Mayday Review
Director: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein
Date Created: 2026-09-04 02:46
3
Mayday Review: Directed and written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, with Ryan Reynolds playing Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly and Kenneth Branagh as former KGB operative Nikolai Ustinov. The cast also includes Maria Bakalova, David Morse, Marcin Dorociński, Wendy Crewson, Louis Cancelmi, Clark Johnson and others.
Mayday Review
Apple TV+ Mayday is set in 1987, at a time when there was the Cold War, and starts off with Troy on a covert mission gone terribly wrong. After Troy’s plane is shot down, he awakens wounded and learns that he is being held captive in a secluded cabin by Nikolai. Troy has every good reason to be sceptical about Nikolai since the man is a former member of the KGB, but Nikolai is far from the vicious foe that Troy might have anticipated. On the contrary, Nikolai has an admiration for American culture and especially the movie Top Gun and wishes to experience the lifestyle that he has always watched from afar.
What I liked about the Apple TV+ movie Mayday is that it realises the importance of making the connection between Troy and Nikolai the focal point of the movie. Sure, it is fun to watch, but it is the peculiar bond between the two guys which drives the plot forward. Troy comes into the cabin expecting that he can’t trust Nikolai, and I really could see why. Nikolai has a KGB background; Troy finds himself behind enemy lines, and one can never be sure of the motives of the friendliest-looking Russian.
But Nikolai soon turns out to be more interesting than that. The man’s fixation on America, as well as his enthusiasm about things like Top Gun, make him amusing, but at the same time, something sad about him. He has been living on the opposite side of the ideological borderline for too long for America to be anything other than just some kind of an imaginary country to him. Thus, his wish to leave Russia gives Nikolai’s trip an additional personal touch.
In this regard, Branagh is definitely the actor whom I enjoyed watching the most. Though Nikolai was a perfect candidate for becoming a caricature, the sincerity that Branagh gives the character makes it work. In fact, Branagh’s versatility as an actor who can successfully switch between deadpan, vulnerability and action is the film’s greatest advantage. The most hilarious scenes are those in which we see a very strange ex-KGB man all of a sudden become very good in a fight.
Reynolds, on the other hand, is both entertaining and one of the aspects of the Apple TV+ Mayday movie I find most problematic. Troy is portrayed as a witty and self-assured action hero who always has a clever remark ready even when chaos is reigning all around him. Obviously, this is the kind of character that Reynolds can portray without any difficulty, and there were times when it was hard not to notice how well his timing complemented the more subdued Branagh. Still, it was hard for me to shake off the sense that what I was seeing was yet another take on Reynolds’ familiar character type.
The 2026 Mayday movie is at its best when Troy and Nikolai have to work together. The development of their relationship happens in a natural way as a result of the trip, since Troy begins to see the person inside the KGB agent Nikolai, and Nikolai sees something else in Troy besides an American pilot who must be returned to his homeland. The tension in their conversations and disputes adds another element of fun to the action scenes, since, apart from worrying about their survival, I wondered if they were going to learn to trust each other.
In addition to that, I found the action to be better than I had anticipated. From the beginning of the film with the aeroplane sequences, it is clear right away that the film has momentum, and from the fighting sequences later on, it is apparent that Mayday does not solely rely on the comedy that Reynolds typically portrays. Branagh, in particular, turns out to be much more physical than expected, and seeing how Nikolai transitions from a quirky old man into a legitimate fighter makes for some good viewing.
But here comes the story that makes Ryan Reynolds’s Mayday movie score low marks for me. At some point in the storyline, the plot starts becoming too convenient and just ridiculous, even though some absurdities are deliberately created. Furthermore, the Cold War era seems to serve only as a background rather than the actual setting of the movie, which I think should have played a larger role in the plot. Not that I required this movie to turn into a political thriller, but Troy should’ve been affected by his surroundings.
The largest wasted potential, in my opinion, has to do with the plot elements that involve the supporting characters. Troy’s father, who suffers from a serious health problem because of working in a shipyard, might have provided yet another level of emotion to Troy’s desperation to go back home. In a similar way, Nikolai’s story about his separation from his daughter could have provided more depth to his character’s arc. These plot elements do not measure up to the excellent central friendship plot.
Once the movie reaches the more hectic part of it, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride despite the fact that the screenplay could use some tightening up. Mayday is definitely enjoyable enough with its entertaining action, funny parts, and good chemistry, making it a movie for just one viewing session.
Netflix Mayday Review: Summing Up
Overall, I enjoyed the unique combination of Reynolds and Branagh, and believed that Branagh’s acting and the action scenes formed most of Mayday. However, repetitive jokes, the stereotypical character of Reynolds, lack of development of other characters and growing absurdity in the narration prevent the movie from becoming truly memorable. The movie is quite entertaining while embracing the friendship theme, yet I simply could not overlook the fact that the movie could be much better developed if it concentrated on that theme and on the Cold War background.
Also Read: Gandhari Ending Explained: Was Bani Able to Save Mishty? What Happened to Dada Bhai?
