What would it take for a billionaire to fake his or her own death in order to fight for justice and freedom, for the sake of humanity, when his or her own life ends publicly? The question alone might not be surprising but what Michel Bay-directed “6 Underground” offers is mind-boggling. What seems to be the introduction of a new action hero, turns into an incredibly dull character with reasons not even the cinematic world can justify.

One, played by Ryan Reynolds, is an eccentric billionaire, in his own words, which even Forbes possesses zero knowledge of his existence. Going into the dark and pretending to be dead, he hires the best hitmen (Melanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ben Hardy, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco, and Corey Hawkins) to chase down bad people and eliminate them from the world One himself willingly gave up on. Having untraceable agents, he goes after the ruthless Turgistan dictator, Rovach Alimov (Lior Raz) to replace him with his peaceful and kind brother, Murat (Payman Maadi).

The film opens with excellent action sequences filled with lots of blood and coarse language. The seemingly never-ending fifteen minutes of the opening scene finally ends with bloodshed, which puts the beginning in a similar reality the viewer will have to face throughout. After losing a man in battle, One, who prefers not to know the names of his self-created SWAT team, hires Seven (Corey Hawkins) to replace the fallen fellow. This is when, after having a complete team with a certain skill set, the man announces an ambitious task to go after the man who terrorizes his own country and its citizens – Rovach Alimov. The mission alone, of course, is not going to be easy, however, Ryan Reynolds’ character is determined to finish it successfully even though he may have to leave one of his men behind.

“6 Underground” as an action film is mesmerizing, but when it comes to the storyline – it could not have been hollower. Lines written are ridiculously uninspiring and illogical. While the intention of it is understandable, the plot lacks some reasoning to demand the viewer to remain engaged. Instead, it focuses on action, blood, brutal killings and how the group of six or seven men can achieve what the whole world could not. While it’s admirable that Ryan Reynolds is doing this, but films like this lowers his mark faster than he could imagine.

As I wish I had nicer words to write about Michael Bay’s “6 Underground”, screenplay by Paul Wernick and Rett Reese creates a disappointing hole in Bay’s piece. Trying to aim for the concept of unsung heroes that try to save the world from itself, the film falls short on every single level except the direction which only Bay could handle. That alone is not enough to raise the mark of Bay’s effort, as it has nothing else to even remember. Films like this explain a lot why there are people who are fascinated with violence because this film provides multiple versions of killing in ways some of you may have to keep your eyes shut. It is all not just because our nerves are weak but because it offers nothing to be entertained with, which is sad. A director of Bay’s caliber could have done much better than this, far better…