Netflix’s 6 Underground, Michael Bay’s first foray onto the small screen — which seems like a waste of everything that is Michael Bay — has its first trailer. It is full-on Michael Bay with a camera that won’t stop swooping, attractive people in slow motion, and explosions on top of explosions that are caused by other explosions that were caused by cameras swooping around attractive people in slow motion.
The film’s plot, written by the guys behind the Deadpool films, is the definition of a story set up only for action, with Netflix claiming it “introduces a new kind of action hero.” Six mysterious people (played by Ryan Reynolds, Dave Franco, Mélanie Laurent, Adria Arjona, Ben Hardy, and Corey Hawkins) with specific skills but with pasts they want to erase join to make an action super team led by Reynolds that has to stop some bad guys. It’s not really clear at all who those bad guys are or what they’re doing on fancy yachts or the penthouses of ultra-modern buildings, but it is clear they’ll need to be blown up real good in order to be stopped.
The film’s budget is reportedly around $150 million, which is huge for a Netflix film but is almost an independent movie for Michael Bay. From this trailer, it definitely feels like a bit of a return to form after the CGI Transformers turds and random dalliances (Pain and Gain, 13 Hours) the director has been making for the past decade. Say what you will about Bay — when he actually puts some effort into his work, it can be some of the best action there is.
This is also a big-deal movie for Netflix, who has successfully cornered the market on Oscar-bait films but hasn’t been able to compete as well in the realm of action movies. With the impending loss of all their Marvel content, it will be key for the streamer to be able to entice viewers with the kind of popular action cinema that still rests comfortably within movie theaters. Unlike their Oscar hopefuls, however, 6 Underground will not be getting a theatrical release despite the fact that it seems visually primed for it.
6 Underground will explode onto Netflix on Dec. 13, 2019.
