Easter Eggs You Missed In Netflix's Red Notice
Netflix's "Red Notice" is a virtual treasure trove of Easter eggs, nods, and homages to the action, adventure, and heist films that influenced director Rawson Marshall Thurber. "Red Notice" hasn't been a hit with critics, but audiences are enjoying the caper. It's hard to not get swept up in the joyful energy of the film.
When FBI profiler Special Agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) accompanies Interpol to the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome to stop Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) from stealing Cleopatra's egg, viewers are pulled into a fast-paced action sequence that doesn't stop until the credits roll. When a renowned art thief known as The Bishop (Gal Gadot) gets involved, the real fun begins.
This zany film plays with heist tropes, buddy comedies stylings, and action adventure conventions with an on-the-nose attitude. That's what's inviting about "Red Notice." It's just for fun! The thrill seeking characters take us on a wild ride, spanning across continents, while they fight amongst themselves for Cleopatra's eggs and the title of world's best thief. It's obvious Rawson Marshall Thurber and the stars were having a blast making this film and their ebullient vibe is infectious. In between all the fun, here's some of the Easter eggs that might have escaped your attention.
The Vin Diesel joke
Some of the film references and Easter eggs in Netflix's "Red Notice" were obviously planned out by Thurber in advance, but some of them were made up on the fly and with input from the cast. Any movie starring Ryan Reynolds must be a blast to film, because he is such a natural comedian with excellent timing and fluency in sarcasm. We can only imagine how hilarious the outtakes are, considering some of the zingers that made it into the final cut of the film.
Booth's at one point jokes "Vin Diesel's audition tape for 'Cats?' It exists." It's a hilarious line, although no one is taking credit for that one. When asked who came up with the burn, Thurber told Insider, "I'll never tell. I plead the fifth, it was a team effort." Considering Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson have been in a feud since 2016, this burn and the mystery surrounding who came up with it makes it feel like the audience is being let in on a long running inside joke.
Titanic
"Titanic" was a massive success for everyone involved, from director James Cameron to his young stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. You've probably seen a few subtle or not-so-subtle references to this film in other movies or shows. Most are more obvious, usually riffs on DiCaprio's "I'm the king of the world," scene, to Rose's handprint on the steamy car window. But this Easter egg in "Red Notice" is super sly and hilarious.
After Booth evades Hartley in Rome, Booth makes his way home to Indonesia. When the skiff Booth uses to reach his destination hits the beach in front of his home, we see "We're Gonna Make it, Rose" painted on the stern. Anyone familiar with "Titanic" recognizes this as the line Jack says right before the ship sinks into the Atlantic, submerging Jack and Rose with it. According to Thurber, we have Ryan Reynolds to thank for this one. "It wasn't something I planned," Thurber told Netflix. "I was trying to come up with something we could put on the side, and I texted Ryan. In two seconds it was: 'We're gonna make it, Rose.' I couldn't stop laughing."
The Rock
After The Bishop steals the egg Interpol recovered from Booth in Bali, she frames Hartley for stealing and replaces the egg with a decoy. Hartley is sent to an intimidating fortress-like isolated prison in Russia. Hartley is, unsurprisingly, placed in the same cell with Booth. Of course, Hartley and Booth team up to escape the prison together. Hartley wants to clear his name and Booth wants to prove to The Bishop he is the world's best thief.
If this sounds familiar, there is another film about a very famous, isolated prison that "Red Notice" may have conjured up in your mind — Alcatraz. "The Rock," a 1996 movie starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage, is about an FBI agent teaming up with a criminal who served time in escaped from Alcatraz. The odd coupling of a crook and FBI agent as partners isn't the only link between these two films.
The crux of Hartley and Booth's escape comes down to a rock. When Booth pulls a load bearing rock, which he placed during work detail, out of the wall of the prison, the wall collapses. Maybe we are reading too much into this, but it sure seems like Thurber is making a not-so-subtle reference to the film "The Rock," while simultaneously making a nod to Dwayne Johnson's wrestling persona, The Rock.
True Lies
When Hartley and Booth arrive at Sotto Voce's masquerade party in Valencia, Spain, we are treated to a more subtle nod to a 1994 action comedy film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. When Hartley dances with The Bishop, some of you may have remembered the tango dance scene between Schwarzenegger and Tia Carrere in "True Lies."
The similarities between the two scenes don't end with a big buff man dancing with a beautiful brunette. We also have a little flirty conversation while looking at art preceding dancing, tango music, a short billionaire, and an associate in his ear saying we don't have time for a dance. There is also a very classic but sexy tango dance move, included in each scene. If you haven't seen "True Lies" in a couple decades, check out the scene on YouTube to see how excellent this nod from "Red Notice" really was.
