Mayday

With its mix of witty quips and action heroism, Mayday fits into the wheelhouse of Ryan Reynolds, although his charisma can only carry his latest vehicle so far.

In terms of sociopolitical and historical intrigue, this Cold War spy thriller is shallow and unconvincing, without much of the underlying suspense or escalating stakes the subject matter suggests.

It’s part throwback buddy comedy and part violent revenge saga that’s more about the intensity and choreography of the confrontations than the moral dilemma or bureaucratic complexities at its core.

The story opens in 1987, with Reynolds playing Lt. Troy Kelly, a brash but talented Navy fighter pilot recruited for a top-secret reconnaissance mission into Soviet airspace, only to have his plane shot down, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines..

That’s where he’s rescued by Nikolai (Kenneth Branagh), a former KGB agent living alone in a cabin in the Siberian wilderness. He prefers to be called Nick, which tracks with his fervent affinity for Bruce Springsteen, Top Gun, and American pop culture in general.

That eventually helps to ease Kelly’s distrust, even if he really doesn’t have much of a choice in his condition. Nick agrees to shepherd Kelly to safety across the Finnish border, which is quite a journey during which discovery of their partnership would mean persecution from each of their respective governments.

They’re both motivated, with Nick looking to reunite with his estranged daughter (Maria Bakalova) and eventually live in the United States. Kelly wants to get home and care for his ailing father (David Morse).

Survival means finding common ground and taking perilous risks. The ensuing getaway incorporates planes, trains automobiles — and tanks.

The progressively ridiculous screenplay by the directing tandem of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Game Night) struggles to modulate the awkward tonal shifts. Eventually, the film settles into a cat-and-mouse structure as Kelly and Nick are forced to outsmart and outrun apparently the entire Soviet intelligence operation.

Offering the obligatory salute to military courage and sacrifice, the early airborne sequences are vivid and harrowing, highlighted by Kelly ejecting from an aircraft under fire, then parachuting to the ground amid falling shrapnel.

However, the peaceful intentions and humanitarian messaging often clash with the visual emphasis in Mayday, which by the end necessitates a call for help.

Rated PG-13, 110 minutes.