Courtesy of Netflix.

Netflix released “Back in Action” on Jan. 17 with actors Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. It’s a surprise that these two actors started working together for the main roles. Diaz plays in more romantic movies, such as “The Other Woman,” “The Holiday” and “In Her Shoes.” Foxx plays in more action, sci-fi and drama movies, but it makes sense to put these actors together as a couple based on their opposite genres. 

In the beginning, the scenes were short without giving any context from what was going on, especially with the six positive pregnancy tests Emily (Diaz) had taken. Later, she and Matt (Foxx) head off to an 8 year old’s birthday party, but one minute later, they end up fighting bad guys after getting access to secret files. This was confusing and the movie was going too fast. Luckily, the guided getaway from the party was explanatory of their secret work together as spies for the CIA. 

Emily and Matt had to keep their identities hidden which made the plot suspenseful and the movie more interesting. The assumption was they would keep going through their adulthood by participating in more missions, but the couple’s plan was to retire, get married and start a family. Something that caught the audience off guard was the big jump to having a 14-year-old daughter, Alice, and 12-year-old son, Leo. It was quite a surprise and the movie would’ve been better by showing how they raised the kids since they were babies.

Most of the scenes in the movie were cringey because it was the typical “Managing-a-teenage-daughter” and “My-son-won’t-get-off-the-video-games” type of family problems with subservient kids. Those parts are almost in every family movie, and it makes it less enjoyable. Emily and Matt always thought about being spies again, but reminded themselves that they have a family to take care of. This might’ve been a coincidence because their old mission guide, Chuck, shows up to their house saying that the ICS (Industrial Control Systems) key that Emily and Matt lost in a plane crash years ago, attracted these assassins coming for them. The ICS key is a device that controls all electronics and potent assets and it is valuable. Besides that, it always seemed like the family was safe, but somehow more trouble kept finding them which made it engaging.

The most exciting part of the movie was the runaway on a trip to England to get the ICS key and the epic fight at the gas station, where Alice and Leo find out the secret. The disappointment from the kids was known to come given that they always got in trouble for lying and it seemed unfair to the audience. 

The intensity was extreme when the assassins and spies tracked them down and invaded the mansion. What’s cool is how many weapons that were hidden inside there like the tranquilizer gun. Plot twist, their guide, Chuck, was in on everything and he took the ICS key and their kids away. There was a lot to process in this position, yet Emily and Matt were going to save the day.

Across the board, “Back in Action” is a 6.5 out of 10 for an action-comedy. The adventures and suspense definitely made it worth watching, and it’s a good family movie as well. Not only that, but there should be a sequel implied by the cliffhanger at the end.