Ghosted wastes Chris Evans and Ana de Armas in dated action rom-com
There's an excitement online for Apple TV+'s new movie Ghosted, starring the powerhouse combo of Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, but it's not for the reason you might have expected.
With more clips being released as part of the marketing campaign, some people are convinced that the two leads didn't actually film together. This is despite the fact that there are numerous set photos of them doing just that. Even though people can now get to see the whole movie, it won't necessarily stop the rumours.
There are numerous moments during Ghosted where, even though the stars were filming together, they weren't necessarily where they were meant to be. An abundance of green screen has been used throughout and rarely in a good way, which will surely feed the Internet rumour mill.
But even if it wasn't for the fact that the movie looks very fake at parts, real locations probably wouldn't have saved Ghosted anyway.
For some, the concept of Ghosted – which isn't about anything supernatural – is as unbelievable as some of its location. After a meet-cute at the local market, salt-of-the-earth farmer Cole (Evans) falls head over heels for the enigmatic Sadie (de Armas) who then proceeds to ghost him after their one date.
Evans might be a handsome chap, but one scene spent with Cole will make you realise just why Sadie ghosts him. He's overly cautious, dull and a bit of a creep, if we're being totally honest, using a tracker on his inhaler – unwittingly left in Sadie's bag on their date – to stalk her in London after she ignores his multiple texts.
Once there on his creepy mission (it's not a grand romantic gesture, they had one date), Cole is kidnapped and about to be tortured by some bad dudes who are hunting down "The Taxman". Sadie shows up to save Cole, revealing that she's not an art curator and is actually a secret agent working for the CIA.
Cue an international mission that Cole finds himself tagging along with after various contrivances. It should be an entertaining romp, but Ghosted is never thrilling enough nor funny enough to make its action rom-com trappings work effectively.
While it flips the usual trope of a guy being a secret agent, that ends up being the only fresh element of Ghosted. It otherwise hits the same dated beats as numerous other action-comedies, from a MacGuffin in a briefcase to vaguely-defined foreign baddies (Adrien Brody's Leveque is French, but you only really know because he tells us).
Chris Evans and Ana de Armas have shown before they can do both action and comedy, but even their combined talents can't bring the script to life. When two separate characters have to say that their sexual chemistry is "off the charts", it's a sure sign that it's not quite coming across naturally.
Ghosted does happen upon a couple of genuinely fun sequences, namely one where various A-listers show up as bounty hunters tracking down Cole and Sadie. But the plot and action sequences – largely set in low lighting to mask some dodgy effects – are so generic that the good moments only serve to highlight what might have been.
As it is, Ghosted ends up being a waste of Chris Evans and Ana de Armas' talents which, despite some fleeting moments, you'll probably ghost yourself after watching.
Ghosted is available to watch now on Apple TV+.
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