Welcome to Movie Reviews 2026 – your indispensable guide to film. And there’s no messing about this week, just review, review, review!
Speaking of which, in this week’s edition, there’s explosions and exposition a-plenty in action thriller, In the Grey; there’s lots of Bollywood dancing in Best of the Best; and there’s high wire hijinks in Zip Wire!
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Now streaming…
In the Grey (2026)
OK, onto the movies and first up this week is action thriller, In the Grey. Written and directed by Guy Ritchie, the movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez, Rosamund Pike, and Fisher Stevens, and focuses on a lawyer and her team of ‘fixers’ as they attempt to recover a debt.
In the film, no-nonsense lawyer Rachel Wild specialises in recovering debt from powerful clients. Her latest job is to reclaim a billion dollars from Manny Salazar.
Working with her partners, two fixers named Sid and Bronco, Rachel sets out to recover the money. But this kind of work never runs smoothly and a few explosive situations will need to take place before the job is complete.
Released in select cinemas during the summer (it skipped UK cinemas completely), In the Grey is a so-so picture which is now available to stream on Prime Video. And your interest level in this film will vary depending on a.) how much you care about Guy Ritchie movies, b.) how much you care about the cast, and c.) how much time you have to kill.
In terms of Ritchie movies it’s not his best. If you’re a Ritchie devotee then you’ll find something here which appeals, but he has made stronger pictures.
With regard to the cast, this is arguably the best selling point of In the Grey. Gyllenhaal and Cavill are excellent, and they are the glue that holds everything together.
As for the ‘killing time’ thing, well this is likely the reason why you’ll see this one through. In the Grey isn’t bad, and some may find it enjoyable enough, but it’s nothing special and for the most part it’s just a standard crime picture – albeit one which looks pretty swish.
The big sticking point with In the Grey is that it just gets too bogged down in narration and exposition. It moves from A to B as needed, but the film struggles to gain any major momentum along the way, largely due to the clunky first half which spends too much time explaining every little detail.
Things pick up during the back-half of the movie, but by then it’s too late to elevate the material. That said, the copious amounts of guns, explosions, and car chases certainly improve things, as does some zip line action, as well a sequence involving a bazooka.
However, it is what it is: In the Grey is an action-thriller that works from time-to-time but doesn’t work all the time. Make of this what you will.
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Now streaming…
Best of the Best (2026)
Onto movie number two and let me ask you a question: What do you get if you combine some energetic dance routines, decent cinematography, a good cast, and a likeable soundtrack, with a lacklustre script? Answer: Best of the Best – a comedy drama which looks good and sounds great, but is really quite boring to watch.
Directed by Lena Khan, and starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Priyanka Kedia, and Chaneil Kular, Best of the Best follows the story of two young Indian American women who go to college and take part in Bollywood dance classes. What follows is a bunch of flashy routines as well as a few setbacks, along with a dash of anxiety, which is related to a past routine that went disastrously wrong.
Oh dear…
It saddens me to say it, but Best of the Best is a frustrating experience. There are so many elements of the film which work, and the dance routines are fun, but because the story is so dull, it becomes an absolute slog to watch.
I stuck it out because I review movies and it’s my job to see things through, but at almost two hours long it’s not something I’d suggest sticking with otherwise. Sure, this is a teen drama, so it could be argued that I’m not the target audience, but not being the target audience has nothing to with a bland script.
Many of the gags don’t work, the story is plodding, and it all feels like a missed opportunity. This could be a quirky or interesting film, and it’s just not.
That said, the costuming, choreography, etc is a great, so the film isn’t a complete disaster. Unfortunately this isn’t enough to save Best of the Best from being yet another lacklustre streaming title that will be forgotten in no time at all.
If the energy on display in the dance routines was injected into the story, then Best of the Best would be a great film. The fact it isn’t is the biggest misstep.
By all means watch, and appreciate the efforts that go into a production like this, but don’t for one moment think you will feel satisfied with what’s on offer. Best of the Best kind of just drifts along, almost aimlessly, until the inevitable conclusion which doesn’t feel worth the time you have invested in it.
