A reunion for more of the same

After starring with Jamie Foxx in the 2014 adaptation of AnnieCameron Diaz retired from Hollywood to focus on her family and enjoy the stored laurels of two decades as Miss All American. Now, 10 years later, she returns, along with Foxx for Back in action. This is also a bit of a comeback for Foxx, who suffered a stroke at the end of filming in 2023 but has since made a full recovery. The pair star as Emily and Matt, two spies in love at a crossroads who decide whether to stay on duty or start a family. For 15 years, their decision to become parents seemed like the peaceful choice. But kids have a way of triggering buried habits. Before they know it, a viral incident throws everyone back into a world of global espionage, family-friendly terrorism, and ass-kicking.

Seth Gordon’s action-comedy succeeds in its primary goal of showcasing the still very present talents of Diaz and Foxx. Foxx gets significant screen time to flex his muscles and comedic chops, while Diaz remains an angel, able to throw punches and one-liners with balletic ease. They clearly enjoy working with each other, and their efforts prove that action films are not so different from musicals. They are in sync and fall into an enjoyable rhythm as they tackle the problems of raising children and handguns. Yet Matt and Emily remain the same, never growing or learning anything new, except that good parenting uses surveillance to keep tabs on your kids. They fall back into being spies so easily and have setbacks so rarely that it’s a shame these characters don’t allow any of the practitioners to stretch their talents. Instead, they remain paralyzed, motionless and without expression other than nostalgia.

There are some surprises. For some inexplicable reason, Emily has dual citizenship with the UK and lives in the US to avoid her absent mother, Ginny (Glenn Close), an “MI6 girl boss legend” who hates hugs. Ginny and her brooding, funny younger lover Nigel (Jamie Demetriou) get the film’s freshest material. Close is a delicious caricature of the British stiff upper lip, and Demetriou is her exuberant master. They also have more sexual chemistry in a single scene than Diaz and Foxx have in the entire film. A Glenn Close action sequence in 2025 pleases because it feels newwhich stands in stark contrast to the predictable plot that Diaz and Foxx have to dropkick their way through.

Back in action repeatedly relies on formal set pieces. Foreign baddies (like Andrew Scott) send their ghouls across planes, trains and cars to get hold of the key that the spies’ contact in the US government (Kyle Chandler) says unlocks “some of the world’s most critical infrastructure.” It’s all deliberately innocent and generic, just an excuse for another fight sequence and two dashes of witty dialogue. Although the threat of “another Chernobyl” is looming, we never feel in danger of losing more than two hours of our time.

In fact, even though the film has Diaz out the door, it seems completely unsure of what to do with her. Diaz still has all the endearing qualities that made her the girl-next-door of the new millennium; she loves sports, 80s hip-hop and being effortlessly beautiful. There are some shoehorned things about being a mother, but nothing feels updated to meet where she is now as a person or performer. She’s not even the most interesting woman in the movie. Not while Glenn Close is here with a shotgun and a helix piercing. Emily may be able to fight independently, but she’s still a paper doll with no emotions and an impossible amount of stuff to juggle. Foxx’s character isn’t fleshed out much more, but at least he’s not bogged down by extraneous and melodramatic maternal suffering.

Despite reuniting them, Back in action has nothing new to give its movie stars. It is not enough that they are “back” in more of the same material seen in Charlie’s Angels, Knight and Day, or The White House down. They deserve material that takes into account everything that has come before and builds on it. Diaz doesn’t necessarily need her Substance moment; the action genre can be an excellent place for cinematic return. But she deserves material that meets her. Back in action greatest strength is as a reminder that we can never return; we can only move forward.

Director: Seth Gordon
Author: Seth Gordon, Brendan O’Brien
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Andrew Scott, Jamie Demetriou, Kyle Chandler, Glenn Close
Release date: January 17, 2025 (Netflix)