Shoot, hit and bomb. This is perhaps the best way to describe the two hours of The Hidden Agent, a Netflix film debuting this week that distances itself from most of the platform’s original productions not only for its frenetic, screenworthy action, but also for its the fat budget, the company’s largest to date.
It cost US$200 million or more than R$1 billion to cause entire buildings to explode, cars to spin through the air and even a derailed cable car to collapse facade after facade in the center of a picturesque European city.
All of this while Ryan Gosling travels across multiple countries, accompanied by an equally stellar and expensive cast. The antagonist for his good is another heartthrob, Chris Evans, and the main trio is complete with Ana de Armas, one of Hollywood’s new promises.
“I never thought I would do an action film, that I would be an action star. I grew up watching soap operas in Cuba, you know, so for me that kind of movie was way out of my reach, it didn’t have anything to do with me,” says the Cuban actress. “Now, out of nowhere, here I am playing this amazing, strong, badass woman. I got a taste of that in the last James Bond film and now I’ve been able to expand on that side of my career.”
At 34, Armas has become one of Hollywood’s new “it girls” after starring in films like Blade Runner 2049, Wasp Network, Knives and Secrets, Water Deep, and the others that Spotlight stole previously mentioned “007: No Time to Die”. Later this year, it should open the door to the big prizes in the industry with another partnership with Netflix, Blonde, in which it will revive Marilyn Monroe.
In Hidden Agent, she’s a secret agent of sorts who helps the protagonist played by Gosling, another member of an elite CIA group who uncovers a plot to put an end to her work and that of her colleagues.
Hot on his heels is the character of Evans, a professional assassin hired by the same CIA to do things the agency deems too dirty. As a result, Armas’ character constantly has to rescue her colleague, which the actress celebrates as she isn’t reduced to a romantic interest role like many women in this testosteronespinning genre are.
To orchestrate this symphony of gunfights and explosions, Netflix coopted brothers Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, who rose to fame by helping create the socalled Marvel Cinematic Universe, directing the Captain America films and billionaire Avengers: Endgame.
According to Chris Evans, who donned the uniform of the most American of superheroes, working with the filmmaking duo was different now than it was in the distant 2014 when Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier was released.
“Now there was more familiarity, a more comfortable atmosphere. And you could see that the Russians were more willing to take risks. In our first film together, they really wanted to prove themselves. They were the new guys coming onto the playground, so people still wanted to know what they had to offer,” says Evans. “We practically had fun in this new film because now they know they deserve it, here to be.”
Incidentally, “Hidden Agent” appears as Netflix’s attempt to establish its own cinematic universe nothing more natural than inviting the Russo brothers, then at a time when streaming platforms are trying to create successful franchises that are capable is to mobilize legions of fans to keep their loyal subscribers. Netflix, for example, just this week announced that it lost about a million subscribers last quarter.
With a budget like this, it’s clear the ondemand giant had a lot on the feature but it’s now up to the public to foot that bet, as critics slammed the film, which turned sour with just 53% approval, in blow up the show online reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Had this been a theatrical release, the notice would likely put off many viewers.
But that’s the streamingfree zone, where viewership data isn’t typically revealed, and where customers who’ve already paid the monthly subscription fee are often more likely to see what the algorithms suggest. And Netflix has invested heavily in the “Hidden Agent” campaign.
Not only they, but also the names of the actors prove the high expectations of the feature. Joining Gosling, Evans and Armas, RegéJean Page, straight out of Bridgerton and heartthrob by the platform itself, are Billy Bob Thornton and, in a nod to international markets, Indian Dhanush and Brazilian Wagner Moura.
The latter has a small role as a clumsy guy who forges passports and shows up there for the middle of Hidden Agent to help Gosling’s character travel without being located. The caricatured Laszlo Sosa wears heavy glasses, walks with a limp, has a strong accent and is 20 kilos lighter than Wagner Moura before the recordings.
“I wanted the character to be a counterpoint to all the testosterone in the film. A fragile guy who doesn’t pose any threat to Ryan’s character. Little by little, this crazy character emerged,” says the actor, who also emphasizes that The Russo Brothers gave the cast a lot of creative freedom and encouraged them to improvise on stage.