Mayday Trailer Review: Ryan Reynolds Does Ryan Reynolds Yet Again & I Am Not Sure If It Is Such A Great News! Also, Ft. Kenneth Branagh

Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh in Mayday is a pairing you might have imagined. But what happens when a Russian and an American meet during the Cold War? Well, that is for you to find out.

- July 15, 2026 | 7:06 PM IST

Ryan Reynolds surely knows how to make you smile with his presence on screen. It’s in his nature to be effortlessly funny. And now he brings the same to his upcoming film, Mayday. This is a term that is used when everything is going wrong, especially in the aviation world. But when Ryan Reynolds is involved, be assured that even a Mayday moment can turn into a comedy of errors. And when Kenneth Branagh joins him, the crazy meter naturally turns up.

Mayday Trailer

It opens with Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Ryan Reynolds) having flashes of a traumatic incident. He is an American fighter pilot whose jet crashed in Russia. The incident takes place in 1987 against the backdrop of the Cold War. Ryan is now lying in a room, which looks more like a temporary arrangement than a home. While he is still trying to make sense of his situation, an ex-KGB agent, Nikolai Ustinov (Kenneth Branagh), walks in. Ryan learns that Kenneth performed surgery on his leg, and Kenneth does not seem to be an expert surgeon. But in the trailer, we see Ryan running and walking perfectly, so I guess he was healed.

Anyway, coming back to the small room. Ryan and Kenneth’s brief interaction reveals that the American pilot has crash-landed in Russia. And why has Kenneth helped his country’s enemy? Because he loves everything American – from their movies to food, and that has influenced this humanity-filled gesture.

In the rest of the trailer, we see Ryan navigating his way through Russia, trying to keep himself alive. Through this, he has the help of his Russian friend Kenneth.

Decoding The Trailer

Ryan Reynolds being funny and sarcastic has always been great so far. But are we stretching it? Putting Ryan’s classic wit to the test in the background of the Cold War? Bold or Stupid? Well, only time will tell.

For now, what works is the way Ryan and Kenneth complement each other and keep the humor quotient going. In the midst of the camaraderie, we see bombings and guns blazing in the background.

America and Russia have not had the best of friendship. It will be interesting to see how audiences of both countries react to the movie as well.

The ending of the trailer is the most hilarious part as they are hiding in the closet as a Russian official meets a sex worker in the other room. Even in that dangerous situation, Kenneth turns it hilarious with his awkward commentary.

The film will be available for streaming on Apple in September.