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Chris Evans and Ana de Armas swap expected roles for a blockbuster action film wrapped in a decent romantic comedy.

Plot: Salt-of-the-earth Cole falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie — but then makes the shocking discovery that she’s a secret agent. Before they can decide on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world.

Review: Thanks to the blockbuster films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Evans has become synonymous with Captain America. Evans has chosen projects that are not comparable to Steve Rogers, such as Knives out andDefending Jacob. With Ghosted, Evans takes on a role that could not be any less like his iconic superhero role while still allowing him to have fun with stunts, spectacle, and a fair amount of comedy. Ghosted is a fun, predictable action film with great stuntwork, and a lot of comedy. It plays with the conventions romantic comedies, while also flipping the cliches from the spy genre. Cole Riggan, played by Chris Evans, lives in the guest house of his parents after returning to their farm outside Washington, D.C., when his father was injured. Cole and Sadie (Ana de Armas) meet at a farmer’s market where they are selling their crops. The two flirt and argue, then spend an amazing day together, emulating the magic of any meet-cute couple. Cole struggles to not be too needy, and decides to find Sadie after she does not reply to his dozens text messages. Cole is mistaken as the deadly secret agent Taxman when he arrives in London. He then discovers that Sadie is the CIA agent he was mistaken for. As their adventure takes them across Europe and Asia and back to Washington, D.C., Cole and Sadie bicker and squabble as they try to stay a step ahead of Leveque (Adrien Brody), who wants the password for a deadly weapon known as Aztec.What immediately clicks in Ghosted is the chemistry between Evans and de Armas. Evans and de Armas are a great pair. Scarlett Johansson had been paired with her MCU co star, but they work well together. It’s a great twist to have Sadie as the assassin spy and Cole as the dumbfounded and clueless Cole. Cole may struggle with relationships, yet he is a fighter. He is not able to match Sadie’s skills or those of the henchmen, but he doesn’t seem completely incapable. The writers Rhett, Paul, Eric Sommers and Chris McKenna have created a great dialogue that is both funny and real. The writers, who are all veterans of Marvel, spend a lot of time making us care about Cole and Sadie both as a couple and as individuals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA_afzJ0f4o

It also helps that the bad guys are engaging to watch. Adrien Brody is hilarious as mustache-twirling Leveque. Brody is more of a middleman in the film than a main villain. He plays Leveque, a one-track baddie that will do anything to get paid. He works with secondary character Borislov (Tim Blake Nelson), and his second in command Wagner (Mike Moh). Moh, who was a breakout star in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,

, gets a strong part here and gets to show off his martial arts skills a few times. Leveque’s mercenaries are sent to hunt down Cole, Sadie and their friends, resulting in several action sequences. These include a chase sequence on a bus, an aerial plane fight and the final fight at a rotating restaurant near the Potomac River. This film also features four notable cameos. Dexter Fletcher is best known for his work on Eddie, Rocketman and for replacing Bryan Singer in

. He has a solid understanding of action filmmaking. Ghosted pushes the line of PG-13 movies with some of the deaths shown on screen. The movie is mostly without blood, but it has a high body count. It also uses the f-bomb that the rating allows. This Apple FIlms and Skydance co-production is one of the most impressive feature films in the streaming era. It could have easily been a good theatrical release. The humor is universally appealing and the romantic material never feels forced. There is too much material packed into these two-hours, making some elements seem unnecessary. From Cole’s family, played by Lizzie Broadway, Amy Sedaris, and Tate Donavan, to CIA agents, played by Mustafa Shakir, Anna Deveare Smith, and Tiya Sircar, everyone aside from the main characters and the villains is given short shrift.

Ghosted coasts on the effortless chemistry between Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, two really good-looking people, and solid actors. The enthusiasm and fun of the two actors in making this film is evident in the final product. It’s fun to see de Armas as the badass, and Evans as the arm candy. This is a nice twist on the usual romantic comedies. Ghosted- packs a lot in two hours. Some of it works and some don’t, but the movie never fails to keep the pace up. With solid villains, good action, and some classic cameos, Ghosted is a decent couple of hours at the movies.7

Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch