2/5 stars A slick but empty-headed art heist movie, Red Notice begins with an explanation: a “red notice” is the highest-level Interpol “wanted” rating. In this case, the pan-European criminal investigatory body is targeting Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds), a highly competent thief and lock-picker who has already managed to escape incarceration six times. When FBI profiler John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) tracks him down to a museum in Rome, Nolan is midway through pulling off his latest scam – involving a jewel-encrusted golden egg the size of a rugby ball from ancient Egypt. After a rooftop chase in which Nolan escapes, Hartley tracks him down to Bali, but evidence points to Hartley being in on the scam and both are sent to a grim-looking Russian prison. As becomes clear, Nolan isn’t the only thief in town. Svelte-looking schemer The Bishop (Gal Gadot) has been manipulating events as she tries to track down two more of these priceless eggs for a billionaire who is planning to gift them to his very spoilt daughter. The trouble is that only Nolan knows where the third egg is, leading to a stand-off. Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who worked with Johnson on both Central Intelligence and Skyscraper , this is one of those films that looks expensive – fast cars, glamorous locations, A-list lifestyles. But there is nothing of substance here. The film globe-trots, everywhere from Valencia to Cairo, but it’s difficult to say if the production went to any of these exotic locales. The chemistry is also non-existent between the principal cast, who all bring along their usual shtick but little else. Johnson is a warm and watchable lead, although his charisma does nothing to improve the terrible script. Reynolds does his usual snarky rat-a-tat-tat quips, while Gadot offers her athletic physical prowess, as she slips off her heels and ass-kicks her male counterparts. There’s also plenty of movie in-jokes too. The watch from Pulp Fiction is referenced, movie lingo is regularly dropped into conversation, and Reynolds even does a Borat impression. None of it makes Red Notice feel smart or knowing, just derivative. Art heist movies should be glam and sexy – think The Thomas Crown Affair or Entrapment – but this is dull and tedious. Factor in one of the worst celebrity cameos you’ll ever see, and there really is little to recommend about Red Notice. Playing on Netflix, it may work as a Friday night veg-out movie, but you won’t remember a thing about it in the morning. Red Notice will start streaming on Netflix on November 12. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook