Introduction.
“Ghosted,” a film that features the well-known Hollywood actors Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, integrates romance and action with the melding of spy thrillers and romcoms, a genre both of which have saturated cinema. The 2023 film, while lacking any new concepts or ideas, does offer entertainment as it displays a predictable storyline revolving around spy fiction, one filled with secrets, identities, and two people navigating a whirlwind world against a backdrop of stunts, witty dialogue, and action-packed chases. The film also heavily relies on star power as Evans and Armas try to revive this blending of genres, though it ultimately falls short.
Plot Summary
The narrative centers around a caring and loving farmer from Virginia, Cole Riggan. He is a plant aficionado and portrays Cole, played by Chris Evans, as a sensitive, protective, and, paradoxically, clingy partner. After an unexpected meeting at a farmer’s market, Cole goes on a spontaneous date with Sadie Rhodes, played by Ana de Armas. Sadie is enigmatic, quick-witted, and enigmatically claims she is employed in “art curation.” Their chemistry is palpable and Sadie leaves Cole believing he has finally found “the one.”
After spending a magical day and night together, Sadie suddenly stops responding to Cole’s texts—ghosting him. Convinced that he’s tracked her phone location to London, Cole embarks on a quest to win her back, determined to prove she hasn’t just lost interest. But what sets out as a romantic shock turns into a global calamitous rom-com.
Everything goes awry when Cole lands in London and is abducted by overseas agents who think he is the infamous CIA operative “The Taxman.” Before he can even process what’s happening, Sadie bursts in, revealing herself in a sharp-shooting, gun-blasting entrance as the Taxman—an elite CIA agent captured in the middle of a global mission to prevent a bio-weapon from being detonated.
From such a moment, the pair gets a taste of a whirlwind escapade spanning different nations, with terrorists, bounty hunters, rogue agents, and enough action sequences to compete with a James Bond movie. Throughout the journey, two different sides of their character, simmering romance, and unresolved issues from a one day romance surface.
Cast and Characters
Chris Evans as Cole Riggan: Famous for his role as Captain America, Evans surprises everyone by portraying a sensitive and relatively useless civilian caught in a web of espionage. His charm also comes to the fore when he plays the ‘damsel in distress’ in this gender-swap spy story and a witty protagonist like Riggan completes the counterbalance.
Ana de Armas as Sadie Rhodes: After her highly touted action debut in No Time to Die and her earlier pairing with Evans in Knives Out, de Armas expertly blends a pragmatic focus to the character mission, a CIA operative Sadie who walks the fine line between being emotionally cold and a professional. She performs some of the best action in the film.
As Leveque, Adrien Brody: Brody brings suave menace to the film’s villain, a mercenary with a bio-weapon in his possession. While this character is nothing new, Brody gets into the relish of his lines, flamboyantly theatricaling his villainous parts.
Tate Donovan and Amy Sedaris play the Cole’s well intentioned parents alongside many surprise celebrity cameos as rival bounty hunters and assassins.
Direction and Style
The Fletcher, who has reigned over the movie Rocketman and put the final stamps into Bohemian Rhapsody, gives a polished, movie-like vibe to the picture. His pacing is quick; even when the story threatens to come to a standstill, the inertia is hard to stop. Everything in the film is accompanied by fast cuts, action s in exotic locations that ensure viewers are for some sort of stimulation.
Ghosted is primarily marketed as a sappy romance, but its more action-packed elements like car chases and shootouts make it reminiscent of buddy-action flicks. Some portions were clearly designed to reflect timeless landmarks of the genre like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Romancing the Stone, and even North by Northwest—the average man caught in extraordinary circumstances.
Themes and Tone
The film plays with a few central themes:
Reversing gender roles: Ghosted overturns the norm where the male lead rescues the female character. Sadie is the emotionally reserved, highly skilled operative. Cole is the emotional and impulsive ‘damsel in distress’ needing protection. This reversal is done for both humor and poignancy.
Trust and vulnerability: Most of the conflict between the two leads centers on past relationships and trust. Sadie’s detached professionalism conflicts with romantically idealistic Cole. The film questions whether people coming from such different backgrounds can meet halfway.
Love in chaos: The film unabashedly asserts that love can flourish even in the most chaotic and dangerous circumstances. The spy backdrop serves as a metaphor for the perils of emotional vulnerability.
The action-driven focus overshadows these themes. Cole’s and Sadie’s emotional beats may be there, but they’re not explored in-depth.
Reception
When it first came out, critics and viewers had mixed, if not average, reactions to Ghosted. The chemistry between Evans and de Armas was a major talking point, alongside the film’s overall easygoing style and self-aware comedy. Critics also noted the rivetting production quality and pacing as additional highlights.
Nevertheless, some critics have said that the script is unoriginal and filled with clichés. Additionally, some felt that the overarching narrative had potential, but the film relied too much on celebrity appeal and did not fully capitalize on the espionage context.
Regardless, Ghosted has managed to perform well on streaming sites and gained traction with audiences looking for lighthearted content featuring romance.
Conclusion
Ghosted is far from unique, however, it doesn’t set out to be either. The lighthearted, fast-paced fun sits in the context of a charming escapade with the leads, action-packed footage of various locations around the world— and a sharp critique of patriarchy that dominates action-romance flicks. It becomes the perfect option for people looking for a date night feature packed with laughter, thrilling explosions, and just enough sentimentality.
Despite tripping over some clichés, the movie comes out victorious in its attempt to entertain viewers. In the case of Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, romantic chemistry on screen proved that they are a dynamic pair worth witnessing.
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