6 Underground Review

December 14, 2019 at 9:38pm
By Jason Stettner

6 Underground is a Netflix Original film that is basically peak Michael Bay minus any sort of resemblance of any actual narrative. It’s weird how he has continued to make films so devoid of any meaningful context, and here we are today with this movie. It’s a rough, never ending dive into action insanity. It’s basically just a reel of stunts, explosions and shooting.

It’s truly painful to watch, and I wonder why anyone thought this would be coherent upon even reading the script. It’s absolute nonsense, a pointless elongated waste of time. It has a solid cast, but they’re just thrown in there with little to do development wise in order to all fill some sort of bizarre cliché. As “One” Ryan Reynolds is playing a serious version of his usual comedic shtick. The others fit into either shooting skills, a useless parkour talent or the ability to drive cars.

It’s basically all of the cool extremes, and they’re right into the action constantly and you’re never quite sure what exactly the point for any of it is. It’s got tunnel vision in reaching its end point, and what a clusterfuck it is. If you like garbage, and a constant barrage of quick cuts with no breathing room then get ready for this long venture through just that. I’ve watched few films that felt this cringe-worthy and tiresome. “He’s killing me!” Maybe we should see that instead of being told it, ugh.

The acting was largely bad in this, or perhaps it was cut in such a way that no one gets a chance to act properly. It’s just super fast slices every few seconds so you’re never sure what’s going on. It’s a blur of insanity, creating a sense of what’s mostly nauseating. They’ve taken Ryan Reynolds’ usual character style, making him serious and lame.

The others are just cringe to the max, but I guess that’s also just their lines. Ugh, this was bad. I can’t get over the editing in this, it abuses slow motion, that’s what it does. There are some gnarly kills and scenes of violence in this, which were cool but you don’t get to appreciate them as they’re off the screen almost instantly. I felt essentially suffocated by the piling on of what was happening.

I think some that don’t care about what they’re being force fed will eat this up, but it’s awful. I also was driven mad by the changes in visual quality. You go from a premium viewing angle to go pro constantly, which is vomit inducing. I will say that the product placement seemed less pushed in this Bay film, but I certainly won’t forget to drink Aviation Gin. For all of your serious confrontation moments with villains, Aviation Gin is the gin for you.

The Conclusion

6 Underground is an awful waste of time that feels as though it will never end. It was an agonizing journey of action, something I usually like. I felt sick watching everything move so quickly as the angles were constantly swapped due to the insane quantity of cuts in this. I don’t think there’s a single moment longer than a second or two.

I don’t know who edited this, but I scream why! Seriously, it’s awful to take in. It is the most Michael Bay film I’ve ever seen, but lacks the soul or essence that sometimes makes his films so enticing. The acting wasn’t great here, this was maybe well shot though I couldn’t tell with how quick perspectives were changed. The slow motion looked cool at times, but was abused and felt boring after a short time in.

I hated the changing footage quality, and the parkour was just so unnecessary. It was trying to be really cool instead of telling a compelling story. It’s just another one of those save the world types of movies that don’t care about the development of its characters or plot. Just a long waste of time that felt painful to sit through.

6 Underground Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Content Access was Provided by Netflix

Rating Overall: 2.0