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The Big Bad Film Fest is roaring into its final weekend, closing out a wildly successful third year with a barrage of high-octane action bangers, and leading the charge is the triumphant return of retro buddy-cop mayhem courtesy of director Steven C. Miller and his latest bullet-riddled, wisecrack-loaded romp, Under Fire. Front and center are two insanely charismatic leads: Dylan Sprouse, who already proved he can crush a Die Hard-style siege in Aftermath, and Mason Gooding, fresh off the sleeper horror smash Heart Eyes. Under Fire throws them into a slick setup: two undercover agents—one DEA, one FBI—working the same case, each totally unaware the other is also deep undercover. It’s a premise that could easily spin into sitcom territory, but Miller’s pumped-up direction and the electric chemistry of his stars pack the lean, mean 90-minute runtime with hyper-kinetic gunfights, sprint-or-die urgency, and bullseye comedy to spare.
Griff (Sprouse) and Abbott (Gooding) pose as low-level gunrunners chasing the score of a lifetime: a massive shipment of the white devil from a ruthless Mexican cartel. But when the deal goes sideways, Abbott flashes his DEA badge to close the net—only for Griff to whip out his FBI credentials right back at him. In an instant, two “criminals” who’ve spent ages undercover together, never suspecting the other is anything but dirty, realize they’re both on the right side of the law—and now they’ll have to trust each other with their lives. As the desert erupts into what feels like World War III, these two wayward heroes are hurled into survival mode, dodging exploding landmines and riding out a relentless storm of bullets from a mysterious sniper perched on a nearby ridge. Bad day at the office doesn’t even begin to cover it.
It’s a harsh reality: the classic buddy-action movie has been on life support for years, popping up only in scattered, half-hearted attempts that rarely stick the landing. The glory days when Riggs and Murtaugh or Tango and Cash blew up the screen with combustible chemistry and dynamite set pieces feel like a distant memory. Back then, directors like Richard Donner, Walter Hill, and Tony Scott had this subgenre dialed in cold—pure, precision-engineered testosterone with heart and humor. That finely tuned art has largely disappeared from the modern landscape, and action junkies have been starving for a real throwback.
Miller clearly worships at the altar of those old-school action flicks, and that passion blasts through every frame as Sprouse and Gooding bounce off each other with effortless rhythm. They’re not just likeable—they’re downright impossible not to root for. In a buddy-actioner, if the leads don’t click, the movie limps to the finish line; here, they sprint. You can feel how much fun the actors are having chewing on the banter and chaos, and on the off chance they weren’t? They fake it like pros. It’s easy to believe Sprouse and Gooding were just as chummy off-camera as their alter egos become on-screen, and that camaraderie fuels a fast-paced, crowd-pleasing little thriller that dares to inject a slightly different flavor into a familiar formula.
Across the film, twists and turns keep crashing into the newfound bromance, constantly threatening to blow it apart just as it starts to solidify. That extra layer of drama meshes smoothly with the tightly written dialogue, which is packed with punchy one-liners and snappy verbal jabs that bounce against all the on-screen terror and chaos. Adrian Speckert and Cory Todd Hughes share scripting duties, and it’s obvious both writers knew exactly what kind of movie they were making—and precisely which action-hungry audience they were aiming at.
Most of the movie—and nearly all of its blistering action—unfolds in a single, unforgiving locale: the middle of the desert. Instead of feeling cheap or limited, that tight setting works in the film’s favor, forcing Miller to squeeze every drop out of his resources with sizzling practical effects and action beats that land clean and hard. One adrenaline-jacked touch that stands out is Miller’s use of Matrix-style slow-motion bullets, which slice through the air and underline just how lethal every moment truly is, adding real weight to the carnage on screen. That visual flair, combined with kinetic sequences of our battered heroes scrambling to stay alive and take down the bad guys before they’re the ones getting zipped up, keeps the tension and momentum locked in high gear.
Make no mistake: Sprouse and Gooding haul this film across the finish line like action-warhorses, but they’re backed up by a sharp supporting cast. Odette Annable, playing the object of Abbott’s affections, walks a fine line between coy charm and grounded presence, doing her best to keep pace with the boys as the stakes rise. Emilio Riveria also makes a mark as Valentino, a crime boss on the opposite side of the chaos whose permanently grumpy attitude and steely demeanor add a fun edge to the criminal proceedings.
Under Fire is a blast of bravado-soaked action and deadpan comedy, a combo that usually trips up smaller-budget efforts, but here it lands right on target. Miller delivers exactly what the trailer promises—you can easily get pumped just from that tease alone—and then backs it up with sharp comedic beats that provide a much-needed counterbalance to the constant onslaught of carnage. For a film with such a tight, short runtime, there’s a surprising amount of mayhem packed in, and it all feels calibrated to maximum fun.
This movie just goes—it hits the gas early and barely ever lets up, blasting forward at a rapid-fire pace loaded with “hell yeah” moments. Sprouse gets a standout highlight straight out of the John Woo playbook, gliding through ultra slow-motion with twin guns blazing in that forever-cool double-gun crescendo, while Gooding gets plenty of room to flex his own hero chops with key beats of last-second bravery and stand-tall resolve. Both leads get their time to shine, and the crowd-pleasing factor stays high.
If anything stumbles, it’s a specific plot point that doesn’t get the fuller exploration it deserves. It’s a minor frustration, a mystery thread that doesn’t quite land the knockout blow it’s aiming for. But even then, it never fully yanks you out of the ride; it’s more of a “that could’ve hit harder” moment than a deal-breaker. Considering how many action films botch far more than this, Miller and company easily earn a solid pass—especially when everything else clicks together as satisfyingly as it does here.
Overall, Under Fire is a slick, tightly wound buddy-cop actioner that rockets a Hail Mary straight back to the glory days of action cinema, when this kind of movie dominated theater screens and video store shelves. Dylan Sprouse and Mason Gooding are an outright grand slam of a duo, playing off each other with fierce, finely tuned chemistry that delivers exactly the fireworks this kind of throwback needs. The jokes fly almost as fast as the bullets slicing through the desert air, and if these two were to reunite for another round of mayhem, I’d welcome it with open arms. That’s the highest compliment this movie can earn—and it absolutely deserves it.
VERDICT: 3.5 Out of 5 Stars
Dylan Sprouse and Mason Gooding shine amid tracer fire and razor-edged one-liners, delivering an immensely enjoyable, raucous, rapid-fire thrill ride that channels the glory days of old-school action!
Under Fire is also available on Digital & VOD from Vertical!
