Diksha Sundriyal
Directed by Seth Gordon, Netflix’s ‘Back in Action’ follows the story of Matt and Emily, who appear as a normal couple on the outside but secretly harbor a dangerous past. The story begins with them on a mission that goes awry, giving them the opportunity to slip away into a tamer life where they can live in relative peace. Years later, however, their secret comes out, and they are forced to come out of retirement to save their children as well as save the world. The action thriller pairs Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx and delivers an edge-of-the-seat spy drama, but it is also grounded by the duo’s turn as parents of two teenagers.
The Fictional Matt and Emily Present an Escape from the Real Struggles of Being a Parent
‘Back in Action’ is an entirely fictional story penned by Seth Gordon and Brendan O’Brien. They bring a twist in the spy action genre by flipping the script where two highly trained spies who have seen all sorts of conflicts and challenges become parents and discover a whole new set of problems they never saw coming. For the creators of the film, the chemistry between the leads was the most important thing for the story to work, which is where Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, who have previously worked together in ‘Any Given Sunday’ and ‘Annie,’ came into the picture.
Diaz’s last picture, ‘Annie,’ came out in 2014, and in 2018, the actress revealed she was taking a step back from acting to focus on other parts of her life. After years of staying away from Hollywood, when she was offered the part of Emily, the actress found a common ground with the fictional character. Like Diaz, Emily made the conscious decision to walk away from her career to focus on her family. However, years later, she feels the pull towards her former life, the thrill of which she hasn’t experienced in anything else since she walked away from it. Diaz could relate to this feeling and felt that it justified the title of the movie in a deeper sense, as it would also mean that she is going to be “back in action” with this role.
While Diaz is no stranger to action movies, she confessed that she was a bit out of touch and had to flex her action muscles to get back into the groove. Once the muscle memory kicked in, it was much easier for her to handle the action, a lot of which she performed herself in the film. Another reason she chose ‘Back in Action’ as her return to Hollywood was because Jamie Foxx was in it, and they have been friends for about three decades. This familiarity between the duo was expressed in their chemistry on screen, which allowed director Seth Gordon to give them the space to play with the scenes and the characters and riff and improvise wherever possible. It made things feel more natural between Matt and Emily, making them seem like a married couple in a real sense.
The film also went through its fair share of troubles, with the production halting several times, especially after Foxx had a health scare. However, Gordon was not deterred by it. He continued working on the movie, doing a lot of rewriting during the breaks. Eventually, the filming went back on track when Foxx returned, healed and healthy, ready to jump back into the role. At the end of the day, the director and the actors expressed their desire for the film to be something that families can enjoy together. Diaz wanted Matt and Emily to represent all the parents who are underestimated by their children and to relate to the desire to have a more happening life. ‘Back in Action’ presents an escape to them in that sense, especially because Matt and Emily’s struggles come across in a highly relatable manner.
Read More: Back in Action: Is Foxhound Manor a Real Place in the UK? Is Ginny Curtis Based on a Real MI6 Agent?
You must be logged in to post a comment.