Imagine my shock when I learned that Netflix decided not to continue 6 Underground, starring Ryan Reynolds, because it supposedly failed to resonate deeply enough with audiences to justify a sequel. Excuse me? I am the audience. Did anyone bother consulting me?

Released in 2019 and directed by Michael Bay, 6 Underground somehow completely escaped me when it first exploded onto Netflix. My husband Bunny Brunel and I watched it tonight, and the moment the credits rolled, I practically sprinted to my computer to tell AGENDA readers that I had just discovered one of the most entertaining hidden gems on the platform.

And hidden gem is exactly what this feels like.

6 Underground is pure chaos. Glorious, unapologetic, over-the-top chaos.

“Loud, frenetic, and finally preposterous.” — Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus

The film follows a billionaire vigilante who fakes his death and assembles a covert team of specialists to dismantle corrupt dictators and criminals the world cannot seem to touch through traditional systems of justice. Michael Bay turns that premise into a relentless sensory assault filled with breathtaking stunts, impossible car chases, explosions, saturated color, bullets, bodies, glass, yachts, helicopters, and enough destruction to level several zip codes.

And somehow…it works.

The opening Florence chase is absolutely deranged in the best possible way. Lamborghinis fly through ancient streets, bodies slam into windows, bullets ricochet everywhere, and Bay’s camera moves at what feels like the speed of light. It is like watching an orchestra of destruction conducted by a caffeinated pyromaniac genius.

I lost count of how many cars, boats, estates, helicopters, innocent sculptures, and heavily armed villains were obliterated during the film. There is even a surgery sequence performed in the back seat of a speeding vehicle that had me simultaneously horrified and unable to look away.

“A riotous and gleefully delirious assault on the senses.” — The Globe and Mail

What surprised me most, though, was not the action. It was the cast.

Ryan Reynolds balances sarcasm, charm, and emotional restraint without turning the movie into self-parody. Mélanie Laurent brings intelligence and gravity. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ben Hardy, Adria Arjona, Corey Hawkins, and Dave Franco all commit fully to the insanity around them. Nobody sleepwalks through this film. Every actor knows exactly what kind of movie this is, and they lean all the way in.

Beneath the explosions, 6 Underground is a vigilante fantasy about frustrated people taking justice into their own hands when governments and systems fail. It is reckless, morally questionable, occasionally absurd, and undeniably satisfying.

Maybe that is why the film has quietly developed a second life among viewers rediscovering it years later.

“So big it feels like it’s going to smash out of your television screen.” — The Detroit News

The editing is hyper-stylized and relentless. Every sequence feels engineered for maximum impact. Bay’s visual fingerprints are everywhere: slow motion, neon color, swirling cameras, impossible geography, and destruction choreographed almost like dance.

The music also works beautifully. I usually lean toward traditional orchestral scores, but the soundtrack choices sharpen the film’s attitude, while Lorne Balfe’s score gives the action tension, propulsion, and scale.

What still shocks me is that Netflix walked away from the franchise despite its enormous visibility. Former Netflix film chief Scott Stuber later suggested the movie did not connect creatively in the long term. I respectfully disagree. If anything, 6 Underground may have arrived before audiences fully understood what Netflix was becoming: a studio capable of producing massive blockbuster spectacles that could rival theatrical releases.

Part of me thinks the overlords wanted this movie quietly buried. Underneath all the explosions and billionaire vigilante fantasy is a strangely intelligent anti-establishment thrill ride. It has an Elon Musk-meets-global-anarchy energy. I’m joking. Mostly.

I refuse to spoil the movie for anyone who has not seen it. If you love revenge thrillers, impossible stunts, globe-trotting action, antiheroes, vigilante justice, or movies that embrace total cinematic excess without apology, 6 Underground is absolutely worth watching.

Netflix, if you are listening, some of us still want Part 2.

Six out of five stars.

Watch the trailer.