Mayday, the new ’80s-set Cold War action comedy from directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, premieres on Apple TV on September 4 to a warmly positive critical reception. Early reviews have placed the film at around 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics largely agreeing on one thing above all else: Kenneth Branagh, rather than star Ryan Reynolds, is the film’s real breakout.
Set in 1987, the film follows Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Ryan Reynolds), who is shot down over Soviet territory during a covert mission. He is found and rescued by Nikolai Ustinov (Kenneth Branagh), a disillusioned former KGB agent living alone in the Siberian wilderness who is obsessed with American pop culture, especially Top Gun. As Soviet agent Alexander Volkov (Marcin Dorocinski) closes in, the mismatched pair set off on a dangerous journey across Russia, with Nikolai hoping Troy can help him defect to the U.S. in return for helping him escape.
Several outlets have been enthusiastic about the film. JoBlo called it the best movie not hitting theatres this year and one of the best streaming-only releases in recent memory. Empire noted that a “buddy-comedy action movie starring Ryan Reynolds” comes with certain expectations, and said the film delivers on those and then some. RogerEbert.com’s Brian Tallerico gave the film a mixed-positive 2.5 stars, writing that it “mostly works” while crediting its fluid direction and Branagh’s performance for carrying it. Collider was similarly warm, describing the film as a genuine love letter to ’80s action classics such as Die Hard and Lethal Weapon and predicting it could become one of Apple TV’s next big sleeper hits.
Daley and Goldstein, the writing-directing duo behind Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, bring a similarly irreverent sensibility to Mayday. Critics noted that the filmmakers wear the film’s influences openly, with the opening sequence deliberately echoing Top Gun before the movie moves into a genre lineage that includes Midnight Run and Planes, Trains and Automobiles. MovieWeb also noted that relatively few ’80s comedies mined the Cold War itself for laughs, with Red Heat standing as one of the rare earlier examples, giving Mayday a somewhat fresh angle on a familiar decade.
Nearly every review singles out Branagh as the film’s standout. RogerEbert.com called it one of his most entertaining and unexpectedly loose performances in years, while WTOP observed that although it is difficult to say whether Branagh was intended to be the star, “he is the one with the arc, with the comedy, with the soul.” The Hollywood Reporter praised his “superb deadpan comic performance,” noting that this is his third time playing a Russian character after Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Tenet. TheWrap added that the 65-year-old actor is convincing enough in the film’s fight scenes to make viewers wonder whether he could pursue a late-career action path, while JoBlo called the pairing of Reynolds and Branagh one of the best cinematic duos in recent memory.
Reynolds’ performance drew a more mixed response. RogerEbert.com noted that his chemistry with Branagh works well, but felt it seemed as though Reynolds did not want to play a character some viewers might find unlikable, leaving some of the role’s edge unused. MovieWeb was more pointed, arguing that there is not much distance between Troy and several of Reynolds’ previous characters and questioning whether the actor, now approaching 50, can convincingly play the naive young pilot the role requires. TheWrap made a similar observation, suggesting audiences know what they are getting from a Reynolds performance at this point, although most critics agreed that his rapport with Branagh was strong enough to carry the film.
The film’s visual craft has also earned considerable praise, particularly given its streaming release. RogerEbert.com highlighted Barry Peterson’s cinematography for giving Mayday a constant sense of motion, while TheWrap argued that Daley and Goldstein’s compositional instincts elevate otherwise familiar material. The action sequences, including a bar fight and a train set piece, were also singled out by JoBlo as some of the genre’s more inventive recent sequences, with the editing helping blend stunt work and the performances of the two leads.
The most consistent criticism concerns the pacing and underuse of supporting characters. The Hollywood Reporter felt the film goes on too long and veers into increasingly nonsensical territory, specifically pointing to a home-invasion sequence that turns into bedroom farce. It also found that the subplot involving Troy’s ill father, played by David Morse, does not amount to much. RogerEbert.com similarly argued that supporting players such as Maria Bakalova, who plays Nikolai’s estranged daughter, feel like wasted opportunities amid the film’s constant momentum. Marcin Dorocinski’s antagonist, Alexander Volkov, was also viewed by some critics as a fairly generic pursuing-agent character who exists primarily as an obstacle for the leads.
A few reviews also questioned the timing of a lighthearted U.S.-Russia comedy arriving amid the current geopolitical climate. WTOP noted that it is difficult to ignore how unusual the timing feels, while TheWrap pointed to the film’s depiction of American identity through culture and consumer brands, including Nikolai’s dream of eating at McDonald’s, rather than politics or government. MovieWeb similarly found that the sociopolitical undercurrent sits somewhat awkwardly alongside the film’s broader ambition to be a breezy throwback comedy.
Overall, critics agree that Mayday is not reinventing the buddy-comedy genre, but it executes familiar ’80s action-comedy beats with considerable visual polish and, above all, a genuinely funny and unexpectedly soulful performance from Branagh. Whether or not its political undertones work for every viewer, the consensus is that the film succeeds as entertaining, good-looking escapism — essentially the kind of popcorn movie The Hollywood Reporter describes it as.
Watch Mayday Trailer
Film Details: Mayday
Directors/Writers: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Kenneth Branagh, Marcin Dorocinski, Maria Bakalova, David Morse
Producers: David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Ashley Fox, Johnny Pariseau, Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Executive Producers: Ryan Reynolds, George Dewey, John G. Scotti
Cinematography: Barry Peterson
Editors: Jamie Gross, John Lee
Composer: Colin Stetson
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes
Production: Apple Studios, Skydance Media, Maximum Effort
Streaming: Apple TV, September 4, 2026
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