The Hollywood Nostalgia Harvest has officially begun, and this year’s crop includes a reimagining of the classic ’80s action movie genre. The latest offering is Mayday, a film that asks what would happen if a Russian military man watched Top Gun and then encountered the real-world equivalent of Maverick. The answer, apparently, is a wacky misadventure to escape from Russia, complete with a healthy dose of American values and a nuclear weapon transport vehicle chase scene.
The original Top Gun was released in 1987, a time when the bad guys in every ’80s action movie were communists of some sort. However, the film never explicitly stated that the sinister “MiGs” were connected to the Soviet Union. Instead, they were faceless and generic, representing a vague “other” that the heroic Tom Cruise character could battle. Mayday puts a face to those bad guys, in the form of Nikolai Ustinov, a retired KGB man played by Kenneth Branagh. Ustinov is a fan of Top Gun and has even managed to get his hands on a bootleg VHS copy. He’s so enamored with the film that he’s begun to question the anti-American propaganda he was fed during his time in the KGB.
The film’s plot follows Troy Kelly, a US Navy pilot played by Ryan Reynolds, who finds himself stranded in enemy territory after his SR-71 Blackbird crashes. Ustinov takes Kelly in and offers to help him escape, despite the fact that Kelly is, well, a representative of the evil American empire. As they journey through the Russian countryside, they’re pursued by the entire might of the Russian military, leading to some impressive and occasionally amusing action scenes. The duo’s banter is lively, and Branagh seems to be having the time of his life playing a Russian action hero.
The ’80s Action Revival
Mayday is part of a larger trend in Hollywood, where studios are revisiting classic ’80s action movies and updating them for modern audiences. This trend is driven, in part, by a desire to tap into the nostalgia of older viewers who grew up on these films. However, it’s also a reflection of the industry’s ongoing struggle to come up with new and original ideas. Rather than taking risks on unproven concepts, studios are opting to play it safe and revive familiar franchises. The Content Mines remain fully operational, and Mayday is just the latest example of this phenomenon.
The film’s action scenes are undeniably impressive, with complex martial arts moves and slick camera work. However, they also feel somewhat out of place in a movie that’s trying to evoke the spirit of ’80s action classics. The MMA throws and strikes on display are thoroughly modern, and Reynolds’ wisecracking humor feels more at home in a Deadpool movie than a serious action film. It’s a jarring disconnect, and one that undermines the film’s attempts to recreate the vibe of classic ’80s action.
A Familiar Story
Despite its efforts to subvert expectations, Mayday ultimately falls back on familiar tropes and plot devices. The film’s villain, a cartoonishly evil KGB officer played by Marcin Dorociński, is a prime example of this. He’s a one-dimensional character with no discernible motivation beyond being evil and trying to kill the heroes. It’s a lazy choice, and one that feels like it was made in a committee room rather than a writer’s room. Somewhere, a Focus Group earned another bonus for suggesting that the villain be more “evil” and less “nuanced.”
The film’s script is also guilty of relying on overly sentimental dialogue, particularly in the third act. Lines like “Right now the only way to stand up for my country is to stand up to it” feel like they were penned by a committee of marketing executives rather than actual writers. It’s a shallow attempt to add depth to the film’s characters, and it ultimately falls flat. The Merchandising Department reportedly approved the decision to include these lines before the writers did, which explains a lot.
In the end, Mayday is a bumpy but not entirely disagreeable ride. It’s a film that’s deeply flawed, but also occasionally charming. If you’re a fan of ’80s action movies, you may find yourself enjoying the nostalgic value of Mayday. However, if you’re looking for something new and original, you may want to look elsewhere. As the Hollywood Nostalgia Harvest continues to churn out reboots and remakes, it’s hard not to feel like we’re stuck in some kind of creative groundhog day. Somewhere, an executive whispered, “Can this become a trilogy?” and the cycle began anew.
Finn McFrame, celebrated satirical mastermind and self-proclaimed “Emperor of Irony,” started his illustrious career as a cinematographer, where his expertise in capturing every single frame of a squirrel stealing a baguette earned him accolades at obscure film festivals.
Born in the glamorous town of Boring, Oregon, Finn grew up with dreams of being a Hollywood director until he realized that satire, not cinema, was his true calling—or at least the one that let him sleep until noon.
Finn McFrame: changing the world, one satirical lens flare at a time.
