‘Back in Action’ review: A dud for Diaz

Cameron Diaz returns to the movies with Jamie Foxx in the generic, forgettable Netflix vehicle Back in Action.

Retirement is a loose word in Hollywood. Some honor its meaning, while others use it in an exceptionally general, liberal connotation. Credit to Cameron Diaz for taking an extended break from the big screen after 2014 to spend time getting married, becoming a mother, and focusing on herself.

Now, a whole decade later, Diaz has returned in the appropriately titled Back in Action. And if I’m spending an exceptional amount of time discussing Diaz’s involvement here, there’s a good reason why. It’s because the returning star’s screen presence (particularly after such an extended public absence) is ultimately the only notable aspect of this bland, textureless mash-up of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Spy Kids, True Lies, and perhaps a dash of The Incredibles, to name a few. Back in Action is yet another Netflix trifle that feels like algorithm fodder more than anything fully realized. That it should happen to feature the return of such a prominent ‘90s actor, while also recalling so many movies around that period, only sullies whatever fun is intended. You cannot help but think back to better times. It’s not often that movies make you nostalgic for 2014’s Annie.

Matt (Jamie Foxx) and Emily (Diaz) are two of the CIA’s top agents. The duo have amassed a career filled with death-defying acts. When Emily learns that she’s pregnant, she and Matt slip away from their ever-hazardous lives to raise a family together under new identities. As the guardians of predictably indignant teens, Matt and Emily have learned that all the CIA training can’t prepare you for the woes of a try-hard parent. When their instincts result in a well-documented altercation at a nightclub, Matt and Emily need to return to a lifestyle they’ve long since left behind. They’re now being sought for their ownership of a secret trinket that holds an enormous amount of evil power. But that’s the least of Matt and Emily’s problems — particularly when it relates to keeping their children in the dark about their pasts and safe from great danger.

Welcome Back, Cameron.

For whatever it’s worth, it’s super nice to see Diaz again. If you didn’t know it, you wouldn’t think this is her first time in a big film in years, let alone a decade. She brings the same spunk, energy, and heart seen in her best performances. While Back in Action (and this role) doesn’t rank in the same company, it’s at least a firm improvement from the aforementioned Annie. Much like that film, Diaz reunites with Foxx and shares a warm, personable chemistry that is slyly endearing.

Granted, it’s not enough to redeem an achingly monotonous, uninspired bit of streaming content, but it does give you some hope (false hope, but still) that they can work it out. Whether this is a proper return or just simply a brief reprise of her former life, much like her on-screen personality, it’s clear that she can still bring an affable charm and warm likability. Even in these sterile Netflix proceedings.

Shoot to (Over)Kill.

After the outstanding 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, director Seth Gordon has been making a living in lackluster studio comedies (Horrible Bosses, Baywatch). The good news is that Back in Action can be seen as a very modest step up from his other desperately, annoyingly loathsome films. Gordon seems ill-suited for this film, unremarkable though it might be. While he holds a co-writing credit, his directing neither suits the comedy nor action. Much like his past features, Gordon favors tight medium shots that don’t serve either genre. The action ends up choppy and uninvolving. While there are occasionally enjoyable set pieces, like a neon-coded sequence that feels like something rejected from a John Wick sequel, his framing is so snipped and listless as to fail to capture whatever momentum is intended in any given scene. 

Furthermore, the comedy often proves even more dire. While seasoned pros Foxx and Diaz try to make it work, so many scenes rely on half-baked out-of-touch parent gags or predictable set-ups and lukewarm payoffs that they never attract many sparks either. While never quite as excruciating as Gordon’s lesser works, the lack of any real sauce here doesn’t make it a whole lot better. It just doesn’t inspire as much vitriol. But when you have such talented stars at the forefront, including one making her return to the form, you can’t help but want some more.

The bottom line.

I hope this isn’t the last we see of Cameron Diaz as far as her on-screen acting career goes. She remains a winning star, and while it’s understandable that she wanted to take some time for herself and her family, it’s apparent that she can still radiate when the moment calls for it. The absence appears to elevate her star persona, in fact. It gives her more enthusiasm to shine. So it’s a shame that the material just isn’t there. Back in Action is as listless and generic as these types of dull streaming exclusives go. While it’s nice, even occasionally winsome, to see Diaz back in action here, she deserves a vehicle that richly services her once-missing talents.

Back in Action is now streaming on Netflix. You can watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of Netflix. You can read more reviews by Will Ashton here.