The Union is more a meeting of pay cheque performances than anything else. Produced by and starring Mark Wahlberg, with direction from his Entourage alumni Julian Farino, this Netflix original is dire. Himself and Halle Berry play old flames who are forced together due to extraordinary circumstances. Roxanne (Berry) is working for a covert US outfit called The Union, while Mike (Wahlberg) spends his time hanging out up skyscrapers as a construction worker. After 15 minutes he wakes up in London having travelled by air freight, since Roxanne believes Mike might just be crucial to her latest mission. So far, so believable.
What follows is almost two hours of low-key action with the occasional joke that works. The on-screen chemistry of Wahlberg and Berry feels phoned in, J.K. Simmons as her Union boss is having fun, but overall, this feels like a London travelog. Plot points are blatantly lifted from Mission Impossible mark one, while this mismatched comedy couple burn through screen time running around the UK capital. A criminally underused Mike Coulter rocks up as a suave ex-boyfriend in the same business, but barely makes an impact.
Audiences who decide to fire up The Union on their Netflix account any time soon are likely to be disappointed. In the dim and distant past Mark Wahlberg has not only made some good movies including The Departed and Boogie Nights, but been Oscar nominated into the bargain. Halle Berry has also been in much better movies and taken home a statuette for her trouble. That is why, more than anything, The Union makes no sense. This film takes formula to another level, trading on movie star status, and appealing to audiences who shy away from emotional investment.
There is no doubt that The Union earned them both a decent pay cheque, but so much of this film feels lazy. MIke is clearly getting recruited by this outfit before the credits roll, their romance will be rekindled, and that list will be retrieved. Things will blow up, there will be a third act crisis of confidence, before this construction worker morphs into a super spy. True to form, this low rent Netflix original tics all those boxes without breaking a sweat. Meandering to a conclusion that feels inevitable without trying to raise expectations. For better examples of this sub-genre track down Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy actioner Wanted or Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Not the latest Donald Glover series on Prime Video, but that 2005 Doug Liman searing spy thriller with Brangelina on top form.
The Union is available to stream on Netflix now.