One thing’s for sure: People show up when Halle Berry hosts a watch party! The beloved Gothika and Monster’s Ball actress threw an online soiree to launch her new action comedy, The Union. The shindig helped the Julian Farino-directed feature climb to 33.1 million views, making it the most-watched English film of the week on Netflix. The Union stars Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg as high school sweethearts reuniting to take on an international crime syndicate. Mike Colter, J.K. Simmons, Alice Lee Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jackie Earle Haley, and Jessica De Gouw also star.
Elsewhere, the first part of Emily in Paris Season 4 debuted at the top of Netflix’s English TV list with 19.9 million views. As a byproduct of the Season 4 launch, Netflix subscribers re-watched previous seasons of the international romantic comedy series, with Season 1 taking ninth place with 1.8 million views and Season 3 in the ten slot with 1.7 million. Emily in Paris Season 4 features Lily Collins, Ashley Park, Lucas Bravo, and Lucien Laviscount in the throes of Haute Girl Summer (I know, I hate myself for using this term, too), with Part 2 of Season 4 launching on September 12. Viewers can use Google Lens to scan and research fashions from the hotly anticipated season, then visit sites where they can purchase looks from the show. Okay, that’s pretty cool. At least it’s innovative.
Other titles included on Netflix’s TV list are Love Is Blind UK, which is fifth with 4 million views, and Emily’s Louboutins Under Paris, which claimed seventh (1.4M views) in its 11th week.
While millions of Netflix subscribers are tuning in for The Union, the action comedy did not fare well with JoBlo’s Alex Maidy, who feels the movie is “ultimately a waste of talent for a promising concept.” Alex says Berry and Wahlberg need more chemistry, and Wahlberg feels miscast. “The Union feels forced and never turns into the thrill ride it should have been. While the final half-hour is pretty fun, it cannot salvage the weak movie that preceded it,” Alex wrote. However, it’s not all bad. Alex praises Halle Berry, saying she’s an “entrancing screen presense,” and the film should have been a franchise starter for her alone. Why not check out The Union on Netflix and judge for yourself?