and they would start to become friends or even a substitute family. During a mission, he finds himself hilariously lost. Because of that, scenes in which an eye is held above a phone, sculptures that are smashed, or entering a building through an alternative entrance, are instantly funny.
“Truth? I have no idea what happens when you die. Death’s still a mystery. But life … a little less so. Alone we walk the Earth quiet. But together? As a team? Oh, we can do some shit pretty loud.
Holy cow, this movie is awesome, and I cannot remember when I have laughed so much during a movie. 6 Underground wins with this diverse cast, humour, and showing what happens when injustice cannot be accepted anymore.
Imagine: One has the opportunity to start new because he has the money and the intel and was triggered to do something because he witnessed firsthand what is happening to people who are not as lucky as he. In the end, he gave a country their voice and freedom back. You can see 6 Underground as a wish to do something to change our political future of our current society. In the times in which we are living in, it is kind of understandable why people would wish for taking matters into their own hands.
Or you can focus on the entertainment aspect. Maybe it is because of Reynolds, but for me the movie is a mix of Deadpool, Transporter, and Hobbs & Shaw. The movie profits from the different background of each character as well as from the mix of great cast from known to lesser known actors. Ryan Reynolds and Ben Hardy have found equals in each other and I want to see more of this hilarious duo from now on! Blame it on the age gap, One, but you love this millennial.
Female power is represented through Mélanie Laurent and Adria Arjona whose characters make their hands dirty with blood while the guys cannot deal with half of it. Despite Manuel Garcia-Rulfo who plays Three, he is just as crazy tough as the ladies.
It is a perfect balance in every way. Of course, you will not get disappointed and see Bay’s imprint on this movie with its long car chasing, exploding cars, and long fight scenes, and I am here for all of it! You can expect some great shot scenes. I even got surprises by new elements such as some amazing parkour scenes which had been shot terrifically good!
In short, 6 Underground is the perfect popcorn movie for your home cinema.
