REVIEW: ‘Mission: Cross’ Strikes The Right Action-Comedy Balance

Netflix Original Mission: Cross (Keuroseu) is an action comedy all about misunderstandings. Directed by Lee Myung-hoon, Mission: Cross focuses on Kang-mu (Hwang Jung-min), a former agent now leading a quiet life as a househusband, and his wife Mi-seon (Yum Jung-ah), a former Olympian and current detective. While concealing his past from his wife, Kang-mu is nothing but the doting husband to a veteran of the Major Crimes Investigation Division. Where Kang-mu is soft, Mi-seon is sharp, known for her prowess as the “Hunter of Major Crimes.”

When Kang-mu runs into a former colleague, Hee-ju, he is unwittingly drawn back into the world of espionage as he helps her search for her missing husband. Only Mi-seon’s subordinates see Kang-mu and stir up a mountain of miscommunication that leads Mi-seon to think that infidelity has reared its ugly head and the loving househusband routine is all an act.

Mission: Cross is the right balance of action and comedy. But it’s not just the genre that writer and director Lee Myung Hoon gets perfectly in sync. The film’s characters can be both unlikable and entirely endearing. At first, Mi-seon’s coldness toward her husband is offputting, with those in her precinct more thankful and in love with him than she is.

While you can see the nickname Wifey Kang as a put-down, the men of the precinct care about Mi-seon and her husband, the latter of which packs lunch boxes for them. On the other hand, Kang is a himbo who is just looking to make his wife happy, and he’s a special forces agent who causes misunderstanding after misunderstanding because he just can’t speak to his wife.

The duo, who seem like polar opposites, are instead complementary halves of a whole. They are both skilled fighters, marksmen, and working to make the world a better place. When Mi-seon realizes this about her husband, her frustration with his secrecy falls away and gives way to a much-needed respect. Take away, however, isn’t about erasing Wifey Kang, but rather allowing him to carry both soft consideration of others and sharp confidence in protecting those he loves from, you know, bad guys with guns.

It’s a balancing act that could have easily veered into maligning the role of a househusband, but instead, it adds it as a layer of who Kang is and not something to be changed. He is both a househusband and an agent. He’s kind and loving but also intimidating and a skilled killer.

For her part, though, Kang-mu remains consistent throughout the film. The only difference between Kang-mu at the beginning of Mission: Cross and the end is that her serious demeanor, which yields respect from her subordinates, isn’t being replicated at home. When the film opens we see a wife who is annoyed with her husband and his kindness. In the end, we see a woman in love with her husband because of it. There is an appreciation for marriage and the act of meeting your partner’s rough edges with an understanding that moves beneath the film’s surface. Sure, Kang is used for jokes throughout the film, but it’s that vulnerability and kindness that makes him a great leader and fighter as well.

It is a good time all around; the only negatives that the film earns are its pacing and hard narrative pivot. Both elements work together in a way that makes the story and characters’ relationships bend under a convoluted plot. However, once the second half of the film catches its stride, the film evens out, particularly because the character maintains their uniqueness and relatability throughout.

Mission: Cross is light-hearted and action-packed and offers a salient take on marriage. To love someone is to understand them and, more importantly, to work with them as a partnership. Miscommunications may propel the film’s narrative, but its resolution and third act make it a must-watch on Netflix.

Mission: Cross is available now exclusively on Netflix.