'Back in Action is a fun comeback for Cameron Diaz, even if it is mindless entertainment'

Cameron Diaz is back and better than ever, at least that certainly seems the case in her comeback film Back in Action which just premiered in Netflix.

It might have been ten years since viewers last saw Diaz on the big screen, but it feels like no time at all has passed given how easily she slots back into the lead role. It certainly helps that she is joined by friend Jamie Foxx, who she has an instant, easy chemistry with in their third onscreen collaboration.

Back in Action is a comeback in more ways than one, it represents just that for Diaz and Foxx of course —Foxx had a health scare in 2023— but it’s also about people who have a momentous return of their own. Emily (Diaz) and Matt (Foxx) were once CIA agents who decided to leave the business and go off the grid to raise a family together, that is until they are drawn back into the world of espionage 15 years later when their covers are blown.

To their kids, Emily and Matt are dull, nagging know-it-alls who embarrass them at every turn, but in reality they’re incredibly skilled agents with a lot of fight left in them — which comes in handy when they have to drop everything and travel to England on a new mission. Through the course of their journey Emily and Matt find themselves again, as both agents and parents, and that feels representative of the the actors too.

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Back in Action is a smart comeback for Diaz because it's an entertaining popcorn movie that not only re-introduces the world to her and her work but feels like a role she herself is having a lot of fun with. It might be predictable and easy to watch but it's enjoyable precisely because the cast seem to be having a great time with this camp, silly story.

It features an fabulous supporting cast, including but not limited to A-listers like Glenn Close and Andrew Scott— who will delight viewers from the moment they appear. This is the kind of entertaining Netflix movie that is worth the watch, unlike many of the other straight to streaming titles we see these days.

Back in Action has a lot of heart and some thrilling sequences, but it also doesn't take itself too seriously — there's always a place for movies like this in cinema. If anything Back in Action harkens back to some of Diaz's best films — Charlie's Angels in particular.

By choosing a film like Back in Action Diaz is showing she hasn't come out retirement for just anything, this is a project she knows she can thrive in and that will be appealing to viewers across the globe. Sure, the movie is like plenty of other actions films out there —it shares the most DNA with the Spy Kids franchise— but that isn't the mark against the movie that viewers might expect.

Back in Action isn't the kind of film you'll remember for years to come, but it does the job — it's light-hearted entertainment at its best and that is mainly thanks to Diaz, and of course her winning partnership with Foxx. And with a sequel set up at the end of the story and other projects in Diaz's future it certainly feels like she is back, and ready to stay.

Back in Action is out now on Netflix.