The entertaining archaeology heist movie, Red Notice, starring Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, and Dwayne Johnson is doing wonders on Netflix. The movie garnered 148 million viewing hours in the first week of its release. Based on most hours viewed in the first 28 days of a movie’s release, Red Notice is sitting on top of the list.
Red Notice, starring Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, and Dwayne Johnson
However, the star-studded ensemble almost had another extremely popular face added to it. Apparently, actor Tom Cruise was supposed to make an appearance in the film but as we know it, that didn’t end up happening. So why did Tom Cruise not go ahead with the cameo and will he change his mind about future installments of the franchise?
Why Tom Cruise Wasn’t in Red Notice
Tom Cruise
After the movie’s production reportedly cost a few hundred of millions dollars, Universal declined to make the movie. Soon after, Netflix came to the film’s rescue, picking it up and causing Ryan Reynolds to join the ensemble. However, he wasn’t the only superstar that was set to make his appearance. According to Illuminerdi, Tom Cruise almost had a short cameo in Red Notice, but due to him being extremely particular about the roles he does, he backed out from the film.
Another factor to consider is that the budget for the movie shrunk remarkably after each of the three main leads, Reynolds, Gal Gadot, and Dwayne Johnson was each paid $20 million for their roles. This meant that Cruise wouldn’t be getting paid as much as the others.
If Cruise had gone ahead with the cameo, it would’ve paved the way for his appearance in future installments of the film, as Netflix is planning to create a whole franchise based on the characters in the first film. Red Notice’s director, Rawson Marshall Thurber, previously stated that there is a strong chance the movie will return with a sequel and there’s already an actor in mind to add to the cast.
According to We Got This Covered, if the sequel to Red Notice becomes a reality, the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle actor has already picked out his favorites for the film, including Keanu Reeves. Johnson previously wanted Reeves to star alongside him in Hobbs & Shaw, however, that didn’t come to fruition due to Reeves being busy with other things on his plate. Reynolds, Johnson, Cruise, and Gadot in a film together? Now that would be worth watching!
Critics Don’t Agree with the Success of Red Notice
A still from Red Notice
On one hand, Red Notice quickly took its spot as Netflix’s most-watched movie as people spent over 328 million hours watching it over a course of three weeks after its release. People clearly loved the film. However, on the other hand, critics weren’t getting the hype. The score given to the movie on Rotten Tomatoes by the critics was 36%, which is quite underwhelming as compared to the 92% audience score.
A New York Times review called the movie a “vacant bid at franchise creation.” Yikes. Other critics were keen on pointing out where the movie went wrong, despite having a star-studded cast. A review from The Guardian stated that Red Notice paid a bit too much attention to double-crosses and fake endings that it lost the “propulsive drive and excitement of the films it imitates.”
So, it’s safe to say that the critics and the audience do not seem to agree on this one. Despite such negative reviews from the critics, is moving forward with the franchise a good idea?
