MAYDAY: Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh's Cold War Standoff Opens New Apple TV Film
A downed pilot's Cold War mission goes wrong in the opening moments of the new film.
Apple TV posted the first three minutes of MAYDAY, giving viewers an early look at the collision course between Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh at the center of the new action comedy. The scene establishes the premise: a top-secret mission into Russian territory during the height of the Cold War implodes, leaving Reynolds' character stranded behind enemy lines.
Reynolds plays Lieutenant Troy "Assassin" Kelly, a hotshot U.S. Navy pilot whose operation goes sideways almost immediately. Branagh co-stars as Nikolai Ustinov, a gruff ex-KGB agent with an unexpected fondness for American culture, who discovers Troy after his mission collapses. The film also features Marcin Doroncinski, Maria Bakalova and David Morse.
According to the streamer, what begins as a life-or-death encounter between the two men gradually shifts into an unlikely alliance, with the setup teasing a bond neither character expects. Apple TV describes MAYDAY as a genre-bending mix of buddy comedy and thriller, drawing comparisons to titles like Tetris, Argylle, The Instigators and The Family Plan.
The opening scene focuses squarely on the mission's collapse and Troy's realization that he is now alone in hostile territory, setting up the central dynamic between the two leads. MAYDAY is now streaming on Apple TV.