MAYDAY: Kenneth Branagh's Ex-KGB Agent Sets a Trap for Ryan Reynolds' Stranded Pilot
Scene shows the uneasy alliance between the two leads take a tense turn.
Apple TV posted a full scene from MAYDAY featuring Kenneth Branagh as Nikolai Ustinov, the gruff ex-KGB agent at the center of the film's Cold War standoff with Ryan Reynolds' stranded American pilot. The clip, titled 'Kenneth Branagh Sets a Trap,' shows Ustinov maneuvering against Reynolds' character as the fragile alliance between the two men is tested.
MAYDAY follows Reynolds as Lieutenant Troy 'Assassin' Kelly, a U.S. Navy pilot whose top-secret mission into Russian territory collapses at the height of the Cold War, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines. Branagh's Ustinov, described by Apple TV as having an unexpected fondness for American culture, discovers Troy after the operation implodes, setting up the uneasy partnership that drives the film. The cast also includes Marcin Doroncinski, Maria Bakalova and David Morse.
Apple TV has billed MAYDAY as a genre-bending buddy comedy and thriller, drawing comparisons to titles such as Tetris, Argylle, The Instigators and The Family Plan. The streamer previously released the film's opening scene, which established the Cold War standoff between Reynolds and Branagh's characters, as well as a VHS-styled release trailer playing up the movie's home-video gimmick.
The new scene builds on that setup by pushing the relationship between Troy and Ustinov toward open conflict, testing whether their unlikely bond can survive Ustinov's maneuvering. More on the film's setup can be found in BroadwayWorld's earlier coverage of MAYDAY's opening Cold War standoff scene.
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