MOVIE REVIEW – In the extremely cringe-worthy title Ghosted movie, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas embark on a boring and predictable adventure, offering nothing new or exciting to the audience. The film tries almost compulsively to copy the French Grand Blonde films, Tom Cruise’s Knigth and Day and similar romantic, spy action flick, but the end result is really just as hollow as a ghost and extremely lame.

Ghosted is a 2023 American romantic action comedy film directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. The main characters are Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, who, after a chance meeting, are embroiled in an international adventure when the latter is revealed to be a secret agent. The film, distributed by Apple TV+, is a co-production between Apple Studios and Skydance Media.

The idea for the film came from the minds of Reese and Wernick, who have previously helmed successful comedies such as Zombieland and Deadpool. The director’s chair was taken by Fletcher, who had enjoyed great success with the Elton John biopic Rocketman. Evans and de Armas had previously worked together on Knives Out and The Grey Man, so they hoped their chemistry would captivate audiences. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

When love is not blind, just stupid – The story and the characters

The story of the film is not much new for fans of the genre. Cole Turner (Evans) is a regular guy who works in a rock-aoke bar in Los Angeles. One night he meets Sadie Rhodes (de Armas) and falls in love at first sight. But on their second date, Sadie turns out to be a CIA agent trying to expose an international criminal organization. Cole is dragged along on a dangerous adventure that takes them across several countries as they flee enemies and grow closer.

The film’s script is full of clichés, logical lapses and forced jokes. The characters are flat and unbelievable, the dialogue is clichéd and dull. The plot has nothing surprising or exciting to offer, just a series of trite scenes one after the other. Throughout, the film tries to imitate the atmosphere and style of successful romantic action comedies such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith or Knight and Day, but it succeeds only in creating a poor copy.

Wasted talent

Perhaps the biggest problem with the film is that there is no chemistry between the two protagonists – even though they are told at least five times by other characters next to them how much sexual tension is simmering between them. Well, it doesn’t boil. Evans and de Armas are otherwise good actors who have proven their talent and versatility before. Evans is best known for his work in Marvel’s Captain America films, but he has also appeared in dramas (Gifted), thrillers (Knives Out), comedies (Not Another Teen Movie) and was a CIA action agent in The Grey Man. De Armas has also appeared in crime thrillers (The Phantom Menace), sci-fi (Blade Runner 2049) and drama (Hands of Stone), and she was a CIA agent in the James Bond film No Time to Die, and will be a similar action hero in the upcoming John Wick spin-off Balerina, and she also starred as a CIA agent in The Grey Man.

However, in Ghosted, they both underperform and fail to authentically convey the emotions and motivations of their characters. Evans is too tense and rigid, but Armas is too nervous and hysterical. The ever-present spark between them is nowhere to be seen (indeed, the more they emphasise it, the less it is felt), and all we get is a forced flirtation and a quick bed scene. But the supporting cast doesn’t help matters much either: Adrien Brody as the evil boss, Mike Moh as the karate-champion assassin or Amy Sedaris as Cole’s mother are all just clichés – Brody in particular wasted his talent in this shoddy film.

Moreover, the actors are not only discredited, but also irritating. The man is a whining and self-pitying character who does nothing to make his life better. The woman is a conceited and self-righteous woman who despises and exploits everyone. There is no chemistry between the two actors, just awkward silences and forced smiles.

The order: a confusing cavalcade

The film’s director, Dexter Fletcher, could not save the film from failure. Fletcher has previously directed successful films such as Rocketman and Eddie the Eagle, in which he showed his flair for music and sports themes.

But in Ghosted, he failed to reconcile the romantic, action and comedy elements, creating a confusing cavalcade. The pacing is sometimes too slow, sometimes too fast, the cuts too sudden, sometimes too drawn-out. The visual style is not consistent either, but is sometimes too dark, sometimes too light. The music does not fit the mood either, but is too loud or too soft.

Another weakness of the film is the action. Although there are car chases, shoot-outs and explosions, they add nothing to the story or atmosphere. Director Dexter Fletcher can’t direct these scenes well: they are too long, too noisy and too chaotic.

In comparison, Knight and Day is like Tarantino

Ghosted is a forgettable film that fails to reach the heights of the romantic action comedy genre. The story is clichéd and clichéd, the actors have no chemistry, the direction is confused and confused. The film cannot decide whether to take itself seriously or make the audience laugh, so it does neither. The action is lame, formulaic and clichéd, the jokes are dumb and the romance is nowhere to be found.

If you want to see some really good films in this genre (romantic spy comedy), I can recommend the French film comedy The Tall Blond Man and its sequels, or the James Bond spy film spoof Le Magnifique with Belmondo. By the way, the pair of Ghosted “resemble” the Tall Blondes films: in fact, the basic setup (a funny extroverted idiot who is mistaken for a master spy and a sexy female agent falling in love) is exactly the same, so the Fletcher even stole from this classic French film comedy series, the difference being that Pierre Richard was really funny and there was real sexual chemistry between him and Mirelle Darc.

Ghosted is a film that I would not recommend anyone to watch: it’s not romantic, it’s not a comedy, and it’s not even good; when I watched it, the only virtue was that it was finally over.

-BadSector-