‘Back in Action’ Review: Should You Watch The Cameron Diaz and Jamie Fox Netflix Movie?

From Chernin Entertainment, Exhibit A, & Good One Productions, Back in Action reunites former Annie co-stars Jamie Foxx (Day Shift, Project Power) & Cameron Diaz (Charlie’s Angels, Knight and Day) after Diaz stepped away from acting following the release of the film back in 2014 (just a coincidence I’m sure).

Co-written & directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief), the story centers on former CIA spies Matt & Emily (Foxx & Diaz respectively) who decide to leave that world behind after Emily discovers she is pregnant with Matt’s child during an operation that almost took them out in plane crash.
Presumed dead during that mission, the couple hide in plain sight in the suburbs to raise their family and start fresh. After 15 years in hiding, they are living the standard nuclear family life: coaching soccer for their 14-year-old daughter Alice (Skyscraper’s McKenna Roberts), selling puzzles on Etsy, & tracking screen time for their young son Leo (Rylan Jackson).

However, after a video surfaces online blowing their cover, Matt & Emily are forced to jump back into their former espionage lives in order to protect everything they’ve built and keep their family safe.

Alongside Foxx & Diaz, the cast features such notable names as Oscar nominee Glenn Close as Emily’s estranged mother Ginny, Friday Night Lights star Kyle Chandler as Chuck, 3 time Emmy nominee Andrew Scott as Baron, & BAFTA winner Jamie Demetriou as Nigel.

With Back in Action being the long-awaited return for Cameron Diaz AND the production in which Foxx had to endure a brain bleed that led to a stroke, more eyes will be drawn to this pretty standard action spy comedy than usual. But is it worthy of such attention? Will the audience for these massive stars be let down after such a buildup?

Well, the answer is not really on both counts. With a fairly pedestrian storyline and minimal character depth, the film won’t wow you for its inventive & propulsive script. However, its more impressive features lie more in the action than the comedy, which seems a little backward in a Foxx-Diaz vehicle. Car chases with vehicles flipping in the air, motorcycles used as a weapon flying towards the enemy, gas station pumps turned flamethrowers, solid hand-to-hand combat, and a daring climax between high-speed boats are just some of the examples of what Back in Action is surprisingly capable of in the genre.

However, the audience for this film probably signed up hoping to get some of the goofy charm & snappy wit that the leads have been known for in their best work over their long careers. While the action will be in abundance, the chemistry between Foxx & Diaz leading to jokes that make the film more bouncy and fun will only come in dribs and drabs. As spy partners and spouses, the leads feel more transactional than genuine and don’t always seem like the best fit as a duo, despite Diaz’s claims in the press that she took the project after a decade away only because it was Foxx attached in the first place.

In fact, Foxx & Diaz, and the movie as a whole, get bailed out by another duo: the far more unlikely pair of Glenn Close & Jamie Demetriou. As Diaz’s estranged mother and legendary spy in her own right, Close brings a level of brass, conviction, & generational cohesion to the story; giving advice & perspective to her granddaughter while also doling out some punishment to the villains who put her in danger. Close’s Ginny surprisingly has a young gentleman caller/CIA trainee in the form of Jamie Demetriou’s Nigel, who does all he can to make his stamp on the proceedings. From intensely making out with Close to overselling his abilities as a spy-in-training, Demetriou steals many scenes as the only pure comedic performance in a movie that desperately needs it despite the normally more outlandish leads. As a pair, Close & Demetriou give the story a jolt at a crucial time and help guide us to a more entertaining and satisfying conclusion.

In spite of its more plodding story elements, undercooked villainy, & dialed back lead performances, Back in Action is a more watchable & enjoyable star-driven action comedy than its more recent Netflix brethren in the genre (The Union w/ Wahlberg & Berry or Lift w/ Kevin Hart come to mind). A rusty but serviceable Diaz & a subdued but probably compromised Foxx do just enough in the center of the frame to sell the proceedings and keep the train on the tracks. Close & Demetriou save the film from being over thought and the action set pieces deliver above expectations. A simple popcorn movie with genuine stars can hit the spot in the “Dumpuary” period of the film slate.

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Watch Back in Action If You Liked

• The Union
• Lift
• Day Shift
• The Out-Laws
• Charlie’s Angels

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MVP of Back in Action

Glenn Close & Jamie Demetriou

I don’t know who needed this more: The movie? or Glenn Close?

Following up a couple of “so bad they’re memed” Netflix film performances (The Deliverance, Hillbilly Elegy), it’s nice to see Close take her more recent flair for the outlandish and put it in a character & movie that needed it. As a legendary spy, she can give an air of sophistication, arrogance, & brashness that comes easily to a screen icon of her stature. She can be the authority in the room and take her reward in a young trainee named Nigel, played perfectly by Jamie Demetriou.

As a pair, they give a shock to the system and pop to the story. Individually, they give depth to family elements, credence to the spy lineage, & levity to a movie that you would think would have enough already. As noted in the review, these two gave a lift to the film and a focus to the storyline that drove the 2nd half to a more entertaining & satisfying conclusion. While the headlines will have Foxx & Diaz, the real power duo may have come with this May-December couple.

While it may not be the standout Foxx & Diaz performances we wanted for the big comeback, Back In Action has enough entertainment value to make for a pleasant January night at home.