SoccerMovieMom

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Back in Action (2025)

‘Back in Action’ (2025) is watchable but not a soccer movie

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by

MJ-A
in

The title Back in Action is a double-entendre. Not only is the action comedy about a pair of retired spies unwillingly forced back into duty, but it also marks the return of Cameron Diaz to the screen after a 10 year absence.

The Netflix film started in development in 2021 and was partly delayed by Jamie Foxx’s stroke in Apr-2023, shortly after filming soccer scenes in Atlanta. It was the write-up about the soccer scenes that made me think this was going to be a soccer movie. But it’s not. The soccer consists of a few minutes at the end of the film, after the big adventure and the family of 4 has returned to a normal existence. Mom (Cameron) and Dad (Foxx) are coaching their daughter’s team, and grandma (Glenn Close) is cheering on the sideline.

In the Story

Read the film’s wikipedia page for the entire plot. 15 years earlier, Mom and Dad stole a digital hardware key from a bad guy, foiling a major terrorist tool. They find out Mom is pregnant, but after an intense fight on a private jet, they survive the plane crash and resolve to quit the spy biz to raise their child.

Flash forward, and this child is now a 16 year old handful with a younger geeky brother. When the daughter sneaks off to a nightclub, Mom and Dad get into a brawl and their faces end up on the internet.

Knowing the couple is alive, the bad guys and everyone else from their past come after them in search of the hardware key. Which, Dad has hidden in England on estranged grandma’s estate. Mom and Dad take the kids with them, to keep them safe while they retrieve the key, and at the same time the kids learn what their parents are really like.

In Conclusion

I have always enjoyed Cameron Diaz, as her good looks, bouncy personality, wide smile and athleticism win you over quickly. She’s pretty good as a neurotic controlling but capable Mom. I was unfamiliar with Jamie Foxx, as his only movie that I had seen was the Disney animation Soul, and I’ve not watched his standup. He’s pretty good at playing a caring Dad. They both portray a lot of athleticism (is it CGI? stunt doubles?) despite being in their early 50s during shooting.

But it’s not Mr and Mrs Smith. You end up just waiting for the CGI to happen.

And like I said, it’s not really a soccer movie. They leave a cliffhanger at the end, and apparently Cameron had a 2-movie deal, so maybe there will be a sequel. Maybe that will have more soccer. I might even watch it.

6 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 6

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