Apple TV’s Mayday arrives with the confidence of a film that knows exactly what it wants to be: a sleek, crowd-pleasing throwback that pairs two very different stars and lets them cook. Directed and written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), this 1987-set action comedy doesn’t reinvent the buddy movie. It simply executes it with wit, momentum, and a surprising amount of heart.
Ryan Reynolds plays Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly, a cocky Navy pilot pulled from training exercises for a covert SR-71 Blackbird mission over the Soviet Union. The operation goes wrong. He ejects into the Siberian wilderness and wakes up in the cabin of Nikolai Ustinov (Kenneth Branagh), a retired KGB operative living off the grid with a Top Gun poster on the wall and an unexpected fondness for American culture. What follows is a race across enemy territory as the two men try to reach help while dodging a hardline Soviet officer (Marcin Dorociński) determined to stop them.
The pairing is the movie’s greatest asset. Reynolds does what he does best—dry one-liners, physical comedy, and the slightly exasperated energy of a man who cannot believe this is his life. Branagh, however, is the revelation. He plays Nikolai as both formidable and quietly endearing: a man who can handle himself in a fight yet lights up at the mention of Van Halen or Tom Cruise. Their chemistry never feels forced. The film gives them room to bicker, bond, and surprise each other, and both actors look like they’re having a blast.
Daley and Goldstein stage the action with real craft. The mid-air collision and ejection sequence is tense and well-choreographed. Later set pieces—a train pursuit, close-quarters fights, a chaotic dash toward Moscow—move with the snap of 1980s adventure films without feeling cheap or overstuffed. The period details (the music, the fashion, the political backdrop of late Cold War glasnost) add texture rather than drowning the story in nostalgia.
Maria Bakalova has a smaller but effective role as Nikolai’s estranged daughter, giving the film a personal stake beyond the escape. David Morse appears as Troy’s father in a brief but grounded turn. The supporting cast fills out a world that feels lived-in even when the plot hits familiar beats.
At just under two hours, Mayday never overstays its welcome. It is unapologetically entertaining: funny without being mean, exciting without being exhausting, and warm without turning sappy. In an era of bloated franchises, there is something refreshing about a self-contained story that simply wants to send two mismatched men on a wild ride and let the audience enjoy the trip.
Mayday is now streaming on Apple TV. It’s the kind of movie that reminds you why people used to leave the theater smiling. Highly recommended.
