Ghosted is a silly and fun time that transports you back to the surge of romantic comedies that were plentiful from the early 2000s, with lots of spy action mixed in! Chris Evans and Ana de Armas equally share the screen in this two-hour adventure that takes a simple premise quite far – what do you do after a ‘perfect’ first date and the other person ghosts you?
This movie sets out a ridiculous (and slightly concerning) answer to the question by leading Cole (Evans) halfway around the world to find his dream woman that he thinks is “the one”. Want more information about Ghosted? Continue on to read my thoughts on what this Apple TV+ film brings to the table.
[Warning: Spoilers from Apple TV+’s Ghosted are below!]
Chris Evans and Ana de Armas film is a new take on rom-coms
Reminiscent of How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days or even Hitch, Ghosted hits the typical rom-com beats. Two very attractive and troubled people have a meet-cute at a farmers market that rapidly turns into a “day”, a date that starts at the market stall and ends a whole day later. Complications arise, as Sadie (de Armas) ghosts Cole and now he’s onto the grand gesture of showing up in London to surprise her.
While his multiple pages of texts are off-putting, it’s easy to forget that most “weird” behaviors shown in these types of movies are always balancing between charming and insane. The dial gets pushed to the latter when Cole uses a tracker tile item to locate the asthma inhaler that he left in Sadie’s purse during the “day”. This is when the whole story goes nuts and due to timing and confusion, they mistake Cole for the operative “Taxman” which leads to him getting drugged and kidnapped.
In comes Leveque, played by Adrien Brody, who’s after the chain code to unlock a briefcase containing a biological warfare weapon named “Aztec”. Before they can attempt to torture Cole, a super spy shows up, clears the room, and performs the rescue – surprise it’s Sadie!
The escape scene followed by the chase was an instant highlight for me. Seeing Ana De Armas driving a bus backward with a gun in the other hand was very well put together. It transported me back to her appearance in No Time to Die where she was underestimated but did a great job mopping the floor with the goons.
Evans’ comedic timing managed to hit throughout the entire movie but there is a sort of frustration that viewers may find in how unrelatable his notions about relationships can be. He’s teased constantly by his friends and family about how “needy” he can be, and he does nothing to assuage the allegations. Even Sadie said she was planning on replying to him BEFORE he had sent 11 text messages (and I guess she stopped looking at her phone by that point, he definitely sent more than 11 in total).
At the same time, Sadie does minimal about trying to open up and be honest with Cole about herself. The movie opens with Sadie having a much-needed conversation with her therapist about how she carries herself after facing a recent loss.
The good and the bad of Apple TV+’s Ghosted
Luckily, the movie never takes itself too seriously about anything which works great in this context because it’s borderline ridiculous yet remains a joyride. Leveque is never truly menacing as a villain, it’s kind of hard to see Brody as a real bad guy when he reminds me of a severely less effective version of Le Chiffre from Casino Royale. He’s made bad deals and is trying to scrounge together some sort of capital so he can deliver the “Aztec” canister.
The levels of loyalty of his goon squads are also kind of odd as his team keeps fumbling the capture of the “Taxman” which they believe to be Cole instead of Sadie. The action itself is pretty standard, using unorthodox methods of fighting where the incapable one (Cole) keeps getting lucky in taking them out and trying not to kill them.
As far as the “romance” part of this film, there’s plenty that Cole does that can come off way too strong and Sadie is justifiably annoyed or creeped out by it. But at the same time, there’s some adorable stupidity that keeps him just enough likable to give him a pass.
I found it intriguing that there was a moment where he had a chance to show not only his caring and nurturing side but his intelligence when he uses his farming knowledge to tend to her wounds and keep her from getting infected. As a gardener myself, I loved seeing him carry a cactus around as part of their inside joke and how it came in handy during a fight on an airplane.
While the plot may come off as crazy for some, it’s a bit refreshing to see a gender swap not just in leading roles but within the film itself. Instead of a male who’s shut himself off from affection, it’s turned around where we have Sadie hesitant to let down her walls. Infusing a high-stakes threat of the Aztec weapon wasn’t as effective as it needed to be. When they report to the CIA about their failures even the agency doesn’t seem that convinced of the urgency of reacquiring the canister.
Fans of Evans’ Captain America films will be delighted with the two very quick cameos from his best pals. With a bounty on both of their heads, there’s a fun sequence where Anthony Mackie shows up as a bounty hunter followed by Sebastian Stan. In the final action sequence, we get yet another surprise with Ryan Reynolds appearing as an ex to Sadie, blink and you’ll miss it nearly. The set itself for the final action was a cool location, the top floor of a rotating building that made for a suspenseful finale.
Final thoughts on Ghosted
With the way they ended the film, it feels like they could have potentially left the door open to explore the world more. I would absolutely dive back in to see how Cole and Sadie fare after a few years together.
My only gripe with this one is the run time, it’s not common to see a romance-based film go beyond an hour and a half and the extra 30 minutes in this one did not serve much. Ultimately, for a fun date night or a random palette cleanser, Ghosted manages to scratch a new itch I never knew I had – rom-com action.
My rating for the film:
★★★/ ♥♥♥♥♥
Ghosted is now streaming on AppleTV+. Are you checking it out? Let us know on Twitter or in The Cosmic Circus Discord. And if you haven’t already, check out our review of another new film, Beau is Afraid!
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