Film reviews: Mayday | Super Nature

Mayday (12) ★★★

Super Nature (PG) ★★

An action comedy that’s more action than comedy, Mayday teams Ryan Reynolds up with Kenneth Branagh for a 1980s-set mismatched buddy movie about a US Navy fighter pilot (Reynolds) shot down over Russia and forced to rely on Branagh’s America-loving ex-KGB agent to get him home. As he did in his Poirot movies, Branagh lets his facial hair do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to developing his character (he’s rocking a Grizzly Adams-style beard here), but he’s also a blast as a kind of backwoods Jason Bourne whose disillusionment with his own country manifests itself in the ruthless way he tries to keep Reynolds’ wise-cracking Troy Kelly alive long enough for his character, Nicolai, to get asylum in the US.

Written and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night), the film takes a lightly ironic approach to its Cold War backdrop and period details, weaving in chat about the then-still-new Top Gun, but delivering the sort of over-the-top action that was a staple of the period, as well as commentary on the ideological flaws of both sides that are only marginally more enlightened than they were in movies from the time. In short, save for the slicker fight choreography, this could have come out in 1987, which may or may not count as a recommendation. Either way, it’s daft, brain-off fun, with a couple of appealing leads, if not much else.

READ MORE: The Death of Robin Hood review: 'Hugh Jackman throws himself into the role'

Using antique Super 8 home movie cameras to make a nature documentary is such a cool idea in an age of ultra-high-definition images that it’s too bad Super Nature doesn’t trust the power of its own approach. Compiled from 8mm footage shot by enthusiastic contributors from around the world, it may feature some individually striking scenes, but instead of organising them into a kind of grainy, lo-fi Koyaanisquatsi or Baraka, director/narrator Ed Sayers transforms them into a much more banal and contrived film, one in which all the contributors film themselves filming nature while sharing their own observations on humanity’s changing relationship with the planet. Only occasionally do these yield interesting details; mostly it’s the usual pious platitudes from people who are – let’s face it – not David Attenborough. Frustratingly, the end result is like watching a behind-the-scenes making-of doc of the film they should have made.

Mayday is streaming on AppleTV+​ from 4 September; Super Nature are in cinemas from 4 September

The Scotsman’s arts newsletter is now sent twice a week - subscribe today

Enjoying the Arts & Culture journalism on scotsman.com? Make it easier to find by selecting us as a preferred Google source

Want the latest Scottish headlines sent directly to your phone? Sign up to our new WhatsApp channel here