Back in Action’s Explosive Ending, Explained

The following contains spoilers for Back in Action, now streaming on Netflix.

One thing Netflix has gotten better at is blending genres. While it has action movies such as Taron Egerton’s Carry-On, it is known for its array of comedies. In Back in Action, the streamer blends both to create a fun family joint. This movie is a spy action comedy, starring Jamie Foxx as Matt and Cameron Diaz as Emily.

It’s Diaz’s first movie in 10 years, making it sentimental for her fans. Diaz and Foxx play a married couple who is forced back into the spy game to retrieve a dangerous weapon. The spy couple’s job is made more difficult, however, as they have their kids to protect. It builds to a wild, explosive ending as Matt and Emily prove they haven’t lost their groove, and that there will always be strength in numbers.

Back in Action’s Mysterious Key Explained

The Key Can Control Power Grids in Cities

Image via Netflix

RelatedDiaz will be returning to acting in the Netflix movie Back in Action.

The opening scene shows Matt and Emily on a mission in Europe. They infiltrate a mansion and try to steal the Key, which is a piece of technology that’s basically a hard drive. The only thing that their handler, Chuck (Kyle Chandler, DC’s new Hal Jordan), says is that it can bring down society by plunging various cities into chaos. Chuck is wary of the duo, especially as he can tell they’re breaking CIA protocol and having a real romance. He doesn’t want them distracted.

Little does he or Matt know, Emily is pregnant and wants out of the spy business. It has her protecting her belly even more in the field once they’re caught stealing the item from the terrorist, Gor. Eventually, they get the item, flee and try to abscond on a plane with the aid of MI6’s Baron. However, secret agents on board attack them to attain the Key. They think Baron has betrayed them.

As the brawl ensues, the plane goes down, killing everyone, except the heroes. Matt knows the truth now, so he decides they need to retire, hide in America, and start a family. It’s all he ever really wanted. 15 years later, however, the Key comes back to haunt them. It’s assumed it was destroyed in the explosion, but that’s not the case.

Back in Action’s True Villain, Explained

Kyle Chandler’s Chuck Is the CIA Traitor

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Chuck finds the couple and asks them to help him locate the Key. It wasn’t in the wreckage, but on the black market once more. Sadly, Chuck is sniped out at the home, pushing the duo to slip away in a car chase fit for the Fast & Furious movies. They grab the children — Alice and Leo — from school and go on the run.

It riffs on properties such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but with more endearment. The twist is, Matt had the Key all along after the plane crash. He hid it in England at the mansion owned by Ginny, Emily’s estranged mother. They head over, avoiding MI6 along the way. It leads to awkward moments as Emily and Ginny had a bad relationship. Ginny was obsessed with her MI6 work, with Emily just wanting to leave for boarding school in America. It speaks to cycles of anger, as Alice feels the same way about Emily now.

Jamie Foxx Actor Details

Date of Birth

Dec. 13, 1967

Place of Birth

Texas, USA

Notable Movies

Django Unchained, Collateral, Project Power

Notable TV Shows

In Living Color, Roc, The Jamie Foxx Show

Eventually, Gor’s agents raid, making it seem like Baron has been sneaking them information all this time. The shocker is, Chuck is actually the true villain of this action film. He shows up, making it clear he faked his death to push Matt and Emily to unearth the technology for him. He cackles and taunts them like a James Bond villain. After a firefight, he slips out and heads off to the River Thames for an auction and to show the power of the Key.

Matt and Emily are heartbroken. They considered Chuck a brother, to the point they were hurt over having to cut ties with him when they hid. But Chuck lets them know that once their mission was botched for the Key, he lost his job and family. With the Key, however, he can gain money, notoriety, respect and revenge. He does so by cutting power off, messing with other utilities and then hacking the Thames’ overflow bridge to flood London. He is essentially a cyber-god, mimicking villains found in movies like Mission: Impossible.

Back in Action’s Ginny and Nigel Help Save the Day

Emily Learns the Value of Trusting Family Again

Image via Netflix

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Matt and Emily suit up in tuxedos and head to the auction. The primary objective is to get their kidnapped kids back, as they’re Chuck’s shield. Thankfully, Ginny helps out with her sniper rifle, while her young beau Nigel shows up to offer support. Unfortunately, he isn’t that effective, as he’s a clumsy, cowardly MI6 trainee. Baron and his MI6 posse arrive, too, reiterating that they’re the good guys.

All-out war ensues, with Matt and Emily pursuing Chuck on a boat. They drop their children into the water, all as Nigel manages to knock Chuck’s aide out, get the Key and put the bridge back up. It results in Chuck’s boat crashing and blowing up as the spies escape.

With the ordeal over, Matt and Emily can officially restart their lives. All they ever wanted was to be honest with their children. Everyone now knows that lies don’t protect — they harm them. It creates trust once more. Emily and Ginny heal as well, while Nigel is accepted into their family.

How Back in Action Sets Up a Sequel

Emily Has to Recruit Her Mysterious Father to Hunt Chuck

However, there is one last twist in the comedy to set up a sequel. Back in Action doesn’t need a mid or post-credits scene. Instead, the final sequence has Baron showing up in America to let the couple know they didn’t find Chuck’s body. He needs Emily to finish the mission, not Matt. This is partly because Baron has a crush on Emily, and because she can only work with the mystery partner he has in mind: her father.

All movie long, Emily’s father wasn’t mentioned, building a puzzle as to what he did as an (assumed) MI6 operative. Emily didn’t speak about his history with Matt, so trust issues will pop up. It remains to be seen how Ginny will react to her ex-husband being recruited, as well as the love triangle with Nigel. There could also be a family rivalry to come if the man tries to be competitive and lure the children to his side of the coin.

In the end, it’s going to leave viewers curious if more domestic trauma has to be unpacked with Emily and her father. Audiences will also want to see if Chuck is indeed alive and who he will be recruiting. As a former CIA team handler, he could have more disgruntled agents to bring over from the present and the past. Ultimately, once the reception is good, Netflix does seem to have a new spy franchise on its hands.

Back in Action is now streaming on Netflix.

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