Netflix's new number one movie brings A-lister spy thrills

There’s a new number one movie over at Netflix, and while the critics don’t love it, The Union sure does have an A-list cast.

The Union stars Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, alongside JK Simmons and Mike Colter. But their on-screen charm wasn’t quite enough to win over the critics, leading the film to a middling 43% Rotten Tomatoes score.

However, as an unchallenging high-concept action flick, The Union could still be streaming gold.

Wahlberg plays Mike, an average guy who gets drawn into a spy mission by his ex Roxanne (played by Berry).

It’s one of those nonsense power-fantasy-meets-anxiety-dream concepts that sorta makes sense if you don’t think about it too much.

The film is currently the number one Netflix movie in a huge 83 countries. And while Netflix has not said how much was spent on The Union, it’s clearly not a cheap film.

You might imagine this being the case of the critics not loving a film that goes does well with audiences. But that hasn’t been the case so far. The audience reaction is even worse over at Rotten Tomatoes, at 28%.

The Union reviews

“The movie’s big idea is to shoehorn a working-class dude into a by-the-numbers action movie, and the excuse barely holds water,” says Variety. It calls The Union “a lazy wish-fulfilment fantasy.”

A lot of reviews say The Union, like a lot of Netflix original movies, is just not memorable.

Empire’s 2-star review calls The Union a “made-for-streaming film that you will forget about almost before you’ve even finished watching.”

“This is the kind of action-comedy you will feel like you have seen before. But Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg are good fun, at least,” it says.

As the Rotten Tomatoes score suggests, though, there are enough at least mildly positive reviews for The Union to make you consider watching it.

“With a plot this rote, a movie like this lives or dies on the chemistry of its cast, and The Union scores well in that department. Berry is terrific as the straight man to Wahlberg's doofus, and it's good to be reminded just how badass she can be,” says Entertainment Weekly's review, which gave the film a B grade.

The Guardian gave the film a respectable 3/5 review too, saying “the mood is light, the stunts impressive and, mercifully, the film is not nearly as cheap-looking nor dull as Netflix brethren such as The Man from Toronto or Lift."

These so-so action movies have a knack of pulling in absolutely massive viewer numbers — see all-time Netflix top 10s Red Notice and The Grey Man for examples. But we’ll have to wait for the official Netflix figures to see if The Union has a hope of entering those big leagues.

The Union is a 107 minute watch, well under the two hour mark, and is available to stream now.

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