Netflix has two movies out right now (I can’t really justify calling them films) that are both second-rate. That works well for one, but not for the other.

The one it works for is Back in Action, a title that succeeds in describing the whole plot as well as the presence of the stars themselves. Jamie Foxx is back from the brink of death, and Cameron Diaz is back after more than a decade off the screen. Their chemistry is strong, and that is what keeps one’s interest. The plot has a small twist or two, but it’s pretty generic, which doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few moments of excitement.

Foxx and Diaz are aging as slowly as possible, and they are believable as parents of teens. They clicked well in 1999’s Any Given Sunday, and then worked together again in 2014’s Annie. They carry the film completely on their connection and charisma.

The many fight scenes are clearly designed for aging stars, and aren’t anywhere near the level of say, the Bourne films. They’re slow and pretty unbelievable. Plot-wise, there is almost nothing that can’t be anticipated by a viewer that’s paying even the minimum of attention.

But…there are surprise character/actors that show up that give the film a jolt of much-needed energy. They include a TV star, a well-respected English actor, and then a massively Oscar-nominated legend. Since their appearances are half the fun of watching the movie, you’ll have to see the movie to find out who they are.

The artistic mediocrity of the film works in that Back in Action doesn’t pretend to be anything beyond a fun ride.  I turned my brain off before watching it, and it was just what my wife and I needed that evening. There is absolutely nothing new here, but if your expectations are low, this is a wonderfully mindless and amusing two hours.

While Back in Action’s quality almost enhances its enjoyability, the other Netflix film’s failures are a disappointment with a long and sad history. It’s The Six Triple Eight, the story of the Women’s Army Corps’ all-Black battalion in World War Two, their struggles with racism and misogyny, and finally, their conquering of an almost impossible task that boosted soldiers’ and their families’ morale around the globe. Great story, very moving, and unfortunately done in the most pedestrian and clichéd manner.

The film follows a long line of powerful stories about Blacks in the military that present great stories that will always be tied, for a long time, in packages that don’t do justice to the stories that they’re trying to tell. Here, only lead Kerry Washington is the reason to see the film other than its story. Her fierce portrayal of Major Adams, like the two stars of Back in Action, is what holds the film together. The glue instead should be the story itself, full of feistiness, anger, passion, prejudice, commitment, and a meaningful victory.

Instead, we get a barely believable love story that peters out as soon as it takes hold, and the white equivalents of DW Griffith’s Black villains of more than 100 years ago; the white superiors (many of whom in real life came around to respecting Adams, the rest of the battalion, and the work they did) are almost uniformly big, fat, and ugly. They signal their racism and misogyny almost before they appear. So tired, so lazy, and so lacking in any kind of nuance or individuation. Such a lost opportunity. Even the title is lazy. Washington is quoted as (apparently) complimenting Perry’s approach as expeditious, but that can be interpreted as admitting that he is simply grinding out his films as quickly as possible. It shows.  

There are great films with similar story lines, such as Glory and A Soldier’s Story. But then there are Memphis Belle, Men of Honor, and the low point of Red Tails, all of which fail to present their stories in ways that match the power of the stories they’re presenting. The Six Triple Eight feels thrown together, and even its emotional climax was made up.

History will always be fascinating and if it doesn’t seem that way to filmmakers, they just need to keep looking to find the drama. The Six Triple Eight is engaging for its (somewhat fictionalized) central story and for a couple of performances, Washington’s being the best by far. But just go looking for the main story buried inside, not for anything else.