‘The Union’ Review: Mark Wahlberg & Halle Berry Give Spy Romp Chemistry, Style And A Really Great Car Chase

The Union may be another one of those globe-hopping, star-driven popcorn action movies Netflix has specialized in of late, but because of a fortuitous star teaming of Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry — two vets of the genre working together for the first time — it really is a cut above and just pure entertainment. Nothing wrong with that, though if this were made by Lionsgate, where both stars have a history, it would be a major late-summer theatrical, rather that being tossed into the streaming pool.

Nevertheless, it should find a global audience ready to buy into a premise as old as The Dirty Dozen and The A-Team and one that also just seems like the perfect TV series pilot if it were not for the glittering filmography of the principals involved.

The Union is a kind of underground group that comes in and does the dirty work for the CIA and FBI. Made up not of James Bond types but rather basic, blue-collar folks like construction workers, plumbers, etc. — gritty teams who get down to the nuts and bolts.

As the film starts, we see Roxanne (Berry) in action and on assignment, going for the kill on a mission overseas. Cut to New Jersey, and Mike McKenna (Wahlberg) is hopping out of bed having spent the night with Dana Delany, who, as we later learn in a funny bit, was his 7th grade English teacher. He is a carefree single guy working in construction high up on those skyscrapers. Into his life suddenly comes Roxanne, who was his high school girlfriend 25 years earlier but didn’t hang around, instead heading off to follow her dreams and leaving Mike behind. But now the sparks seem to be still there, and Mike starts to believe they could be rekindled — that is until he is drugged, bagged and shipped to London, where he wakes up in a strange hotel room, only to discover to his horror he is now in the UK. But he can’t imagine why.

Roxanne and her mentor/boss Tom Brennan (J.K. Simmons) explain, based on her memories and reccomendation, that Mike would be a perfect recruit for the Union and is needed for just this one very specific mission. Of course he balks, but ultimately given the opportunity to go back to New Jersey or stay on and try this one new life adventure, he agrees to enter rigorous two-week training that normally would take six months, and team up with Roxanne and her colleagues. They include the tech master of the team, Foreman (Jackie Earle Haley); Brennan’s right hand, Athen (Alice Lee); and trainer Frank Pfeiffer (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who is gonna prep Mike within an inch of his life.

In no time the game is on, and they must do their thing against the baddies who have complex connections including Nick Faraday (Mike Colter), an agent who has other things in mind but who also — surprise, surprise — is Roxanne’s husband, but they are separated as she assures Mike. There also is auctioneer Juliet Quinn (Jessica De Gouw), who is somewhat slippery to say the least.

British director Julian Farino navigates all the action expertly as it takes place all over London and the UK, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. The latter coastal locations are used for one of the niftiest car chases I have seen in a long while, all around winding roads with three vehicles weaving in and out over a course that makes the Grand Prix look tame. One leap for Wahlberg from one car into the trunk of another is particularly impressive. Adam Kirley was the stunt coordinator. The scenery-centric cinematography from Alan Stewart also is a plus, as is Rupert Gregson-Williams sharp music score and the well-chosen needle drops.

With a breezy screenplay from Joe Barton and David Guggenheim that emphasizes the rapport and chemistry between its two leads, The Union actually succeeds in ways the more bloated Fall Guy failed earlier this summer. Sometimes the answer is simply in the stars, and how you let them shine.

Producers are Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson and Jeff Waxman.

Title: The Union
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: August 16, 2024 (streaming)
Director: Julian Farino
Screenwriters: Joe Barton and David Guggenheim
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry, Mike Colter, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica De Gouw, Alice Lee, Jackie Earle Haley, J. K. Simmons, Lorraine Bracco, Dana Delany
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hr, 47 mins