Buddy Comedy With an Old-School Kick

Read Time:5 Minute, 17 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
London Calling
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Genre: Action, Comedy
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 54m
Director(s): Allan Ungar
Writer(s): Omer Levin Menekse, Allan Ungar, Quinn Wolfe
Cast: Josh Duhamel, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Rick Hoffman, Aidan Gillen, Neil Sandilands, Arnold Vosloo
Where to Watch: coming to select theaters September 19, 2025

RAVING REVIEW: When the crime world collides with mentorship, the results can be both explosive and surprisingly tender. LONDON CALLING leans into that contradiction with gusto, offering an action-comedy that’s equal parts shootouts, road movie, and unlikely bonding. Directed by Allan Ungar, who previously collaborated with Josh Duhamel, the film aims to deliver entertainment that recalls the buddy movies of the 1980s and 1990s while carving out a contemporary spin.

The setup is simple but solid. Tommy Ward (Josh Duhamel), a once-feared but now washed-up hitman, makes the worst mistake of his career: he accidentally kills the wrong man, a relative of London crime boss Freddy Darby (Aidan Gillen). Fleeing to Los Angeles, Tommy makes a deal with new crime boss Benson (Rick Hoffman): babysit his son Julian (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and teach him how to “become a man,” in exchange for safe passage back to the UK. Of course, things spiral when the job requires killing a legendary assassin, and Tommy’s quest to return to his own child collides with Julian’s desperate need for validation.

It’s a setup that thrives on contrast. Tommy is jaded, cynical, and running on fumes, while Julian is timid, wide-eyed, and completely unsuited for the criminal underworld. The humor stems from their differences, but so does the heart. Director Allan Ungar has made it clear this is more than just an excuse for shootouts: the film is about fathers, sons, and the messy ways masculinity is defined and passed down. That thematic weight doesn’t always come through cleanly, but when it does, it gives the film more emotional substance than most entries in the genre.

Duhamel carries the film with a presence that straddles menace and vulnerability. He plays Tommy as a man who’s past his prime but still clings to the scraps of reputation that once kept him alive. It’s not groundbreaking work, but Duhamel injects enough humor and pathos to keep the character from becoming a caricature. Jeremy Ray Taylor proves a worthy foil, balancing Julian’s awkwardness with an undercurrent of sincerity. Their chemistry feels authentic, and even when the plot veers into absurdity, their dynamic grounds the film.

Supporting players add to the story. Aidan Gillen, always reliable in villainous roles, makes Freddy Darby a menacing presence, while Rick Hoffman injects sarcasm and impatience into Benson. Neil Sandilands and Arnold Vosloo round out the rogues’ gallery, giving the film a colorful backdrop of criminal eccentricity.

Ungar shoots the film, using Cape Town to double for both London and Los Angeles. The action sequences are lively, if not particularly innovative, relying on practical stunt work and brisk editing to maintain the energy. The road-movie element helps maintain momentum, with Tommy and Julian stumbling from one chaotic encounter to the next. At its best, the film channels the same scrappy, mismatched energy that made classics like MIDNIGHT RUN or THE LAST BOY SCOUT enduring. At its weakest, it feels like it’s coasting on homage rather than fully reinventing the formula.

Many of the jokes hinge on Julian’s sheltered awkwardness clashing with Tommy’s hardened worldview, and while not every gag feels fresh, enough of them work to keep the tone light. Still, some sequences overstay their welcome, leaning too hard into juvenile humor when the film might have benefited from tighter punchlines.

Perhaps the film’s biggest strength is its sincerity. Ungar has said he wanted to balance action, comedy, and heart, and that effort is visible throughout. Beneath the gunfire and punchlines is a story about two people craving approval — Tommy from his estranged son, Julian from his dismissive father. It’s not subtle, but it’s effective enough to give the film weight. By the climax, when chaos reaches its peak, that emotional throughline provides the resolution with a little more impact than expected.

At nearly two hours, it feels stretched, and a tighter runtime would have heightened the pacing. Some of the action feels derivative, and while Duhamel and Taylor sell their partnership, the film doesn’t always maximize the depth of their characters. Yet despite these stumbles, it delivers on its core promise: a lively, old-school action comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The film settles into a comfortable middle ground. It’s neither groundbreaking nor a throwaway; instead, it sits firmly in the category of “a fun experience to experience.” Fans of Ungar’s previous work will appreciate his affection for the genre, and audiences who miss the buddy action films of past decades will find something familiar here. It may not redefine the genre, but it embraces its conventions with confidence and heart — and that’s enough to make it worth the ride.

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