HCA Gradebook: “Ghosted”

Movie: Ghosted
Plot: Salt-of-the-earth Cole (Evans) falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie (de Armas)—but then makes the shocking discovery that she’s a secret agent. Before they can decide on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world.
Cast: Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, and Adrien Brody.
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Release Date: April 21, 2023
Studio: Apple TV+
Number of Graders: 16
Overall Grade: C

Ashley Bissette Sumerel says, “Ghosted is one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen in a while. It’s endearing, funny, and action-packed as it flips the standard rom-com formula on its head. Chris Evans is delightful to watch in this role, and the chemistry between Evans and Ana de Armas is palpable. Add in some fun cameos and wild stunts, and you’ve got altogether fun ride.”
Grade: A

Anthony Digioia says, “Despite feeling very familiar in places Ghosted manages to weave a confident sense of humor, with nicely staged action, to result in an easily engaging adventure of espionage, love, and laughs. Ana de Armas and Chris Evans are a fantastic duo, their chemistry makes them instantly likable. This movie is silly, lighthearted, and never takes itself too seriously. Ana de Armas is killer in the action sequences, Evans is adorably clumsy in this world of spies, and Brody rounds everything out with a charismatic villain.”
Grade: B

K. L. Connie Wang says, “Ghosted is a enjoyable spy thriller rom-com that gives the James Bond genre a twist with its Jane Bond lead (Ana de Armas) and her unsuspecting botany-loving regular Joe boyfriend (Chris Evans). Plenty of fun cameos to look out for in this one which will delight fans.”
Grade: B

Shadan Larki says, “Chris Evans and Ana de Armas do their best with an uneven script and rocky direction. Ghosted is mostly forgettable, but their star power and natural charm, when it does poke through, makes Ghosted a decent enough watch for a Friday night at home.”
Grade: B

Maggie Ma says, “Ana de Armas and Chris Evans certainly look great together. It’s fun to see Chris Evans being the clumsy one. There are plenty of actions scenes but feel like only to serve the love story. Marvel actors cameos in the movie are the best parts.The movie is fun but not quite realistic . However it does show us one fact that when men are too needy, they lose the charms.”
Grade: B

Monica Gleberman says, “When you see Ana de Armas and Chris Evans in a movie, you are expecting quite a lot. I found this movie extremely disappointing. I am not sure if its because Evan’s has played a super hero for so long or was rusty in the comedic moments, but a lot of the lines fell flat and the “epic” fight scenes felt corney and sometimes out of place. The storyline is all over the place. I think Armas and Evans did the best they could with the content they were working with. The cameos were fun, but again I think they were just used to make people “like” the movie. On the bright side, there are entertainment elements there and fans of Armas and Evans might get just enough out of it to enjoy it. While I wouldn’t completely ghost this, I probably wouldn’t want to have another go with it.”
Grade: B-

Mike Manalo says, “Ghosted has the type of story that we’ve seen way too many times, and has no business being as enjoyable as it actually is. But oddly enough, there’s something about it that ends up being relatively endearing. It’s largely thanks to the energy of its incredibly likable leads, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, a funny script from Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and Spider-Man writers Chris McKenna, and Eric Sommers, some terrific cameos, and surprisingly impressive action from (of all people) the director of Rocketman, Dexter Fletcher. The end product should be a disaster, and yet it’s a a muted delight. For someone like me, who misses the silly but sweet super spy stories of NBC’s Chuck, Ghosted basically found a way to scratch that itch.”
Grade: B-

Matthew Creith says, “Ana de Armas and Chris Evans have tangled together in more intriguing films like Knives Out and The Gray Man, but this time around, the pairing just doesn’t work. To make audiences believe that Evans’ character is an unsuspecting down-home farmer is a stretch, but then to have him battling the world’s best spies and assassins with the combat moves of a Marvel superhero is simply absurd. Armas does a decent job of blending the action-adventure spirit of Sadie with the wit she possessed in No Time to Die, but it is wasted in a movie hellbent on flash over substance.”
Grade: C+

Caillou Pettis says, “While Chris Evans and Ana de Armas definitely shine, Ghosted is still a tremendously dull and overly predictable romantic comedy action-adventure outing.”
Grade: C

Josie Melendez says, “What most likely will be a polarizing film amongst critics was unmistakably a hit in my book. Despite a lackluster script, both performances from Chris Evans and Ana de Armas carry this film to the very end. Most of their first interactions within the first act had me sold, the unnecessary yet comical cameos in the second act had me hooked, and the third act had me unabashedly clapping at the edge of my seat. It’s kooky and silly held together by some delicious interactions from both Evans and de Armas thrown in there. Let her star in more action and let him star in more comedy. It’s what the world deserves.”
Grade: C

Francisco Cangiano says, “Sadly, Ghosted is one big clunker. Generic, bland and at times cringe, not even some cool action and funny cameos can help it. And, shockingly, the chemistry between Ana de Armas and Chris Evans is nonexistent. Wanted to like it, but it didn’t deliver on its potential.”
Grade: D+

Nestor Bentancor says, “The potential for a fun and funny action rom-com, giving its high-caliber talent, never materializes. Not even the best spy could walk away unscathed from this trainwreck.”
Grade: D+

Nancy Tapia says, “I wanted to love it, but it was painful to watch. The cameos were the best part the film.”
Grade: D

Nicole Ackman says, “Ghosted is a perplexingly bad film that alternates between looking like a video game and a commercial. Evans and de Armas are both at their worst and completely lacking the chemistry they had in Knives Out (or even in their interviews). Even the fun cameos can’t save it.”
Grade: D

Terence Johnson says, “There’s absolutely nothing about Ghosted that feels new and fresh, which in itself is not egregious, but when you aren’t doing anything new, you should at least do something well. From the acting to the filmmaking, nearly every element of this film goes for the simplest route and as such can’t overcome the flaws the movie has, chiefly among them the relationship between it’s two main characters.”
Grade: D-

Rama Tampubolon says, “Ghosted absolutely stinks. The script was mediocre, the humor was awful, the acting was atrocious, the action was uninspired. On paper, Ana de Armas and Chris Evans should be great together so imagine my surprise to find that their chemistry was painfully off and there was nothing funny nor profound about their relationship back-and-forth banters either. You can’t just suddenly sell us this version of wimpy Chris Evans after we’ve been bombarded for the past decade with tough guy Chris Evans as Captain America. Nobody’s buying this, I sure as hell didn’t. Ghosted has got to be the worst rom-com action film since that Chris Pine Tom Hardy Reese Witherspoon’s 2012 crapola This Means War.”
Grade: F