Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry in Netflix action film

Just as fast food chains ensure that their menu items contain just the right amount of sugar, salt and fat to make their products addictive, Netflix delivers action films that feel like they were made in a lab.

That doesn't make them any less fun, as long as you recognize their artificiality and don't mind joining in. The last example is The Unionwith a great cast led by Mark Wahlberg And Halle BerryExotic locations, energetic action sequences, and enough lighthearted humor to ensure that no one involved is taking the events too seriously. It's a pleasant diversion that you'll likely forget about until the inevitable sequel.

Wahlberg plays to his (shirtless) strengths as Mike, who only deviates from the actor’s usual working-class persona in that he’s a Jersey boy instead of a Southie. He’s a construction worker (naturally), the kind of blue-collar guy who knocks back beers with his buddies at the local dive bar and sleeps with his former seventh-grade English teacher (Dana Delany, sadly underused). Needless to say, Bruce Springsteen songs accompany him on the soundtrack.

His normal routine is suddenly interrupted by the unexpected appearance of Roxanne, his old high school flame whom he hasn’t seen in 25 years. She wanders into his usual watering hole, surprisingly without causing much of a stir, despite the fact that she’s played by Halle Berry in a tight black leather outfit. The two enjoy a warm and friendly reunion that they hold outside, where she injects him with a tranquilizer, knocking him out.

Mike wakes up in London, at the Savoy Hotel of all places, where he is briefed by Roxanne and her boss Brennan (JK Simmonswho exudes irony as only he can) that he has been brought there to join their secret spy organization (see the film's title for the name). Their special mission is to retrieve a MacGuffin, I mean classified data, that has fallen into the wrong hands after a failed mission involving one of the organization's agents (Mike Colter). It seems they need “a nobody, a person with no history,” since the identity of every other American intelligence agent has been compromised. Mike, like the viewers of the film, will just have to deal with it.

After meeting the other members of the team, including medical expert Athena (Alice Lee), combat specialist Frank (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), reunited with Simmons after Oz), and technician Foreman (Jackie Earle-Haley), Mike takes part in the mandatory training montage. This one differs from most in that his exercises seem to take place only in the most prominent locations in London, with at least one prominent landmark, such as Tower Bridge, always visible in the background. For a supposedly secret organisation with its headquarters in the prominent BT Tower, the Union is not exactly looking for anonymity.

Mike quickly fits in with the team members who ensure that their missions are peppered with witty banter. In his first adventure with them, he makes a few mistakes — including somehow ending up on stage at a West End performance of Matilda: The Musical — but he shows enough of his secret agent bona fides to go on a mission with Roxanne, during which old romantic sparks begin to fly. It all leads to a stunt-filled action climax in a beautifully picturesque coastal village (actually, Piran, Slovenia, which should get a boost in tourism after this one), expertly orchestrated by director Julian Farino (Ball players, Entourage).

The film moves along as easily and smoothly as you might expect, with Wahlberg exuding his usual Joe charm and Berry proving that, in addition to being an Oscar-winning actress, she’s also an impressively cinematic badass. There’s a winking self-awareness to Joe Barton and David Guggenheim’s screenplay that lets us know that nothing in the proceedings is to be taken too seriously – evident in moments like Mike’s droll phone conversations with his seemingly all-knowing mother (Lorraine Bracco, who provides some laughs for what little screen time she gets).

The Union proves to be every bit as entertaining as Netflix algorithms predicted. Its impressive star power is combined with a lavish production that will make viewers realize just how valuable their monthly subscription is.