On Netflix right now, is an action-comedy movie worth looking into. The movie is Back In Action starring Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. I’ll be blunt. The reviews for this movie on the major movie sites aren’t very good. So why should you ignore them? Ignore them because this movie is action packed, funny and an good way to spend an afternoon. And on a side note: it’s the movie Jamie Foxx was filming when he had a stroke, but put that morbid thought aside for a moment.
Let’s talk about what this movie isn’t. It’s not a James Bond/ Jason Bourne film. It’s not Atomic Blonde. It’s not a Mr. and Mrs. Smith film (either the 2005 film or the 2024 Amazon TV series) and it’s not Spy Kids. If you’re expecting those types of genre characterizations in this film, you will be sorely disappointed. Yet, it contains elements of all of these and to me, that’s what makes it work. 
Matt (Jamie Foxx) and Emily (Cameron Diaz) are for spies for the CIA. Fifteen years ago, while returning from a successful mission on a private plane provided by MI6, Matt and Emily are ambushed by the flight crew and fight for their lives. The fight leads to the plane crashing into a mountainous hillside, but Matt and Emily manage to survive the crash. Believing that they had been betrayed by MI6, and thinking that they would be presumed dead by both the CIA and MI6, they decide to “walk away” and go “off the grid.” Fifteen years and two kids later, Matt and Emily, having changed their last names to Reynolds, lead quiet lives in Atlanta, Georgia until mercenaries come hunting for them. No one in this movie is who they appear to be and that’s part of the film’s charm for me.
As I said before, there’s a lot of things this movie isn’t. But it is funny and certainly action packed. The fight scene on the plane reminded me of the early James Bond movies starring Sean Connery. Despite what the critics say, I have no problem recommending putting Back in Action on your short list for 2025.
