Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry in Netflix Actioner

Just like fast-food chains make sure their menus have just the right amount of sugar, salt, and fat to make their products addictive, Netflix delivers action movies that feel like they were made in a lab.

It doesn’t make them any less interesting as long as you recognize their affectations and don’t mind joining them. The latest example is alliancea stellar cast led by Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, exotic locations, high-energy action scenes, and enough lighthearted humor to convince us that no one will take the whole thing too seriously. It’s an enjoyable enough diversion that you’ll likely forget immediately until the inevitable sequel comes along.

Wahlberg plays to his strengths as (shirtless) Mike, who diverges from the actor’s usual working-class persona because he’s a Jersey boy rather than a Southerner. He was a construction worker (of course), the kind of blue-collar everyman who would drink beers with his friends at the local tavern and talk to his former seventh-grade English teacher (Dana Delany) Delany), sadly underutilized) to bed. Needless to say, Bruce Springsteen songs accompany him on the soundtrack.

His normal life is suddenly interrupted by the unexpected appearance of Roxanne, his old high school sweetheart whom he has not seen in 25 years. She walks into the bar he hangs out at and, surprisingly, doesn’t cause much of a stir even though she’s played by Halle Berry and wears a tight black leather outfit. The two enjoy a warm and friendly reunion outside, and she sedates him, knocking him out.

Mike wakes up in London’s Savoy Hotel and is told by Roxanne and her boss Brennan (JK Simmons, as only he can deliver the bitterness) that he has been taken there to join their secret spy organization (see the film’s title) because of its name). Their special mission is to retrieve MacGuffins, I mean classified data, which fell into the wrong hands after a failed mission involving an agent of the organization (played by Mike Colter). It seemed they needed “a nobody, someone with no history,” since apparently the identities of all the other U.S. intelligence agents had been leaked. Mike, like the film’s audience, can only go with the flow.

After meeting with the rest of the team, including medical expert Athena (played by Alice Lee), combat expert Frank (played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaye), and after reuniting with Simmons ounce) and tech wizard Foreman (Jackie Earle Haley), Mike takes part in the obligatory training montage. What differed this time from most was that his practice seemed to take place only in London’s most famous locations, with at least one of the least noticeable landmarks, such as Tower Bridge, always appearing in the background. For a supposedly secretive organization based in the famous British Telecom Towers, the Alliance isn’t exactly striving for anonymity.

Mike quickly became a part of the team, making sure their missions were filled with fun quips. When he first worked with them, he made a few mistakes – including somehow ending the stage during a West End show. Matilda: The Musical — but he puts his secret agent bona fides on full display, going on a mission with Roxanne, during which the sparks of an old romance begin to fly. It all culminates in a stunt-filled action climax in the picturesque seaside village (actually Piran, Slovenia, after which tourism should get a boost) from director Julian Farino Farino) cleverly orchestrated (golfer, Entourage).

The film is as breezy and smooth as you’d expect, with Wahlberg exuding his usual Jo charm and Berry proving that in addition to being an Oscar-winning actress, she’s also an impressive film-maker Bad guy. Joe Patton and David Guggenheim’s script has a winking self-awareness that lets us know that nothing in the proceedings—which Mac and his apparently all-knowing mother (Lorraine Bracco , score) interesting phone conversations as evidenced by this.

alliance It proved to be as entertaining as its Netflix algorithm predicted, balancing impressive star wattage with lavish production values ​​that reminded viewers of the value of a monthly subscription.