If you fire up Netflix on your device of choice and see a splashy, visually dazzling trailer or clip for a movie called An Action Hero, then you’re instantly going to form a certain set of expectations and ideas in your mind.
Based on how co-writer and director Anirudh Iyer’s satirical blockbuster has been faring on Netflix this weekend, those demands have been met and then some. Per FlixPatrol, An Action Hero has entered the streaming service’s global Top 10, having become one of the most popular titles in 17 countries, which includes seven first-place finishes.
Smart, subversive, and self-aware all at once, Ayushmann Khurrana stars as Maanav Khuranna, the action hero of the title and a heightened version of a real-life figure you can probably figure out from the name. Once one of the most popular stars in the country, a murder accusation derails his entire life and career, forcing him to flee the country.
Of course, you can never truly outrun the sins of the past, forcing him to emerge from hiding to take the fight to his pursuers, with plenty of sweeping action, impressive stuns, and ass-kickings along the way. An Action Hero might not be for everyone, but for those who prefer their action comedies to live on the more meta end of the spectrum, there are plenty of worse options out there.
For Netflix subscribers at least, it would seem that the film is scratching the perfect itch they’ve had when there’s 130 minutes of the day that need to be filled.
