@DRDMovieMusings said:

From Michael Keaton in Pacific Heights to Bruce Willis in The Jackal to Tom Hanks in Road to Perdition, it's always refreshing to see guys who came up via comedy get a chance to flex their dramatic chops, especially as bad guys.

Jason Bateman is one of those rare talents - a child star who grew up and not only kept his star shining, but amped up its radiance That's not easy to do, and examples abound of kids who ended up as train wrecks. Hollywood is NOT easy on kids. Bateman has not only survived, but has grown his body of work, and success, to the point where a lot of people don't even realize how long he's been in the game.

He plays the deadpan straight guy for laughs quite well (Arrested Development, Horrible Bosses). He kept tension sizzling through 4 brutal, gruesome seasons of Ozark.

He put his deadpan to use here as a cold-blooded mercenary in a cat-and-mouse airport romp.

No, there will be no Oscar nominations. Yes, there were enough "oh come on" moments to spoil it for most, including almost me...but he made it kinda fun, including right up to how he played his horrible demise.

Too often, people cry to the hills if a movie is too political or too woke or too this or too that...well, here's a movie that invites you to check your brain at the door and just enjoy a silly ride.

Those who know me know I'm quite more inclined to invest time in a movie that is provocative, even challenging, and I have little patience for fluff (i.e., I've never watched a single installment of the Fast & Furious franchise). So, if some of you think this movie is too stupid to enjoy, I wouldn't criticize you. If you're wondering how I could dismiss F&F but enjoy this, well, I can't argue it's rational, it just is what it is.

But, if you've ever considered yourself a Jason Bateman fan, we're now boarding, please have your boarding pass and government-issued ID ready to present.

Have noticed that people that dislike F&F usually have an equally as dumb franchise that they like too. It's called restoring balance to the universe. Didn't know Jason Bateman was a child star though.

Thanks for another hot tip, DRD!

I haven't followed JB's career too closely, but I'm always rooting for anyone who tries to break their comedy typecast, especially child stars who didn't have much of a choice how they were cast to begin with.

Looks like he's stayed busy, with 2-3 projects per year since the 80s ended, not always a huge role but keeping his face known. I thought he did a great job in Juno (2007), that seemed to be his breakthrough as an adult, where he played a lowkey sleazy character masquerading as a responsible husband (not easy to pull off, I'm sure). This sounds like an even darker role which has me really interested.