THE UNION - Mark Reviews Movies

The Union, Netflix

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Review by Mark Dujsik | August 16, 2024

Movies like The Union are becoming prevalent in the age of streaming platforms attempting to generate as much "content" as possible. This one fits that template, from its generic title (which one will likely forget midway through the movie), to its formulaic plot of MacGuffin-chasing, and to the dependence on a movie star or two to set the material apart from the rest of the bunch. They almost seem made to be forgotten until the next one comes along, in the hopes that an audience won't notice just how similar each one is to all the rest.

The plot here revolves around a seemingly ordinary guy becoming caught up in some international spy shenanigans. The man is played by Mark Wahlberg, and in at least some distinction from a different movie on a different streaming service with only a slight difference in the broad conceit of the plot, his Mike McKenna is just an everyday guy in this one.

He has no past experience with spycraft, except possibly trying to look up his teenage girlfriend at some point over the years, or physical combat, except getting into a bar fight or several whenever he says the wrong thing to the wrong person. The idea of a legitimate "nobody" getting involved in the activities of a super-secret spy organization, of course, is certainly the stuff of other movies that fall in line with this one, but it's at least new for Wahlberg—unless memory fails, as these movies are counting on to be the case.

Anyway, Mike is a construction worker in Patterson, New Jersey, living with his mother (played by Lorraine Bracco) and first seen after a one-night stand with his grade-school teacher (played by Dana Delany), whose own son is also living with her. Now there's a setup for something, if only because of the presence of Bracco and Delany as the mothers, but alas, Joe Barton and David Guggenheim's screenplay has the action-comedy thing to do.

Mike is out drinking after work one night and, for the first time in 25 years or so, lays eyes on Roxanne (Halle Berry), his girlfriend from grade school and all through high school. She left for college, dropped out, and has never been heard about again, and after catching up and leaving the bar, Roxanne jabs Mike with a syringe. He wakes up in London, with Roxanne and her boss Tom (J.K. Simmons) asking for his help.

They're part of the Union, a spy organization that, according to Roxanne, half of the intelligence community doesn't know about, while the other half regrets knowing about them. It sounds sinister, right? Well, the regret might come from the fact that the Union seems fairly incompetent in its form and function. An opening sequence has an entire team of Union agents being killed and a briefcase containing some highly classified information being stolen. It's the names of every military, law enforcement, and intelligence official in the world, which seems excessive and, for the most part, unnecessary when basic web searches and governmental sites could probably provide the overwhelming majority of those names.

Regardless, the Union needs to retrieve the briefcase, and their specialty is hiring ordinary folks who blend in with and aren't noticed among everyday surroundings. Berry's presence, of course, makes this premise completely ludicrous. When trying to remain wholly inconspicuous on a mission, it's probably a terrible idea to include one of the most beautiful people on the planet, but here we are.

Does the plot need to be described any further? There are a few action sequences, such a chase/fight through London and a car chase on a scenic European peninsula, and director Julian Farino at least shows some degree of competence and flashes of humor (Mike ending up on stage while avoiding pursuers, and Roxanne tossing a drink at the car she's chasing) within them. Mike becomes a highly skilled spy thanks to a montage, obviously, so it's not as if the gimmick of him being a regular old schlub goes anywhere.

There are some betrayals (including a secret villain whose identity is clear by the end of the prologue) and switcheroos. Our heroes wrongly become the prime suspects of stealing the classified intel (which someone tries to sell by running an online auction at a busy bar, because the only way for the Union to succeed is if the bad guys are more incompetent), and Mike and Roxanne kind of flirt, if only because Wahlberg and Berry only put as much effort into the material as it deserves.

That's not much. After all, The Union is just a basic, derivative spy actioner, right down to the promise of a sequel. If anyone remembers this one exists to follow through on it, that is.

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