6 Underground (2019) | Film Review

If you are like me then you may have an interesting relationship with Director Michael Bay. He may have unknowingly caught your attention through the ’80s and ’90s as the director of massive rock ballad videos like Meatloaf’s “Objects in the Rear-View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are” (Meatloaf… work on those titles), Winger’s “Can’t Get Enuff”, and Tina Turner’s “Nightbush City Limits”. From there he burst onto the movie scene with the wildly popular Bad Boys and everything just blew up from there. No… really, everything. EVERYTHING just blew up from there. He took the ideas from action movies cultivated in the ’80s and added his own “Rock and Roll” flair to it, capturing the imagination of moviegoers for decades. Wild use of panning, forced perspective, and shot angles made the most mundane shot a frenetic feast for the eyes.   

Then came his foray into the known, and popular in its own right, property of Transformers, and the cracks in the facade started to show. During a time in which we were being spoon-fed action with thoughtful storytelling in the Marvel and DC cinematic universes, the comparison and contrast with what Bay was delivering were stark and hollow. In this viewer’s eyes, Michael Bay was out of his depth and needed to return to creating unknowns to rock and roll viewers into loving him again. Enter 6 Underground, Netflix and Michael Bay’s latest high-octane magnum opus.   

Meet the Six: One, the Billionaire (Ryan Reynolds); Two, The Spook (Mélanie Laurent); Three, The Hitman (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo); Four, The Skywalker (Ben Hardy and not that Skywalker… the other (PARKOUR!); Five, The Doctor (Adria Arjona); Six, The Driver (Dave Franco), and that’s it. Oh, wait! There’s Seven, The Operator (Corey Hawkins), it’ll make sense later. The Six are a new kind of action hero. Six untraceable agents that are totally off the grid. They have all left their lives behind them to take a shot at making the future a better place. You know, for the kids.  

We meet them in the progress of committing their first world-saving mission. That mission, to depose a tyrannical dictator, and setting up his more democratically inclined brother to lead their totally made-up country into safer and more prosperous times. Along the way we come to understand the backgrounds of the 6 (for the most part) and we watch them as One tries to keep the team together, while reminding them not to keep close ties (it’s a hell of a balancing act).   

The core of the story is something we have all seen before: special teams, blah blah blah, bad guys, bang bang bang, we all go home. What’s interesting with 6 Underground isn’t the core, it’s the ingredients. Setting aside the stellar cast and how they are portrayed, the 6 characters on paper are layered and fascinating. We are teased to these backgrounds that are begging to be explored. Each character is wonderfully flawed in ways that make them endearing. Watching these characters work through the challenges of the story was the most enjoyable part.  

Speaking of the characters, how about the people that portrayed them. Ryan Reynolds is a treasure, one that may need to be put back into the chest and hidden away for a while, but a treasure nonetheless. His portrayal of One takes the idea of the capable leader and spins it on its head with a mix of quips only he can deliver, and as an added bonus, no one does exasperated quite like he does. Melanie Laurent’s Two is terrifying and capable, a force of nature in heels and fully armed. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo’s Three brings a comedy that almost doesn’t work but has half the heart the story needs. Ben Hardy’s Four was mostly overshadowed other than his exciting bursts of parkour, but he wasn’t alone as Adria Arjona’s Five was there to keep him company. Finally, Corey Hawkins’ Seven brings up the rear with the rest of the heart that brings this team together.   

The cast is great. With a group this big, it’s hard to stand out, especially with at least two, maybe two and a half powerhouses of charisma and skill. Everyone brings something to the table that makes them integral, even if overshadowed. OH! Six, I keep forgetting Six. Oh well, you’ll get it, and also learn why Dave Franco does do a great job at showing us why he might be the better Franco.  

Now, look, the production of this movie is kind of nuts. Take everything you know about a Michael Bay movie, and create a little effigy of an ’80s hairband lead singer with it. Now, shoot it up with all the cocaine you can find. If you are now thinking that you would be afraid to close your eyes around a creature like that, then congratulations you just got close to what it’s like watching this production. I say close because I am fairly certain that 6 Underground is responsible for triggering seizures. In a good way.  

Michael Bay may be a cast-off of a bygone era of hairband rock godhood. He made us love his growing style with buddy action flicks like Bad Boys, The Rock, and Armageddon, each one a reflection of the once great era of MTV. He may have let us peek too far behind the curtain when he brought us Transformers in a time where viewers decided they wanted substance over style in their genre flicks. However, with 6 Underground he freely shows us that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks, he is going to throw all the bodies in the road he wants. He is going to shoot Betty White in pants rending ways, and we will all thank him for the pleasure of being able to laugh, marvel, and drool for two hours and seven minutes.