On a wider issue (and this isn’t just aimed at this film), Best of the Best is yet another example of a streaming title falling short. And yes, it’s a streaming title on Netflix – the home of films that often fall short.
Streamers are continuously increasing subscription costs, and shoehorning adverts into every available space, and yet their movies keep missing the mark. They have to do better, because bland stories aren’t good enough any more.
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Now streaming…
Zip Wire (2026)
And finally, in British action-thriller, Zip Wire, a pharmaceutical research scientist with a fear of heights is forced to overcome her life-impeding problem in order to scatter the ashes of her dead boyfriend… up a mountain! And no, I’m not making this up.
In the movie, when Amy’s other half is killed, she embarks on a quest to scatter his ashes in a place he longed to be. This means scaling a ruddy big mountain!
This is something Amy struggles with as she can’t stand heights, but she aims to give it a go regardless… because why not? Only thing is, a rival pharmaceutical company is after Amy’s research, and sends a team to intercept Amy when she’s in a vulnerable position, leading to a fight for survival.
Jeez, if Best of the Best wins the award for the most boring movie this week, then Zip Wire certainly nabs prizes for being the most ridiculous AND the most annoying. The premise is utter nonsense, the script is worse, the acting is terrible, and the visual effects work is dreadful.
At various points throughout the movie, characters are suspended from ropes while supposedly hanging between cliffs. Yet even Mister Magoo could see these actors have never been near a mountain, and it all appears to have been created with poor blue screen on a budget of about 10p.
Not that the visuals are the worst aspect of the movie; nope, that goes to the lead character, who is without doubt one of the most irritating people ever put on film. Supposedly quirky and socially awkward, main player, Amy is painful to watch and a constant source of irritation.
She’s the sort of character you want to see fall off a mountain top, but alas you know you’re stuck with her to the bitter end. As such, it’s impossible to care what happens, or to even care where the story is going.
If you’re not cheering on the villains, in the hope they might bump her off, it’s probably because you gave up watching after about ten minutes. This is without doubt the best decision all round and anyone that does make it to the end deserves a medal.
Zip Wire is utter rubbish. The action sequences and scenes of spectacle are subpar, the level of suspense is nonexistent, and every character is worse than the next.
If you have money to burn and a high tolerance for this kind of thing, Zip Wire is available to rent or buy on digital platforms. But do be warned, this isn’t one of those cases of a movie being ‘so bad it’s good’, it’s simply just a bad movie and a waste of time.
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Recent Releases
Not quite done yet? Want more movies? The above suggestions aren’t enough?! Well, here’s what’s also doing the rounds:
Resident Evil (2026)
“(Zach) Cregger and co-writer Shay Hatten take the general premise of the games, attach it to a story about a lone man attempting to traverse countless obstacles, and add in a decent amount of blood and gore, alongside some well placed humour. It’s fun, it’s easy to get involved in, and it’s incredibly atmospheric.”
Practical Magic 2 (2026)
“Practical Magic 2 is a bit of a mixed bag and it won’t be for everyone. If you adored the first film then you’ll no doubt come out of this one happy enough, but if Practical Magic did nothing for you then this sequel is likely to fall flat.”
Fall 2 (2026)
“As with its predecessor, Fall 2 knows exactly what type of movie it wants to be and it makes no qualms about throwing itself in head first. Oh, it’s a three-star movie and nothing more (let’s not go crazy here), but it’s a solid three-star movie and no mistake.”
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Movie of the Week
Onto Movie of the Week, and there’s not much to recommend from this week’s selection – sorry! So, instead, I’m going to use this slot to suggest you go and see Avengers: Endgame the encore edition, which is playing in cinemas from Friday.
This is a slightly longer version of the 2019 movie, which is being re-released in cinemas ahead of Avengers: Doomsday (due out in December).
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Forthcoming attractions
That’s it for this week, but coming soon Digger, Verity, Animals, Other Mommy, Street Fighter, Whalefall, and Clayface, Plus, John Cena and Jessica Biel lead the way in action-comedy, Matchbox: The Movie, while Masters of the Universe director Travis Knight calls the shots on animated fantasy film, Wildwood.
Alex
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