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The Ryan Reynolds Marathon (Part 2)


I already explained what prompted this random marathon through the filmography of an actor I'd never really watched before (in this blog post) so I won't repeat it here. Let's just dive in.

As explained before, I had made a list of 10 movies randomly selected from his IMDB credits to watch. Here is part two of that list.

(On a side note: I know I've only seen ten movies from an actor who has been in a lot of movies, but I'm still really puzzled about the number of times I'd heard people joke that he only ever plays Deadpool-type characters. I went in expecting that to be the case, but I'm now ten movies in and I've only seen one so far in which he plays a role that could be considered somewhat Deadpool-ish — and even then, it's only in the comedy style, not the actual personality, writing, or archetype. I'm genuinely confused.)

Safe House (2012)
This was another one that completely went against my expectations. While I'd learned by this point that Ryan Reynolds movies are actually a lot more varied than I was led to believe, I was still expecting this one to have at least a little comedy in amongst the action. Nope. Not even a little. This was an incredibly tense action movie that keeps you on edge from beginning to end in the best way possible. I can't even begin to express how thoroughly this movie has taken over my brain. Denzel Washington stars as an ex-CIA agent turned traitor who is currently being hunted for a microchip he stole. Reynolds plays a rookie CIA agent who is tasked with bringing in Washington, only to discover that things aren't as simple as they appear on the surface. Washington's character is also a master manipulator and you can see his mind games slowly wearing down Reynolds' resistance throughout the movie. The tense back and forth between their characters really makes the movie, in my opinion. It creates a level of suspense that makes you uncomfortable but also needing to know what happens next. It's also tragic watching the idealistic young rookie have to face the harsher reality of the world he's chosen to work in. There's a cynicism carried by the story, but I think the youthful hope in Reynolds' character, and the way he holds true to his morals even where it seems impossible, that prevents the whole thing from being too depressing. Also have to give massive kudos to the director for how well put together the whole movie is. The actors' performances, the intense action sequences, limited dialogue, tense background music, shaky cam, almost claustrophobic tight camera angles, and the build towards the final showdown — it all combines to create an unsettling atmosphere that keeps your attention from beginning to end. I did a little searching online afterwards and saw very little about the movie online. How did it manage to fly under the radar? Massively underrated movie.

IF (2024)
And once again we have a sharp pivot in tone and plot from the previous entry on the list. I'm starting to realize that Reynolds doesn't, in fact, have a "type" of movie he acts in; he apparently can and does perform in any type of movie he wants. This one is a heartwarming little family movie about not letting go of your creativity and imagination as you grow up. It doesn't do anything particularly groundbreaking imho, but it doesn't need to. The visuals are stunning, the story is beautiful, and the characters are all so loveable. It actually got me tearing up a few times. And the final twist somehow managed to surprise me (I know, after rewatching it, it seems so obvious now; not sure how I missed the clues the first time through). I don't think this is one I'll rewatch too often, but it was a good movie and I'll definitely turn it on for the nieces & nephews next time they visit.

The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (2021)
The first dud of this marathon. I can't even process how disappointed I was watching this movie. I loved the first movie so much; I've actually already rewatched it twice already in the weeks since first seeing it. I was fully on board with getting to see these characters together again for another adventure. But that's not what I got. This isn't a "sequel" in any true sense. There is no connection whatsoever to the first entry. Not in the tone, plot, humor style, or even the characters themselves. Bryce and Kincaid are not in this movie at all. These new characters are not even remotely recognizable from the first one. Their dynamic is also completely different; it's almost as if we're not supposed to consider the events from the first movie as canon, because the script here certainly doesn't. Here's the thing, though: it isn't a terrible movie. If it was a standalone story of its own, I wouldn't have minded it as much. Still not a fan of it (just far too goofy and weird for my taste) but at least I could accept it for what it was and leave it at that. The reason this movie annoys me so much is because it was supposed to be a follow-up to Hitman's Bodyguard, and that is not at all what we got stuck with. I have too many specific criticisms I could go into, but I'm gonna save that for a full review post at a later time.

The Proposal (2009)
Another romcom this time. I'd heard of this movie before, of course, since it is probably one of the most famous romcoms ever. But, as I'm not a romcom fan myself, I'd never watched it before. Now that I have, I can definitely see why it as so popular. It's a cute movie. There's nothing particularly unique or original in the story or even how the writers chose to play out that story (it's the tried and true "rivals-to-lovers fake dating" story that's been done to death already in fanfiction lol). However, it's still a fun enough watch. The dynamic between the two love interests works mostly because the actors have fantastic on-screen chemistry. I think I actually preferred the previous romance movie on this list, Definitely, Maybe, over this one, but it was still entertaining and I enjoyed it well enough.

Red Notice (2021)
Okay, this is the first entry in my marathon in which I can actually understand why Reynolds' performance gets compared to the Deadpool movies. Even then, the only similarity between his performance in this movie and in Deadpool is in the humor style. That's literally it. Nothing else about the characters are similar at all. Anyway, this movie was a ton of fun. It's not a "good" movie in the sense of storytelling or cinematography or anything, but it is a "good" movie in the sense that it is just plain fun to watch. You've got Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot as a pair of rival snarky art thieves and Dwayne Johnson as the straight man stuck in the middle of their feud. It's got some heist scenes, fun action sequences, and a treasure hunt into the jungles of South America. The main draw to this movie is definitely the chemistry between the main cast, they all bounce off each other so incredibly well. My one real complaint is that I feel the ending of the movie completely 100% undermines the entire character arc they had established throughout the movie -- but since that topic involves massive spoilers, I'll be saving that for a separate post. Overall, a fun adventure movie that I'll definitely be watching again in the future.

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Thus concludes the second half of my marathon. But I'm actually finding myself enjoying these movies more than I thought I would, so I'm not stopping there as originally planned. Nope, I've grabbed another random five from IMDB and I'll be tackling those next. Expect a part three at some point in the near future.

Background Image by Annie Nyle