Movies are better when Cameron Diaz is working. She had some really good films in the 90s, and she started easing up in the 2000s. Then she went ahead and took a decade off. I was happy to hear she was coming back with Jamie Foxx in “Back In Action” which premiered on Netflix this good.

The good news is that Diaz is still great. The bad news is that the rest of the movie is not great. In fact, you probably won’t remember it in two months.

Foxx and Diaz star as Matt and Emily, two spy lovers, who decide to go off the grid to protect their family after a mission gone bad. When they’re cover is blown, their enemies converge on their suburban life to recover a cyber security weapon.

The problem is that the entire plot is all so predictable. Netflix has gotten into this rut of impressive action sequences that don’t trigger emotions because they don’t build their stories, and bite on every angle you’ve seen two dozen times before. In addition to our star duo, we get Glenn Close, Kyle Chandler, and Andrew Scott in supporting roles, but even those acting reliables can’t save this vapid story.

But Diaz is still good in these comedic settings. Her exchange of lines with Foxx are the best parts of the film, and she can still make us laugh while looking great while doing it. Yeah, we’re all a couple of decades older, but we get some “Living Colour” and “Something About Mary” vibes with how silly our stars can be with this ridiculous material. But you’re ultimately not going to care very much.

Foxx’s last Netflix movie, “They Cloned Tyrone” is a better film.

And let’s hope Cameron’s next film can really let her fly again with how good she can be.

Back In Action:

Grade: C-

What did you think of “Back in Action”? Let me know in the comments.

And if you enjoyed this post, you can help the blog below. Thank you!

As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases