A New Jersey construction worker goes from regular guy to aspiring spy when his long-lost high school sweetheart recruits him for an espionage mission.
Mark Wahlberg
Mike McKenna
Halle Berry
Roxanne Hall
J.K. Simmons
Tom Brennan
Mike Colter
Nick Faraday
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Frank Preiffer
Jessica De Gouw
Juliet Quinn
Alice Lee
Athena Kim
Jackie Earle Haley
Foreman
Stephen Campbell Moore
Cameron Foster
Lorraine Bracco
Lorraine McKenna
Dana Delany
Nicole
Patch Darragh
Bobby Breslin
James McMenamin
Johnny Healy
Juan Carlos Hernández
Billy Lewis
Alex Brightman
Gary
Lucy Cork
Eilas Schiller
Jen Jacob
Stephanie
Julianna Kurokawa
Agent Martin
Adam Collins
Agent Glover
Riley Neldam
Derek Mitchell
Christian Yeung
Agent Cheung
Steve Mullins
Agent Sanson
Luqman A. Agiya
NJ Construction Worker
MJ Lee
American News Presenter
David Ambler
Delivery Driver
Alex Merry
Agent Rayner
Director
Julian Farino
Writer
Joe Barton
Writer
David Guggenheim
August 16, 2024
4
Cringe worthy isn't a phrase I use that often. That said, I feel it fits The Union, nicely.
"Team USA" rules the world in this pungent mix of pro US political monolithic ideology and folksy, jokery, "aw shucks", hometown America. Yes the CIA are once again, the "good guys" (try not to laugh), inexplicably needing help from your average US working class citizen Joe, in order to save the world. The "world", in this case, being the bubble of exceptionalism, the US establishment inhabits.
As a reviewer and viewer, I honestly could not stomach this. I watched about half before undeniable feelings of moral nausea overcame me and I switched it off.
Is there an upside? Perhaps if you are from the US and believe all of this "somehow", then I suppose its an okay action spy thriller watch. Certainly, Mark Wahlberg is as likeable as ever and the actions not badly done, either.
In summary, this might fly with certain US demographics but I don't see it playing too well, with audiences in other parts of the world, who have seen what the US establishment really stands for. I'll pass.