In Mayday, Ryan Reynolds is Troy, a Navy Pilot who's as good as they come. When he's suddenly sent out on a secret mission in Russia, his plane crashes, and he's stranded in the middle of frozen wilderness. Oh, did I mention the story takes place in the 1980s, during the Cold War?
With the aid of Nikolai Ustinov (Kenneth Branagh), a local former KGB who has a soft spot for all things American, the two men dodge Russian agents and local bad guys, while on their way to the American embassy in Moscow. This is an old fashioned buddy picture, the kind of action-comedy common in the decade it takes place in (48 Hrs, Midnight Run). Branagh is particularly good, injecting his Nikolai with an uncommon charm, fused with scattered spots of global naivete.
Mayday is far from perfect; for one, the ending is predicted waaaay in advance. But given its good natured spirit and surprising chemistry among its (on paper) mismatched leads, it will bring a smile to anyone who recalls the decade of excess as the best years of their life.
☆☆☆
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