Mayday

Check out my full review @ https://www.manuelsbento.com/mayday-2026-kenneth-branagh-steals-the-show-from-ryan-reynolds-in-an-unapologetically-formulaic-throwback/

Rating: B-

MAYDAY knows exactly what it wants to be: a fun, unpretentious '80s throwback carried almost entirely by the chemistry between its two leads. Kenneth Branagh is the real standout, gruff and unexpectedly funny, while Ryan Reynolds keeps his usual instincts nicely in check. The action is sharp and the pacing brisk, but the film takes zero risks — predictable from start to finish, with underdeveloped side characters a...

**The return of filmmaking as they used to make it**

What a rare treat it is to be genuinely surprised by a movie nowadays. And how telling it is of contemporary cinema that stumbling upon a gem like this feels more like a stroke of pure luck than the product of routine industry talent.

The year is 1987, at the absolute height of the Cold War. Troy "Assassin" Kelly (Ryan Reynolds), a cocky, reckless US Navy pilot, is shot down over enemy territory during a top-secret reconnaissance mission. Stranded in the brutal Siberian wilderness and hunted by Soviet security operatives, his only hope...