Mayday

Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Mayday follows a Cold War-era pilot (Ryan Reynolds’ Troy) as he’s shot down behind enemy lines and eventually forced to team up with a former KGB agent (Kenneth Branagh’s Nikolai). Filmmakers Daley and Goldstein, armed with their own screenplay, deliver a familiar yet predominantly agreeable endeavor that certainly receives plenty of mileage out of its strong performances, as both Reynolds and Branagh offer up charismatic, engaging work that’s heightened by their palpable chemistry together – with the pair’s banter heightening the perpetually watchable vibe and paving the way for a number of laugh-out-loud funny digressions and set-pieces. (This is particularly true of a hilarious sequence wherein Troy and Nikolai break into a nearby house.) And while the 110 minute running time admittedly does result in a small handful of lulls, with the movie generally possessing the feel of something that could (and should) have been tightened, Mayday, for the most part, ultimately comes off as a delightful throwback to the buddy comedies of the ’80s and ’90s.

*** out of ****