The Union (2024): From Construction Site to Covert Ops

In the context of spy movies it is quite unusual to find a construction worker who is suddenly thrown into the world of spy activities nice twist for this movie, yet that is the exact concept of a soon to be released action/comedy movie titled The Union (2024) on Netflix. With the main cast starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry, the film is set to be an exciting action comedy and from the trailer I would not expect more to what I call a one time watch, fits perfectly for the streaming movie profile. The plot revolves around Mike, a construction worker whose life is portrayed by Wahlberg, who gets a new lease in life when his high school sweetheart, Roxanne portrayed by Berry shows up again in his life, not any typical reunion, Roxanne brings Mike into a U. S. intelligence operation and suddenly, the hero finds himself in an environment of espionage adventure that employs gadgets that are not commonly associated with a mechanic’s toolbox.

Now days I think producers and directors have realize that just action sequence scenes are not enough to keep the audience entertain for more than an hour unless its a AAA title movie that involve Batman, John Wick or a bigger action movie name, instead they incorporate comedy as a boost so when ever they ran out of action sequences to pump dopamine then kicks in the comedy side, both Wahlberg and Berry are no strangers to be part of comedy movies, this are the type of mix action / comedy movies I enjoy the most.

The making of this picture from the idea to the screen is as captivating as the given plot, the movie was first known by the title “Our Man from Jersey,” the project became interesting for Netflix in May of 2020, with Wahlberg set to star. The streaming giant’s decision to buy the pitch was an affirmation of their belief in the movie’s ability to interest global audience with the film’s script written by Joe Barton and David Guggenheim from a story by Stephen Levinson was refined in order to perfect the combination of the action, comedy and espionage elements.

Lending his experience to the high profile project is director Julian Farino who has worked for both HBO and BBC, Farino’s professional background is a combination of the British type of directing and the American flair for entertainment, which makes him a rather interesting candidate for a movie that will be a combination of action, comedy, and thriller elements. On television he worked on such popular shows as "Entourage" and "The Newsroom" which proved that he can successfully combine comedy and more dramatic and serious components, which will, without a doubt, come in handy in this project.

The making of the film was global with the shooting starting from March 2022, with various scenes in different areas such as London, New Jersey, as well as the beautiful town of Piran, Slovenia, adding so many awesome landscapes all over the world as they travel from one place to another not only enriches the picture with the changes of scenes but also makes the spy thriller more realistic, perhaps the most exciting part of the shooting was the location in Piran, Slovenia. Only from September 19 to October 4 in 2022, this small village by the sea turned into a shooting place of a movie. Everything that the production team wanted was kept top secret, the contracts for accommodations, closing down the streets and arrangements for a 300 member cast and crew were hidden until the last few days before their arrival.

Leading the cast, there is Mark Wahlberg; he is one of the popular Hollywood actors with experience in many years and different types of the movies, ever since his dramatic debut in "Boogie Nights" to the recent critically acclaimed performance in "The Departed" for which he received an Oscar nomination. Over the years, he has also established himself as a comedian that appeared in "Ted" and "The Other Guys" which makes him quite suitable for this action comedy.

Wahlberg’s co star on this movie is the legendary Halle Berry who became the first black woman to win the Academy award for the best actress award for her role in "Monster’s Ball", Berry is a great actress and has had her fair share of action roles in films such as the "X-men" films and "Die Another Day" as a bond girl, both have previously worked together in "The Perfect Storm".

Seoing the film more serious, J. K. Simmons who acted the astonishing music instructor in the Oscar winning film “Whiplash” is in the cast, whereas Mike Colter, the notable actor of the Marvel’s “Luke Cage” series, also joins the cast with his authority. The final members of the cast are the highly experienced Jackie Earle Haley and Alice Lee who has been in Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark and has also been in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.

Although this film may seem to be an easy going action comedy at first glance, some viewers and critics are wondering if perhaps there is more to this film than the casual viewer might realize, in my case I don't think there is, doubt this movie could be at the level of other streaming hits like any of the three "Extraction" movies. The base of the construction worker who is suddenly drawn into the world of spies and espionage, has resulted in debates on the representation of class struggle and the latent abilities of the common man, although if anyone takes this movie that far I think they are just going over the top with it but I notice this on a few comments online about the movie. Viewers have mentioned that the movie is rather focused on the problem of social class and can be viewed as a commentary on how working people cannot always get a well paid job or a position connected with higher risks but it has been like this for the most part specially when it comes to someone doing labor work, the higher the risk the better the pay, might suck but its the industry.

As always now days we can't escape from comments on how Berry as the women in a higher position than Wahlberg character in the movie might be a representation of power from the female lead on the movie but that is just how society is now days, cant run away from this comments and for me is irrelevant as I don't care or pay attention if the main character is male or female, all I care about is that the content is entertaining.

The filming was probably stopped midway when actors staged a strike in July 2023 due to the Hollywood strike back in the day, such a stop in the filming process would have put a lot of pressure on the production crew to reschedule their plans and shooting sessions and would have also left some of the most important scenes shot mid way, we can only hope this didnt put a dent in the quality of the product.

The strike has not only affected the filming process, but also the post production work and advertisement given that actors are not able to go on press tours or attend the premieres, the marketing campaign for the film must have been severely affected. Continuity of the strike has continued to make it difficult for SAG-AFTRA and the studios to agree on the end and release time for the project. Also, the shooting locations of the film London and Slovenia may have posed another challenge in resuming shooting once the strike is over. It has also potentially inflated the budget of the film because time is money and production costs don’t stop racking up even when the cameras are off.

This action comedy is still creating some noise out there and on sites like IMDB there is a very positive reception been very popular even though it has not come out yet, this is probably because of the main actors been so well known and love by the audience. Such a plot, combined with the cast and international shoot, will make the movie stand out from hundreds of spy films already made, but lets be clear this movie might not bring anything new that we have not seen before on the action spy sub genre. It can promise a refreshing look at the well worn topics, combining comedy and action, which is good for the wide audience.

As the audience, we can hope for a movie that would be fun and which could also open up a discussion on the subjects of class, gender and the latent ability in ordinary folks, Wahlberg character look like he was honing his fight and shooting skills over the movie to even getting to the same level as Berry character. Whether it lives up to these expectations remains to be seen, again for me this might be just another cool one time watch, but this movie has all the potential of becoming a new hit of the action comedy genre, it will make you laugh and cheer as the good guys make their way in the movie but other than that once its over at least I look out to be satisfied with a good ending.