This is a reasonably entertaining movie based on an ’80s TV show I’m not sure anyone remembers. (We learned it was based on a TV show from the credits. I was a child when it was on but I’ve also literally never heard of it.) The good news is that, if nobody remembers it, the shadow of the TV show is not actually hanging over this film. But, if the only reason this film got greenlit is because it’s existing IP, that executive should be fired into the sun.

SPOILERS

So there are some very funny lines that made me laugh out loud. And there are some decent action set pieces with physical gags. Not everything works but plenty works and I bet that, had I been paying more attention, I would have laughed even more than I did. It’s a perfectly fine hybrid of action comedy and romantic comedy.

But there are lots of weird things about it that didn’t make much sense.

• Why are their cars American? Is this a normal thing that happens with American film crews in Australia? Apparently, these cars should have at least had stickers on them saying they had their steering wheels on the wrong sides.
• Why is the karaoke taking place in the middle of the afternoon? The bar is full of people drinking meanwhile Gosling’s character is outside chasing bad guys in the middle of the day. Nobody seems to have noticed that these two scenes either shouldn’t be happening at the same time OR the audience needs to be told why a karaoke bar in Sydney is busy in the afternoon.

There were lots of other silly things like this that reminded me a little bit of Netflix films with really big stars where they seem to have not hired anyone to do continuity. This one was released theatrically, I believe, so it’s weirder that there are multiple continuity issues.

But really, the biggest problem is a SPOILER

How is it that some film producer has a) a security team willing to literally sacrifice themselves for her and her star and b) is this heavily armed in Australia, a country famous for its assault weapons ban? I also wonder why henchmen do what they do in these films where they are willing to die for some money but in this film it’s extra absurd and the film just doesn’t lean into it. Though it is a silly movie, there isn’t really a wink at the audience that the film knows it’s entirely absurd that the producer and star of a movie would be teaming up to kill multiple people to ensure the success of a film. Shouldn’t that be played for laughs?

Anyway, it’s entertaining.

6/10

PS Lee Majors didn’t even attempt an Australian accent.