‘Mayday’ Review: Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh Are Unlikely Cold War Buddies in a Pleasing Eighties Throwback

John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein's smart, fun action comedy is doing numbers on Apple TV, but really belongs on a big screen.

By Todd Gilchrist

Todd Gilchrist

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Accelerated by artificial intelligence and an indefatigable firehose of content, the uncanny valley between real blockbusters and fake ones is disappearing at an exponential pace. Ten years ago, or even five, a movie like “Mayday” would have arrived in theaters, impressed audiences and entered the canon of slight but engaging fare to watch on repeat whenever it gets broadcast on networks like TNT. Today, it debuts as the #1 film on Apple TV, but seems likely to be forgotten by the time its premiere weekend ends. And that’s a shame, because it’s actually pretty good.

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