Branagh Takes on Action Role in Apple's Cold War Comedy 'Mayday'
Ryan Reynolds praised Branagh’s improvisational skills as the film’s Cold War buddy comedy heads to Apple TV.
- On Friday, September 4, 2026, Apple TV releases the action-comedy Mayday, starring Ryan Reynolds as a stranded U.S. Navy pilot and Kenneth Branagh as a former KGB agent.
- Set in 1987, the plot follows Lieutenant Troy 'Assassin' Kelly, whose top-secret reconnaissance mission over Soviet territory goes catastrophically wrong, forcing him to crash-land deep behind enemy lines.
- Directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley helmed the project, which pays homage to Top Gun while showcasing the chemistry between Reynolds and Branagh that was 'palpable from the very get-go.'
- Reynolds praised Branagh's improvisational skills, noting the classically trained actor could 'abandon preparation and embrace spontaneity' during demanding action sequences.
- Clocking in at one hour and 50 minutes, the film skips a traditional cinema run, allowing global audiences to watch on Apple TV starting Friday.
19 Articles
19 Articles
In "Mayday" Ryan Reynolds has to leave his reservations to survive. Why for him this goes far beyond the film, he told t-online.
Kreiszeitung
Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth conjure up the spirit of Buddy movies in Mayday, in the middle of the Cold War.
Branagh takes on action role in Apple's Cold War comedy 'Mayday'
But in his new film "Mayday," whether he's wrestling soldiers for a gun on a crowded train, smacking down bad guys in a bar fight or hijacking a missile delivery vehicle on the streets of Moscow, he seems surprisingly at home. Branagh stars as a disillusioned former KGB agent helping a downed US fighter pilot (Ryan Reynolds) to escape Cold War Russia in Apple TV's tongue-in-cheek road-movie romp. For writer-directors Jonathan Goldstein and John…
Cold War comedy Mayday is a cry for help
For some, the Cold War never ended. Communism is back in the news because it’s the best bogeyman politicians and Hollywood can conjure up without crashing into problematic territory. But for all its retro jokes about Cabbage Patch Kids and Top Gun, Mayday—the milquetoast, first-draft-like comedy from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein that revisits the waning days of the Iron Curtain—still hasn’t figured out how to make the era funny. It’…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 66% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
