Meet a new kind of action hero. Six untraceable agents, totally off the grid. They’ve buried their pasts so they can change the future.
I will be honest, I was skeptical of “6 Underground.” I hadn’t even seen a preview of the film until the day before the screening and even then, it didn’t give me much to work with. The movie is to be released on Netflix this Friday and even after my skepticism, it was a fun experience.
The condensed version of “6 Underground” is this: A billionaire starts a secret group to fight the world’s atrocities. Alongside him are five individuals with special skill sets. Instead of names, these individuals are given a number which is used as their code name. In the eyes of the government and their loved ones, they are dead but in reality, they are anything but deceased. They use their anonymity as a way to avoid the red tape that stops governments and well-wishing individuals from solving a problem.
Ryan Renolds is who everyone is coming to see with this film and while he does provide his signature quick wit and flashy comebacks, it ends up being Corey Hawkins’ character, Seven, who steals the show.
Seven is a combat veteran who carries the death of his former crew on his shoulders. Ryan Renolds, Number One, finds him and puts his previous combat experience to use. Seven is the individual in the group that takes the group from a crew to a family. He will put the lives of his people before the mission and in that, he challenges One’s authority which leads to the two butting heads.
Hawkins seems like a clear choice for this role. The script just fits him and he brings a fresh take on the army veteran which helps Renolds and the others take this tired trope of a tale into a new direction which is what Netflix needs to grow.
Speaking of Netflix, the originals on the platform are hit and miss and most of the time those are series’ instead of films. Now, original films that are made specifically for Netflix are playing a double role in theater release and platform release. Most of the time these originals aren’t very well done. There are either shoddy or the budget just doesn’t allow for the effects that certain films need. “6 Underground” seems to be immune to this. The film is well done on all sides. There are CGI scenes where you know it isn’t practical to actually do the things they want to in real life but you can hardly tell it’s a digital version. That was my biggest worry with this film, the fact that it wouldn’t be something that would be worthy of a recommendation. I don’t have that worry any longer, however. “6 Underground” is definitely worth it if you can catch it in a theater. That might be difficult since it is a limited theater release but you can always pop some corn and chill out on the couch with this one. You’ll have a good time.
Available to stream on Netflix and at the iPic Fairview in Houston, Friday, December 13th
