A cute but bland action-comedy romp that feels like Romancing the Stone-lite. The first half is far superior to the plodding, unsatisfactory second, although most of the best and funniest bits were already featured in the trailer, thus proving that the film didn’t have much more to offer than fleeting moments of cheeky meta-humor.
Bullock and Tatum are appealing, but their obligatory romance both slows down the pacing and feels forced rather than organic, much like the rest of the by-the-numbers plot.
It’s highly unfortunate that the trailer also spoiled the extended Brad Pitt cameo, which likely would’ve brought the house down had his presence been kept a secret. His movie star charisma and fight scenes deliver enormous fun.
The only bright spot in the latter half is the appearance of Oscar Nunez as a friendly but clearly deranged cargo pilot. It’s a fine but ultimately sobering example of a movie bringing in a ringer, in this case a supremely gifted improvisatory performer, to inject some life into a film that’s faltered under the machinations of a conventional rom-com actioner.
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