Mayday Review: Ryan Reynolds Is Sporadically Amusing In Apple's Cold War Midnight Run Riff

The writing duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein brought some impressive laughs to the big screen with their feature writing debut "Horrible Bosses," as well as dabbling in franchises with the script for "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2," the reboot of the "Vacation" franchise, and "Horrible Bosses 2." Eventually, they joined the largest franchise of the 21st century, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the writers behind Tom Holland's first solo superhero outing in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

But Daley and Goldstein weren't satisfied with only writing. In 2018, they took their talents behind the camera as the directors of the exquisite comedy "Game Night," and they injected some cleverness and comedy into "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves." For their latest venture, they've gone back in time, both in setting and in style, by writing and directing "Mayday," a new action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh that is heading straight to streaming on the Apple Original Films roster starting on September 4. 

"Mayday" takes place in 1987, after the Cold War has been brewing between the United States and Russia for roughly 40 years. Daring and skilled Navy pilot Troy "Assassin" Kelly (Reynolds) is recruited for a top secret Black Ops intelligence-gathering mission flying an SR-71 Blackbird over Soviet Russia. But when the lead pilot is killed and the Blackbird shot down, Troy is left stranded behind enemy lines.

Thankfully, Troy's found an unlikely ally in Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a former KGB agent who left behind his deadly Russian government job because he couldn't live with the heinous things he'd done in service of his homeland. Ustinov has an unsettling love of America, largely because of his obsession with Tony Scott's "Top Gun," which he has on a bootleg VHS. He longs for the taste of McDonald's, his secluded cabin in the woods is decked out with American pop culture from the 1980s, he listens to Bruce Springsteen on cassette, and he sees Troy as his one chance to escape the clutches of the suppressive Russia.

"Mayday" lands somewhere between Martin Brest's "Midnight Run" and John Hughes' beloved "Planes, Trains & Automobiles," at least when it comes to the combination of action and comedy, as Nikolai helps Troy evade the Russian government that's in close pursuit, led by Marcin Dorociński as Alexander Volkov. With various modes of transportation constantly interrupted by Russian troops, Nikolai and Troy must constantly try to get themselves out of increasingly sticky situations. From a train filled with Russian soldiers speeding through tunnels in the snowy mountains to a mobile nuclear missile launcher in the middle of Russia's massive 1987 May Day parade (see, the title has layers!), and even a passenger plane, Troy and Nikolai tear through Soviet Russia with plenty of chaos and destruction in their wake. 

With "Game Night," Daley and Goldstein proved they can make a movie that offers riotous laughs mixed with a clever, high concept. They took that to new heights with "Dungeons & Dragons." However, while the scale of "Mayday" is certainly on par with a big blockbuster, especially the kind of buddy action movies that made waves in the 1980s, the slickly shot action sequences often outshine the intended hilarity, which is sporadic and never comes close to the heights of Daley and Goldstein's previous comedic outings.

Reynolds does what he does best, offering intermittent snark, sarcasm, and commentary that mostly works. He's never overacting or leaning too much into the "Deadpool" persona that has come to define much of his career over the past decade, but he's also not as funny as you might hope or expect.

Meanwhile, as skilled as Branagh is an actor, he seems frustratingly miscast as Nikolai. His role as a Russian never feels authentic, and this kind of comedy doesn't suit him. That doesn't mean his performance is poor, as he's fully dedicated to the assignment, but this movie might have been better served with someone like Bob Odenkirk, Russell Crowe, or John Malkovich as Nikolai instead.

Having said that, Branagh does shine in the action department. If there's one area where he's believable, it's as a hardened former KGB operative who fights efficiently and methodically. At times, Branagh moves like he's in a David Leitch or Chad Stahelski flick, working as fiercely as John Wick. It's not quite as swift or clean, and there are times when it's clear Branagh relied on his stuntman, but it's impressive nonetheless.

Daley and Goldstein also know how to shoot the action sequences in captivating fashion, their kinetic camera sweeping through every environment in such a way that it gives each action sequence additional life, putting you in the middle of the madness and mayhem. Sometimes it's more subtle, like simply moving with the opening of a drawer or closing of a door. However, that sleekness is too often undercut by the sheen of contemporary visual effects. The movie's expressed love for "Top Gun" doesn't help when its early fighter jet sequences look woefully artificial, especially on the heels of "Top Gun: Maverick." Meanwhile, other large scale action sequences, especially the parade and the mobile nuclear missile launcher chase that follows, just look a little too polished and filled with CG elements to truly replicate the kind of 1980s buddy action comedies that "Mayday" is trying to emulate. 

Speaking of which, let's go back to the movie's balance between comedy and action, which feels uneven. There are hilarious moments for sure, including one involving an especially unsettling kid at a welcoming Russian family's dinner table and another involving the awkward silence of Troy, Nikolai, and several other individuals trying to play it cool while being secretive in a closet. But the action always hogs the spotlight. Perhaps the comedy is hurt by the lack of hilarious chemistry between Reynolds and Branagh. They're not downright bad together, but their evolving relationship in the movie feels more contrived than natural. 

"Mayday" is amusing enough, but as a longtime fan of Daley and Goldstein, I wanted to like this movie a lot more. While I didn't walk away disliking it, I also think it's, unfortunately, mostly forgettable. It's like a mishmash of things Ryan Reynolds has already done before, like Apple bought a blender and tossed in "Deadpool & Wolverine," "The Adam Project," and "Red Notice" with a little bit of 1980s action nostalgia that doesn't resonate beyond offering a few laughs. 

When a movie like "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie" riffs on high concept 1980s nostalgia in satisfying and hilarious ways, and a movie like "Project Hail Mary" gives us palpable chemistry between Ryan Gosling and a CGI-enhanced rock puppet, you just expect a little more sizzle from a movie like "Mayday." But much like the war that preceded this story, it ends up feeling a little cold. 

/Film Rating: 6 out of 10

"Mayday" is streaming on Apple TV on September 4, 2026.