Ghosted, 2023.
Directed by Dexter Fletcher.
Starring Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Adrien Brody, Mike Moh, Amy Sedaris, Tim Blake Nelson, Tate Donovan, Lizze Broadway, Marwan Kenzari, Anna Deavere Smith, Mustafa Shakir, and Tiya Sircar.
SYNOPSIS:
Cole falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie, but then makes the shocking discovery that she’s a secret agent. Before they can decide on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world.
One would be hard-pressed to find someone on the planet that hasn’t dealt with some form of ghosting, so Dexter Fletcher’s concept of incorporating that into the romantic comedy action romp Ghosted, about a spy longing for connection underneath her murderous globetrotting missions and a needy, desperate, lonely farmer who thinks he found the right match following a meet cute and one date with solid conversations but no real idea of what she actually does for a living is amusing and ripe for pure chaotic fun. It’s also a win when the magnetic presences of Chris Evans and Ana de Armas are in those lead roles; the characters’ names are Cole and Sadie, but realistically speaking, no one cares.
However, the downfall here comes from a confused and messy script from Chris McKenna, Rhett Reese, Erik Sommers, and Paul Wernick (some might recognize the names Reese and Wernick from Deadpool notoriety, but when it comes down to it, requiring four individuals penning this script probably says more about the movie than I ever could) that, initially seems in on the joke of making spies sociopaths and poking fun at clingy men, eventually transitioning into a story about a sociopath and creep falling for one another that viewers are expected to cheer on. Once again, considering the impossibly beautiful Chris Evans and Ana de Armas getting swept up in this questionable love, casual viewers might not give a shit about the toxic elements.
Bluntly put, Ghosted works best when it’s acknowledging these leads are flawed and make eyebrow-raising choices; he takes a selfie together in bed when she is asleep, all in the name of preserving intimate memories, and she doesn’t blink when an opportunity arises to use him as bait even if it is for saving the world from a generic world-domination doomsday device). There’s a well-constructed bus chase sequence across a Pakistani cliffside where she demonstrates her cold-blooded ability to kill these enemies, where he is shaken when forced to do so.
The training that Ana de Armas has put in for intensely physical roles, such as in No Time to Die and the upcoming John Wick spinoff Ballerina is on display, even if the combat staging never reaches half the heights of those series. Admittedly, there is also a sense of exhilaration throughout most action set pieces (notably a rotating restaurant room, sky high in the air with glass panels for walls), but more in the realm of big-budget spectacle and not so much thrilling fight sequences.
Frustratingly, the script defines these characters in the broadest strokes and isn’t too concerned with directly addressing their flaws in any compelling way. Her sociopathic nature and his prone to creepiness and text-message bombing (I suppose I should mention the reason they are in the situation is that once he gets ghosted, he finds a way to track her down in London for a romantic gesture, under the impression that she is on business dealing with an art client) is more cutesy than anything to these filmmakers, which starts off fun but is more grating and offputting than anything by the conclusion.
Perhaps this would be more forgivable if the villains were interesting, but that aspect of Ghosted mostly boils down to Adrien Brody leading a mercenary group, eccentrically using bugs for torture, hunting down a deadly weapon to sell to the highest bidder. They exist to rope Cole and Sadie into perilous situations provoking more bickering that is fun for a while but is spread thin considering neither character is likable, meaning the actors have to rely on their natural charm, hoping to overcome simplistic writing and lame jokes.
Ghosted briefly comes alive when the filmmakers are leaning into the joke about the ruthless underworld of FBI agents and contract killers. There’s a kidnapping led by a series of amusing cameos (a few of which are also from the Marvel Cinematic Universe) that is inspired and more thoughtful than the central concept of a secret agent ghosting a farmer. The action is there alongside a solid idea, but it is squandered by the laziness of simply trying to coast along by star power casting alone, with no self-awareness that the characters quickly become irritating.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
