Red Notice (2021)

Pop quiz: a reported $200M budget, three of the biggest stars alive, and how many Red Notice scenes can you remember a week later? It’s a heist movie built like a perfume commercial, all shine and nothing real. The locations look like stock photos, the chases happen in front of very obvious green screens, and the twists stack up so fast that none of them matter. Ryan Reynolds plays the wisecracking guy he plays everywhere, now with an art thief’s business card. Dwayne Johnson plays the straight man, which mostly means looking annoyed at Reynolds. Gal Gadot glides through as The Bishop and seems to be having the most fun of anyone, especially at a masquerade ball. A few of the jokes land, and the Russian prison stretch has some decent bickering. Ritu Arya’s Interpol inspector deserved a better movie of her own. A 3.9 because it’s slick, loud and gone from your brain by breakfast. $41.96 says you start it tonight and end up folding laundry with it on in the background.

What works: Gal Gadot looks like she’s having a great time, and a few Reynolds and Johnson exchanges get real laughs.

What doesn’t: The green-screen locations look fake, the twists cancel each other out, and the stars coast on their usual personas.

Who it’s for: People who like big-star heist comedies and don’t mind forgetting the plot by the next morning.