Richard Crouse

CAST: Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Marcin Dorociński, Maria Bakalova, David Morse. Written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley.

REVIEW: “Mayday” is a throwback to odd couple flicks like “Red Heat” that mixed big stars with Cold War concerns and comedy.

Set in 1987, the movie stars Ryan Reynolds as U.S. pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly sent on a top-secret SR-71 mission over Soviet Russia. When a midair collision forces him to pull the ejection cord, he lands, alone and injured, in the Russian wilderness.

He wakes up in the cabin of Nikolai Ustinov (Kenneth Branagh), an ex-KGB agent whose home is decorated with American flags, Coors posters and a well-worn VHS copy of “Top Gun.”

“This may shock you,” he tells Kelly. “I admire your country very much. Your democracy, your culture, and your films, and your food. I have never had McDonald’s, but I suspect I would love it.”

With the Kelly’s promise of American citizenship for Ustinov and his daughter (Maria Bakalova), the unlikely duo find a way to work together to find a way to thaw the Cold War.

“Mayday” may have two above-the-title stars, but make no mistake, this is Kenneth Branagh’s movie. Dusting off his “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”/”Tenet” Russian accent, his lovable but lethal Nikolai steals every scene.

There are lots of action scenes—from the high-flying ejection scene and a chase through Moscow in an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launcher to a zero-gravity airplane cabin fight scene and a wild train jump—that feel reminiscent of the 1980s movies that clearly inspired directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.

But despite all the action, “Mayday” wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining if not for Branagh’s comedic performance. He makes up for Reynolds’s one note, same-old performance and the film’s lack of an interesting villain. Even when he has to mouth some gag worthy dialogue—”You have found so many ways to fight us, but you never take the time to get to know us.”—he still dominates.