Netflix’s latest movie, Red Notice now holds the record for the platform’s biggest opening day ever. Netflix has not officially released data to support this claim, however, members of the cast put out this information on their social media accounts.
Red Notice is a star-studded movie featuring Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) and Dwayne Johnson (The Rock). It tells the story of an FBI profiler and two master thieves on the hunt for an ancient Egyptian relic; the eggs of Cleopatra.
With a budget of about $200m, the movie is currently Netflix’s most expensive movie. However, with such a star-studded cast, mixed reviews have trailed its release instead of the high praises one would expect. Squid Games, a Korean show and perhaps Netflix’s most successful show so far, had a budget of $21.4m to global acclaim.
Red Notice plot
Dwayne Johnson plays the role of FBI’s top profiler, John Hartley who is forced to partner up with Ryan Reynolds’ character, Nolan Booth, the world’s greatest art thief, in order to catch the world’s most wanted art thief, Gal Gadot known as “The Bishop.”
They are on a pursuit for three golden eggs created by Marc Anthony for his love Cleopatra. While the location of two eggs is known, the location of the third one is unknown. Fortunately, Nolan Booth is the only one who knows how to find it.
According to the movie, more than 2,000 years ago, Roman general Mark Antony gifted his love, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, with three golden eggs. After their joint death by suicide, the three eggs were scattered. One settled in the Museo Nazionale. Another is with a private collector. The third has been lost for centuries.
An Egyptian billionaire wants to reunite the eggs for his daughter’s wedding and is willing to pay big money to bring them together. Music celebrity, Ed Sheeran also made a cameo appearance in the movie by performing at the wedding which is interrupted by the arrival of Interpol. Fans have declared that this is the best part of the movie for them.
Hartley very nearly foils the plot, until he’s framed as a thief by a mysterious criminal named The Bishop (Gal Gadot). Now he needs to find the three eggs and arrest Booth and Bishop if he wants to clear his name.
The pursuit which takes them around the globe sees John Hartley struggling not to kill his criminal partner Nolan. Nolan, who reminds one of Deadpool with his witty comments, however, seems oblivious to John’s efforts to restrain himself.
The Bishop is simply a pretty face that looks stunning in glamorous dresses that she sports at various turns. But it turned out John Hartley was a double-agent after all and partner with the stunning Gal Gadot and together, they are the Bishop. Two bishops actually, like in chess.
Official ratings
Four days after its release on Netflix, the movie has received mostly average ratings from movie critics. On IMDb, it holds a rating of 6.5 out of 10 while it has a 36% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With a budget that expensive, this movie can be said to be far below expectations.
Social media ratings
Social media users had varying thoughts about it though. For some, it was a very pleasurable watch.
Others however panned the movie citing missing plotlines and obvious predictability as reasons.
Overall, Red Notice is an easy-to-watch movie. You just have to go with the flow and giggle at the funny quips. And, the scene where Gal Gadot kissed Dwayne Johnson should make you want to see the movie.
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