Summary

The Union
falls short compared to other spy genre films, despite Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry’s excellent chemistry.
The plot is preposterous, and the action lacks intensity, making the film feel mediocre.
Despite a strong cast, the movie’s simple story, underwhelming action, and lack of surprises disappoint.

Though typically a launchpad for action sequences and globe-trotting adventures, the spy genre can sometimes be used for comedic or even romantic stories. Some of the more notable examples include the Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz-led Knight and Day, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon’s This Means War and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Unfortunately for The Union, it never quite reaches the same height as some of its genre counterparts, despite some stellar chemistry between its leads.

The Union (2024) Director Julian Farino Release Date August 16, 2024 Studio(s) Leverage Entertainment , Municipal Pictures , Closest to the Hole Productions Writers David Guggenheim , Joe Barton Runtime 109 Minutes Expand

Led by Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, The Union primarily centers around Mike McKenna, a New Jersey construction worker who is surprised by the sudden return of his high school sweetheart, Roxanne Hall, only to quickly discover she works for the titular spy agency and is needed to help with a mission to recover a list with the true identities of undercover agents across the world. As Mike is thrown into the deep end with training to prepare for the mission, he and Roxanne confront their past relationship as they grow close again.

The Union’s Plot Is Preposterous
Despite its best efforts to convince us it’s smart, it’s actually mind-numbingly simple

As filmmakers look to bring subversive new takes to the spy genre, every non-franchise movie finds a way to introduce some new form of a covert agency to viewers with their own explanations for how they exist beyond public knowledge. The Kingsman franchise (of which Berry is actually a part of) is one of the more notable recent examples of one that actually works, with the concept of a collection of wealthy British nobles gathering their resources to fund espionage missions being somewhat believable.

Though the script poses the idea their effectiveness comes from them being invisible to the public, it’s still not established why the fate of the world is being left in their hands.

With The Union, co-writers David Guggenheim (Designated Survivor) and Joe Barton (The Lazarus Project) try to come up with their own system for the titular agency being comprised of former blue-collar workers. While some characters’ backstories are left to our imaginations, others are far more bluntly laid out with their agency codenames, including Jackie Earle Haley’s Foreman, so named because he used to be one. Rather than feeling like a clever take on the genre, though, it frequently becomes preposterous as the movie goes on.

Roxanne and Mike make jokes regarding what the pay is for members of the organization, indicating they make the same minimum wage as actual union jobs. It begs the question of how they actually get their funding. Even further baffling is that the CIA is willing to work with The Union, given the majority have no prior military experience and are considered the underdogs of the spy world. Though the script poses the idea their effectiveness comes from them being invisible to the public, it’s still not established why the fate of the world is being left in their hands.

The Union’s Action Never Goes Far Enough
Despite multiple stars with plenty of genre experience, the action feels adequate at best

One of the other major disappointments of The Union is that the action in the movie feels relatively tame. With multiple A-list stars attached to the cast, it’s clear that Netflix was willing to shell out a large amount of money to produce the film, and yet it never feels like it wants to take too many risks with its set pieces. There are plenty of shootouts throughout the movie, though the direction and editing of them is largely choppy and rushed, a far cry from the more thrilling ones seen in the John Wick franchise.

The Union
‘s action isn’t outright bad; as it’s fairly competently put together.

Even worse is the fact that The Union has very few hand-to-hand fight sequences, despite having multiple genre veterans in the cast. Berry ultimately gets the majority of these scenes, and it’s clear, in a good way, that she is doing all the stuntwork herself, as the fights are nicely choreographed and hard-hitting. But with Wahlberg also known as an action star, and the supporting cast — including Suicide Squad’s Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Luke Cage’s Mike Colter — it’s a missed opportunity they don’t get more brawling sequences.

The Union’s action isn’t outright bad; it’s fairly competently put together. Beyond the occasional aforementioned choppy editing, director Julian Farino, better known for his work on Wahlberg’s Entourage and HBO’s Ballers, shows an adequate grip on shooting for the genre, with a climactic three-car chase sequence actually proving fairly thrilling. But even with some of Wahlberg’s worst action movies delivering some exciting set pieces, it’s disappointing The Union doesn’t go further.

Wahlberg & Berry’s Chemistry Nearly Keeps The Union Afloat
The real-life longtime friends play off each other well and make for a believable pairing
Image via Netflix

In spite of the movie’s narrative and action shortcomings, it’s hard to deny that The Union does have some entertainment value thanks to the pairing of Wahlberg and Berry. Interestingly, while the movie marks the first onscreen pairing for the actors, they actually have a friendship going back 30 years. It’s a fact that’s sweetly highlighted in the movie’s end credits with photos showing them not only in their respective teenage years, but also when they first met in the early days of their rising careers.

This friendship ultimately results in some very electric chemistry between Wahlberg and Berry as The Union progresses. The former may play another laid-back northeast man who gets by in life with frequent quips, but the latter acts as a great screen partner to Wahlberg, quick with a retort to his various jokes. Even as the stakes get high, and the duo get serious about some of the missteps in their past relationship, the emotions feel real between the two, and we remain intrigued by whether they end up together in the end.

Despite their best efforts, though, Wahlberg and Berry’s chemistry is never quite enough to fully lift The Union from being another mediocre Netflix action offering. The story is both far too simple and predictable, the worldbuilding isn’t thought out enough to be believable, and the action isn’t so exciting as to fully turn one’s brain off and enjoy the decently paced journey.

The Union is now streaming on Netflix. The film is 107 minutes long and rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, suggestive material and some strong language

2.5 The Union is an upcoming film that explores the intersecting lives of multiple characters as they navigate complex relationships, personal struggles, and social issues.ProsMark Wahlberg and Halle Berry have fantastic chemistry throughout the film.The action is mostly well put-together. ConsThe story is mind-numbingly simple and preposterous.Some of the supporting cast give underwhelming performances.The action never feels big enough for what’s clearly a big-budget movie.