The Clever Reason Why Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry Don’t Kiss in Netflix’s ‘The Union’

Despite the streamer’s apparent inability to give widespread theatrical releases to their original titles, Netflix has made a habit of overcrowding their platform each summer with a great deal of supposed “blockbuster” titles starring famous movie stars. Although this summer has seen Netflix releasing such critical duds as The Mother and Trigger Warning, the latest spy action thriller The Union was actually met with more favorable responses. The Union certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to the romantic action comedy genre, but it did manage to be relatively entertaining thanks to the excellent performances from Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry. Although the dangerous mission ends up getting the leads closer together, The Union director Julian Farino had a very specific reason for not ending the movie with a kiss.

What Is Netflix’s ‘The Union’ About?

The Union stars Wahlberg as Mike McKenna, an unassuming construction worker living in New Jersey who seems fine with one-night stands and never settling down. However, Mike is taken aback when he reunites with his high school sweetheart, Roxanne Hall (Berry) and learns that she is actually a secret agent working for a covert organization known as “The Union.” After Roxanne’s boss, Tom Brennan (J.K. Simmons) informs them that all the agents in “The Union” have had their identities compromised, she suggests that Mike help their latest assignment because he would never be suspected of being an actual spy.

Cutting the Kiss From ‘The Union’ Sets Up a Franchise

Wahlberg and Berry do not end up kissing in The Union because it is intended to start a franchise in which their relationship could develop over the course of multiple installments. Farino stated that the film had to end on a note that left “a lot of space to go,” as he had been told by Netflix that he needed to “think of this as a possible three-movie idea.” That being said, Farino theorized that “if an audience comes out wanting a kiss, then we’ve probably done alright, in my opinion,” indicating that those interested in seeing the two characters fall in love would be more interested in seeing a sequel. The film’s final moments imply that Mike and Roxanne will continue to work for “The Union” on another secret mission, even if they aren’t fully willing to admit how they feel about each other.

The irony is that The Union works much better as a romantic comedy than it does as an action film. In a year that included genuine future action classics like Monkey Man and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the rather straightforward and unimaginative car chase scenes and gunfights in The Union simply felt underwhelming. That being said, it’s the chemistry between Wahlberg and Berry that makes the film so entertaining; Wahlberg added a fun new dynamic by showing what the perspective of a non-spy looked like, and Berry was a great badass assassin who is less than stable in her personal life. The Union is so quickly paced that it barely gives the characters time to just sit back and talk to each other, but the few moments where the film actually does slow down are among its best.

‘The Union’ Points to a Bigger Issue at Netflix

The emphasis on building up a future franchise without ensuring the quality of the first installment continues to be a problem for the streamer, which has been struggling with its action films released in the last few years. Potential franchise starters like The Gray Man, Bright, 6 Underground, and Triple Frontier were met with underwhelming responses and never received a follow-up. Although the high viewership for The Union thus far implies that there may be enough general interest to justify the two additional sequels that Farino had in mind, as it stands, the lack of a romantic gesture between Wahlberg and Berry at the end of the first film simply feels awkward.

The Union is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.

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