Ghosted, a 2023 Apple TV Original follows Cole (Chris Evans) as he follows Sadie (Ana de Armas) after she ghosts him after one date. He discovers she is not who he thought she was and gets sucked into an international spy game.
Ghosted is a movie I somehow had low expectations for and was still disappointed with. Starting with the leads, I was pretty surprised with how flat the chemistry between de Armas and Evans was. I’ve seen these two have good, natural chemistry in person but the writing or directing just does not capture that. In the first half of the movie, they’re just at each other’s necks but not in a redeemable way. Evans just whines about being involved in this adventure and de Armas calls him crazy for trying to find her. It was just so annoying that that was how all their conversations went.
Even once the movie shifts and they’re back to liking each other, it’s too little too late. It feels like they were kissing because they knew they were the leads in a romantic action movie, not because it was earned in the story. Everyone keeps saying in the movie that the sexual tension between them was palpable, but it never felt like it outside of them just being gorgeous human beings.
The movie is also not very fun to look at. The effects are nothing interesting and there is a lot of blatant green screening that took me out of the moment, especially when the movie takes place in some interesting locations. The action sequences are really bland as well. Instead of more fluid long takes and creative sequences that have become more standard in the genre, Ghosted uses a lot of quick cuts that are completely unnecessary. Both Evans and de Armas seemed to do a lot of their own stunt work which was fun at least. Both are clear action stars and I want to keep seeing them in movies.
The action sequences are also scored really oddly. I don’t think Uptown Funk should ever be used in a gunfight if you want people to take it seriously.
What’s really a shame with Ghosted is that it felt like a big Marvel cameo. Obviously, there’s Chris Evans, but Anthony Mackie, Timothy Blake Nelson, Sebastian Stan, and Ryan Reynolds all make little appearances. Given the movie’s tone, it does feel like a Marvel show. It’s a small nitpick but they’re hard to ignore and feel intentional.
Final Thoughts
The story itself was interesting enough even if I’m not a fan of the writing. I am really enjoying Adrian Brody as a mustache-twirling villain, especially when they don’t try to make him relatable. I think Ghosted failed to maximize the performances of Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. Because of that, this movie fails to stand out.
