“The Union” is a drama that takes the viewer through a construction worker Mike (Mark Wahlberg), who works a simple job, enjoys time at a bar with friends, and has an involuntary sexual relationship with his seventh-grade teacher, the only one viewed as humor throughout the film. However, after almost a lifetime, Mike is delighted to see his high school crush, Roxanne, played by Halle Berry whom he hasn’t spoken to in such a long time. What Mike perceives as an adorable reunion, turns out to be something far deeper like a top-notch global intelligence mission.
Everyone including army soldiers, police, and FBI agents working for western countries has all their personal data in the hands of the hackers. In fact, when Mike was still young, he was already under the agency The Union headed by Roxanne and her headstrong boss Tom (J. K. Simmons) who are currently working to retrieve the lost hack. There are two noteworthy accomplishments handled by their organization, The Union. First, it is a governmental organization similar to the CIA, and its multiple operations are not disclosed to the public. Second, sad to say, they conduct “off the books operations,” which has the goal to infiltrate low profile blue collar workers. Since she fundamentally believes that no one would expect this of him, Roxanne wants to use Mike, but the story does not hold together and it is rather pathetic.
With the characters there is no impetus. We are willing to accept the implausibility that Mike would of his own volition even consider undertaking such a dangerous procedure for which he has no real technical training just for some sentimental and perhaps nationalistic (the nationalistic sentiment is rather plausible, although more likely comes from Wahlberg’s social views rather anything in the script) reasons, and that is only for the sake of nostalgia. In principle, such a summarization of the plot is the only focus of the film, while the characters who have to be a part of this particular dark underworld and the world-building, are rather neglected.
There is nothing new about “The union”. Wahlberg effortlessly settles back into his regular role: a cocky east coast wannabee tough guy tossing out jokes at the same time. Berry, just like in the third chapter of John Wick where she actually managed to convey forceful stylism and true action star presence — tries her hardest to overcome the film’s surrogate script. Nevertheless, The Union moves through its outline’s bullet points, if those indeed were aimed at trigger points, with a frustratingly low level of inspiration and imagination. There is no chemistry in its leads and as their will-they-won’t-they is aimed at being the most engaging core of the narrative, the emotional potential of the feature is quite low, almost nonexistent.
Owing to its refusal to excel at either end of its action-comedy ambition, “The Union” has tonal whiplash as a side effect.
For the most part, the action is completely bland, except with a few key set pieces which quicken the pace a bit but otherwise do not show anything interesting. Rebounds of exposition and world building done in a half-hearted manner mess the flow of the film so much that the 105 minutes seem like a long marathon where the viewer has to struggle to reach the end.
It is then its self-proclaimed humor which is supposed to work or draw some low level of amusement instead of the high level of laughter that was intended, that manages to elicit chuckles or some level of appreciation from the audience, but certainly not laughter. Most of the jokes are weak and seem to have been built around a central idea of ‘cheap comedy’, trying to play on as many clichés as possible to gun for easy laughs. The Union is no different than many other mediocre films; it adds nothing new and seems to have an array of issues. Its plot is shallow and dull, lasting almost an eternity. The nth time one has to sit through such shallow writing, no ‘star power’ will be able to save the film and this is the reality that one has to ever so reluctantly, come to accept.
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