Ryan Reynolds’ Mayday Takes Off With One of His Best Rotten Tomatoes Scores in a Decade

Ryan Reynolds has another reason to celebrate ahead of the release of Mayday. The new Apple TV action thriller has arrived with an 84% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, giving Reynolds one of the strongest-reviewed starring films of his career and his best score in roughly a decade. The figure was based on 25 reviews when the film’s official reviews were first tallied, so it remains subject to change as more critics weigh in.

Directed and written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Mayday pairs Reynolds with Oscar-winning filmmaker and actor Kenneth Branagh for a Cold War adventure that combines espionage, action and the odd-couple humor of an old-school buddy comedy.

The film follows U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly, played by Reynolds, after a top-secret mission into Russian territory goes disastrously wrong. Stranded behind enemy lines, Troy finds an unlikely ally in Nikolai Ustinov, an eccentric former KGB agent played by Branagh. Their uneasy partnership becomes Troy’s best chance of making it out alive.

That setup has already earned Mayday a promising critical reception.

Mayday ranks among Reynolds’ best-reviewed films

With an 84% Tomatometer score at the time of the initial review count, Mayday sits sixth among Reynolds’ highest-rated starring films on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movies ahead of it are Mississippi Grind at 91%, Adventureland at 89%, Buried at 87%, The Whale at 86%, and Deadpool at 85%. Mayday also narrowly surpasses Deadpool 2, which sits at 83%, and Free Guy, which earned 80%. Rotten Tomatoes’ current career ranking similarly places Mississippi Grind, Adventureland, Buried, The Whale and Deadpool among Reynolds’ top-rated films.

The placement is particularly notable because Reynolds’ last feature film, Deadpool & Wolverine, received a 77% critics’ score. Mayday therefore represents a substantial critical rebound for the actor, while also giving him another opportunity to move beyond the superhero role that has defined much of his recent career.

A throwback to the classic buddy-comedy formula

Much of the early praise for Mayday centers on the chemistry between Reynolds and Branagh.

Reynolds brings the sarcastic, quick-witted personality audiences have come to associate with many of his comedy roles, while Branagh plays the more eccentric and unpredictable half of the pairing. Their contrasting personalities give the film its central comic dynamic while leaving plenty of room for action.

The movie also deliberately embraces the feel of 1980s action and buddy comedies. Its Cold War setting, spy-thriller premise and explosive set pieces give the story a familiar action-movie foundation, while the relationship between Troy and Nikolai supplies much of the humor.

That approach has been highlighted by critics reviewing the film. RogerEbert.com’s Brian Tallerico described Mayday as a love letter to Top Gun and 1980s buddy comedies, pointing to its period setting, action, humor and overall tone.

The film does not attempt to reinvent the buddy-action formula. Instead, its appeal comes from the chemistry of its two leads and the energy with which Daley and Goldstein move between comedy and action.

Daley and Goldstein reunite for another genre mash-up

Mayday is the fourth feature directed together by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. The pair previously worked on films including Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, both of which earned strong critical responses.

Their latest project gives them another opportunity to mix comedy with a traditionally more serious genre. Here, espionage and Cold War action provide the framework, while Reynolds and Branagh’s mismatched partnership keeps the story from becoming overly grim.

In ScreenRant’s review, Alex Harrison gave Mayday 7 out of 10, praising its straightforward 1980s buddy-comedy appeal and the pairing of Reynolds and Branagh. The review acknowledged that the film does not necessarily reinvent the genre, but found enough entertainment value in the leads and action to make the movie worthwhile.

The film’s broader critical reception reflects a similar balance. The Associated Press praised the odd-couple dynamic and the film’s willingness to play with 1980s action conventions, while also noting weaknesses in its treatment of Cold War politics and some of its familiar genre elements.

Reynolds returns to the big screen after Deadpool & Wolverine

Mayday marks Reynolds’ first starring feature since 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which reunited him with Hugh Jackman more than a decade after their earlier work together.

While Reynolds has been away from leading roles on the big screen, he has remained active as a producer through his company Maximum Effort. Among the projects associated with him is the critically acclaimed documentary John Candy: I Like Me.

His next stretch of projects should keep him busy.

Reynolds is set to voice Pony in Animal Friends, a live-action/animation hybrid adventure scheduled for January 22, 2027. He is also starring in and producing Eloise, Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the classic children’s book series. That film remains without an announced release date.

There has also been continued speculation surrounding Reynolds and Deadpool, particularly amid discussion of Avengers: Doomsday. Reynolds has previously indicated that he does not expect Deadpool to remain the central character of future stories, saying he sees the character working better as part of an ensemble.

For now, however, Mayday puts the focus firmly back on Reynolds outside the Marvel universe.

Who else is in Mayday?

Reynolds and Branagh lead a supporting cast that includes Maria Bakalova, Marcin Dorociński and David Morse. Reynolds and Daley also previously appeared together in the 2005 comedy Waiting.

The film’s production team includes Reynolds, Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, David Ellison, Don Granger, Dana Goldberg, Ashley Fox, Johnny Pariseau and Patrick Gooing among its producers.

Apple lists the movie as a PG-13 action film with a runtime of 1 hour and 50 minutes.

The official premise has Reynolds’ Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly undertaking a top-secret mission in Russian territory during the Cold War before the operation leaves him stranded behind enemy lines. Nikolai Ustinov, the former KGB agent played by Branagh, becomes the unlikely person capable of helping him escape.

Mayday release date

Mayday premieres globally on Apple TV on September 4, 2026.

With an 84% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score at the time of its initial review tally, the film is already positioned as one of the strongest-reviewed starring vehicles of Reynolds’ career. Whether that number holds as more reviews arrive remains to be seen, but Mayday has given Reynolds a notably strong critical start to his return to leading roles.