If one thing is certain, Netflix loves a star-studded action flick like Back in Action, starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.

It would be easy to dismiss the action flick — it looks like a Netflix movie, and its premise combines Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The Family Plan. Somehow, it works better than most of the streaming service's output, falling between the surprisingly good Carry-On and unsurprisingly forgettable The Union.

Most of that is thanks to Diaz and Foxx. This is Diaz's acting comeback after over a decade, and while returning to work for Back in Action would suggest one of her children is imminently going to college, she has radiant chemistry with the charming Foxx, who starred in Diaz's last acting gig, Annie.

Together, they make a couple that works better for a comedy than an action movie. Back in Action proves that Diaz and Foxx simply work as an on-screen couple. Their family dynamic is the most compelling part of the movie, and I'd watch two hours of them being parents.

As a spy thriller, Back in Action doesn't reinvent the wheel. The globe-trotting adventure is light on details, and, like any good spy thriller, is filled with twists and turns.

To that end, Back in Action becomes forgettable once the adventure takes off. Diaz and Foxx's badassery can only take them so far when the movie around them features action sequences that are so glossy they look fake, and its Mission: Impossible-size ambitions (with its MacGuffin) don't fully pan out.

Back in Action review

Jamie Foxx, McKenna Roberts, Cameron Diaz, and Rylan Jackson in Back in Action.
A still from Back in Action courtesy of Netflix.

Over a decade ago, Emily (Cameron Diaz) and Matt (Jamie Foxx) were young spies on a mission. They narrowly survived and discarded the key people were after, or so they thought.

Emily and Matt decided to get out of the game to start a family. 15 years later, they have a teenager and a pre-teen. Of course, this is the toughest age to parent, as your teenagers rebel by going to clubs while underage and playing video games nonstop.

This is where Back in Action is at its best. Emily and Matt question whether or not they are parenting correctly. It sounds funny, but the family aspect of Back in Action is far greater than the fights.

Now, it introduces Emily's mother, Ginny (Glenn Close), to varying results. Close is an undeniable force, but her talents are wasted on a role that includes a so-so British accent. Maybe she bears some resemblance to Diaz, but they have no spark in comparison to the Diaz-Foxx duo.

However, Emily and Matt's mundane life is interrupted as their past catches up to them. Their identities have been compromised, and they are on the run.

Now, they have to travel to London to retrieve the key that various forces are chasing after. They must also hide their secret lives from their young kids, Alice (McKenna Roberts) and Leo (Rylan Jackson).

Why it underwhelms

The high-wire act of keeping their past a secret from their kids has been done. Again, Mark Wahlberg starred in The Family Plan, which is eerily similar if you swap the destinations (he takes his family to Las Vegas, not London).

And as the trailer spoils, the facade is eventually broken. It doesn't take that long, either, thanks to some frustratingly convenient circumstances written by director Seth Gordon and Brendan O'Brien.

I almost can't say I expected more from a Netflix action movie called Back in Action, but I did. There wasn't a lot of tension, and the action was mediocre at best.

Kyle Chandler.
A still from Back in Action courtesy of Netflix.

To be fair to Gordon, he hasn't directed many action movies. He previously helmed Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief, and the Baywatch remake.

That still doesn't completely exonerate him of the lackluster action. While the hand-to-hand choreography is mostly fine, the scenes have that signature Netflix gloss. It makes certain sequences look simultaneously hyper-realistic and fake.

The opening sequence, which takes place on a plane, is a great example. Not that it's a one-to-one comparison, but Mel Gibson's Flight Risk had similar stakes in its action. Flight Risk looks like something directed by Christopher Nolan compared to Back in Action.

It's one of the most frustrating parts of Netflix's work. I cannot fathom why all of their action movies seemingly have a prerequisite that their action cannot look good. Their prestige films are the only ones that look aesthetically pleasing, which is a shame.

Can't take the actor out of Cameron Diaz

Still, Diaz's comeback from retirement remains questionable when Back in Action is her return to form. She does prove that despite a break, you can't take the performer out of her.

She comes back without missing a step. Diaz has a more layered performance than Foxx, and I'd argue she is the highlight of the movie.

Foxx, meanwhile, turns in an unremarkable performance. He has delivered legendary work in the past, but this is the Project Power and Day Shirt version of Foxx, not Ray or even Any Given Sunday.

Should you stream Back in Action?

Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.
A still from Back in Action courtesy of Netflix.

Back in Action is an unremarkable action movie from Netflix. It's not offensively bad, but it is bound to be lost in the shuffle of Netflix's homepage within a week or two. Back in Action is there, ripe for the picking as white noise for a date night in.

That's because it works best as a family comedy with Diaz and Foxx at the forefront. Being a satisfying globe-trotting espionage thriller is secondary.

It has its moments of laughs — particularly with Diaz and Foxx navigating the joys of teenage parenthood — but it's bound to join Netflix's library of underwhelming spy thrillers with the likes of Heart of Stone, The Union, and The Gray Man.

If it has something going for it, Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx are a fun duo. They have worked together in the past, yes, but there are some legitimately funny moments in Back in Action. They feel like they have chemistry, unlike some of the pairings in the movies listed above.

Grade: C

Back in Action will be streaming on Netflix on January 17.