Back in Action Plot Summary
Releasing today on Netflix, the 114-minute Back in Action delivers Cameron Diaz paired with Jamie Foxx in a spy-comedy that leans on the family schtick. Diaz and Foxx play parents 15 years out of the spy game, now with a 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. But their last job – the one where they’d secretly bowed out having discovered the pregnancy – comes back to bite as the ‘key’ they’d liberated was never delivered, another casualty to the final plane wreck.
Years later, they go from high-level agents to uncool parents, suffering to get their recently turned rebellious daughter to hang with them. When former colleagues discover that the pair are still alive, they’re forced to make a run to England for the one piece of hidden evidence that can give them leverage. So, they hustle off with the family, trying not to tell them anything. But children can be canny, can’t they?
Once the former operatives return to the grid, the shooters come running, ready to finish their former game. No matter how much jet lag they have or shock over a true English breakfast, the kids can’t help but stare open-mouthed as their lame parents each turning superhero to fight numerous enemies.
Ending Explained
Why do Emily and Matt pretend they were killed in an accident?
When Emily discovers she’s pregnant the partners and lovers decide to stay together. After the plane crashes and explodes, they use it as an opportunity to get out of the Secret Service and build a normal life for their child.
What’s the issue between Emily and her mother?
Besides a personality clash, it seems like there’s quite a bit of misunderstanding and miscommunication. The downfall of many a relationship. While Emily feels that she’d been shipped off to boarding school because her mother was too busy with her career, Ginny claims that Emily begged to go to school in America.
Who is Nigel?
Ginny’s partner at home and intern in the service. While he’s clearly more of a boyfriend with a fantasy about being a spy, Ginny makes sure to keep him safe. Once introduced to Emily’s family, he leaps to take on the role of ‘Grandfather’ to the kids, no matter how resistant Emily is to that idea. For all his failure in the spy trade, he does save the day in the end. Even if no one cares to recognize his efforts.
How do their enemies find them in the UK?
When the kids log on to the internet at the gas station, everyone seeking them gets instant confirmation. But Baron seems to be even a step ahead of that, having kept watch via airport security.
Why is Baron obsessed with Emily?
Emily explains to Matt that she’d only had one date with him. Yet when they hear he’s a double agent, both are willing to believe it’s more about the work than real feelings. By the end we see, he’s just got an unrequited thing for her.
How well does Matt know Emily’s mother?
He seems to know more than we’re led to think in the beginning. Enough to realize that if he and Emily ever needed the key, they’d also need Ginny to help them.
Does Emily reconcile with both mother and daughter?
In a predictable show of sap, Ginny helps Alice better understand her mother, building a bond between them all. And they all go to Alice’s soccer match.
Who is Emily’s father?
An opportunity for BIA 2, the identity of Emily’s father is dangled at the end, but not revealed. Could it be Bond himself? Hmmmm.
More questions? Share ’em in the comments below. For more on the storyline, check out our review of Back in Action.
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