Mayday stays airborne because Kenneth Branagh turns a familiar Cold War buddy movie into something unexpectedly warm. Ryan Reynolds supplies the speed, sarcasm and movie-star confidence, but Branagh gives the adventure its oddball heart. The plot is proudly assembled from 1980s action-comedy parts, and its emotional side stories never get enough room, yet the central pairing makes the 110-minute escape consistently entertaining. Bingebaaz rating: 3.5/5.
Quick verdict: Stream it for Branagh’s scene-stealing turn, his prickly chemistry with Reynolds and a run of cleanly staged chases and fights. Expect a cheerful throwback rather than a sharp Cold War satire.
Review at a glance
| Bingebaaz rating | 3.5/5 |
|---|---|
| Where to watch | Apple TV |
| Runtime | 1 hour 50 minutes |
| Genre | Action buddy comedy |
| Writers and directors | John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein |
| Leading cast | Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Maria Bakalova, Marcin Dorociński, David Morse |
| Best for | Viewers who miss fast, funny 1980s odd-couple adventures |
Branagh is the secret weapon
The setup drops hotshot U.S. Navy pilot Troy “Assassin” Kelly behind Soviet lines in 1987. Injured and isolated, he wakes in the cabin of Nikolai Ustinov, a retired KGB operative who knows how to fight, loves American pop culture and treats a bootleg copy of Top Gun like a sacred object.
That description could have produced a broad sketch. Branagh instead builds Nikolai from contradictions. He can be intimidating and almost childlike within the same exchange. His fascination with America is funny, but the performance also suggests regret, loneliness and the possibility of a different life. Even behind the beard and accent, Branagh lets small changes in his face do more work than the screenplay’s heavier emotional beats.
Nikolai is also the film’s most effective action figure. The joke is not simply that an older hermit can flatten trained men; it is the calm efficiency with which he does it. Branagh commits to the physical comedy without turning the fights into parody, giving the movie a welcome element of surprise whenever it threatens to become too comfortable.
Reynolds finds the right person to push back
Troy is close to the Ryan Reynolds persona viewers already know: capable, cocky and ready with a joke when fear would be the more honest response. Mayday does not reinvent that screen presence. It uses Nikolai to challenge it.
The funniest exchanges come from unequal expectations. Troy sees a dangerous Soviet stranger; Nikolai sees the living embodiment of the American movies he adores. Reynolds’ clipped disbelief and Branagh’s sincere enthusiasm create a rhythm that can carry even the more predictable stretches. Their bond becomes convincing because the actors allow irritation, admiration and dependence to overlap rather than announcing a neat turn from enemies to friends.
Reynolds is most effective when the wisecracks stop being the entire point. Brief references to Troy’s ailing father reveal the anxiety beneath his confidence, although the film treats that relationship more as motivation than a fully developed emotional thread.
The action has clarity, momentum and a little absurdity
Daley and Goldstein stage the escape as a chain of increasingly improbable problems. An opening aerial disaster, close-quarters fights, trains, military vehicles and a dangerous confrontation aboard an aircraft keep changing the shape of the chase. The geography is usually clear, the performers feel physically involved and the comedy grows from bad decisions inside the action rather than stopping the action for a separate gag.
The escalation occasionally tips into cartoon logic, especially once the pair begin borrowing hardware far larger than they can sensibly control. That excess suits the throwback mood. This is a movie in which survival depends as much on nerve and timing as it does on geopolitical credibility.
Marcin Dorociński gives the pursuit a hard edge as Alexander Volkov. He is dangerous enough to prevent the comedy from floating away, but the screenplay uses him primarily as pressure. Viewers looking for a layered ideological opponent will find less to hold onto than those who simply want the next escape to arrive.
The Cold War is more playground than subject
Mayday enjoys its 1987 setting: cassette-era music, Top Gun worship, Soviet machinery and the fantasy that two people can discover a shared language while their governments remain suspicious of each other. The period detail gives the adventure personality, but the film rarely presses beyond its friendly message.
Nikolai’s disillusionment with the system he served and his idealised picture of America could have supported a sharper comedy. Instead, politics mostly supplies obstacles, uniforms and vehicles. The film wants the comfort of a sincere friendship and the wink of a self-aware genre remix at the same time; usually the chemistry bridges that gap, but the references occasionally feel more deliberate than fresh.
The supporting relationships are thinner. Maria Bakalova brings energy as Anna Ustinov, while David Morse lends weight to Troy’s family history, but both threads are asked to create feeling with limited screen time. The movie always hurries back to its two leads, an understandable choice that still leaves its larger emotional design unfinished.
Is Mayday worth watching?
Yes, if a brisk, star-driven action comedy sounds better than another grim spy thriller. Mayday is derivative by design, and it cannot turn every borrowed 1980s ingredient into something new. What it has is a partnership worth following: Reynolds brings velocity, Branagh brings texture, and together they make the silliness feel generous rather than mechanical.
The action is readable, the jokes land often enough and the 110-minute runtime keeps the weaknesses from becoming fatal. A richer treatment of Nikolai’s past, Anna’s place in his life and Troy’s family burden could have lifted the film higher. As it stands, this is an easy weekend stream with one performance that deserves more than background viewing. Bingebaaz rating: 3.5/5.
Mayday is now streaming on Apple TV. Before pressing play, check the India viewing details for its runtime, age rating and subtitle options. The separate cast and character guide is a spoiler-light map of Troy, Nikolai, Anna, Volkov and Harold Kelly.
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