Eyes Wide Shut
Of course, the more overt film reference for Sotto Voce's masquerade party is to Stanley Kubrick's 1999 film "Eyes Wide Shut," starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Booth even refers to Sotto Voce's annual masquerade ball as an "eyes wide shut" party, while telling Hartley about their mission to recover Cleopatra's second egg from Sotto Voce, during their flight to Spain. The party in "Red Notice" is far more fun and sexy than the creepy vibe Kubrick's film had, but the reference is obvious never the less.
As Thurber told Netflix, "The masquerade ball owes a lot to a bunch of different films, 'Eyes Wide Shut' is the most famous, I think that might also be the only time a Stanley Kubrick film would be in the same sentence as a film that I made."
Wonder Woman
We will probably associate Gal Gadot with the character Diana Prince, better known as Wonder Woman, for her entire acting career. But the fight scene in the vault, where The Bishop (Gal Gadot) fights both Hartley and Booth with an ancient spear, has major "Wonder Woman" vibes. Thurber noted to Netflix that "I think anytime you give Gal any sort of ancient weaponry, you're sort of edging toward Diana. It wasn't lost on us."
It's also a great scene to re-watch after you have seen the entire movie, because you notice little details that have an entirely different meaning. While fighting, Hartley tells Bishop to "Take it easy," with a pointed facial expression. This plays a little differently once you know they are partners instead of competitors, and Hartley is probably telling her to take it easy so no one gets hurt. But then again, all interactions between Hartley and The Bishop have a different vibe once you know they are in cahoots and lovers.
Jurassic Park
After escaping Sotto Voce's underground torture chamber, Booth and Hartley find themselves in a bullfighting arena, facing an angry beast surrounded by spectators. Booth tells Hartley to freeze, insisting bulls have terrible eyesight, only noticing movement. The spectators in the arena yell for them to run, but Booth insists he saw a documentary about bulls. Obviously aggravated, Hartley tells Booth he is thinking of "Jurassic Park," right before Hartley is rammed by the bull. Miraculously Hartley is not injured. They flee, jumping over a wall to escape the enraged animal.
Admittedly this is one of the weakest scenes in the film, but the "Jurassic Park" references in this scene were good for a laugh or two.
Indiana Jones
When Booth and Hartley jet off to Argentina to retrieve Cleopatra's third egg from a Nazi bunker, we know we're heading into an entire "Indiana Jones" themed section of the film. This montage begins with a map of Argentina (a classic storytelling device from the franchise), cut to Booth and Hartley, trekking through the jungle. Booth is wearing a very specific fedora, drawing clear parallels to the classic adventure franchise staring Harrison Ford. When Hartley and Booth reach their destination deep inside the Argentinian jungle, they stoop to brush soil away from the entrance to the bunker, revealing the swastika emblem associated with the Nazis.
Boot clenches the reference, whistling the iconic theme song, "The Raiders' March" while descending a spiral staircase into the Nazi bunker. Clearly, this film franchise left an indelible impression on director Rawson Marshall Thurber (Age 46) like many who also grew up in the '80s and were lucky enough to see these films during their theatrical release. When asked about it by Collider, Thurber said he suggested Reynolds whistle the theme song the day they were shooting the scene. After filming, they contacted John Williams, who owns the rights to the song, to gain permission to use this take in the film. Miraculously, they were given permission, and we got one of the best Easter eggs in "Red Notice" compliments of the "Indiana Jones" franchise.
Pulp Fiction
Booth's relationship with his father was complex and unpleasant, permanently damaged by a watch Booth's father loved more than his son. We learn that Booth's father was obsessed with finding the Nazi bunker of Hitler's art curator, who fled to Argentina days before the Russian army liberated Berlin at the end of WWII. As it turns out, the watch not only leads Booth to the Nazi bunker with coordinates, it is a key to open the vault. But when Hartley asks about the watch, Booth overtly references the watch from "Pulp Fiction" with a sarcastic comment, as he uses his father's precious watch to open the vault.
While the "Pulp Fiction" reference is on-the-nose, there is another more covert reference in this scene under the surface to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." In that movie, Sean Connery plays Indiana's father — one more interested in treasure hunting the holy grail than getting to know his only son.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
When Booth and Hartley enter the Nazi bunker, "Red Notice" slips effortlessly back into the "Indiana Jones" montage. As they walk through the bunker filled with lost works of art, the camera pans over a very specific crate containing a religious relic. We last saw this crate (with the exact same identification numbers) being stored in a government facility in the last scene of "Raiders of the Lost Ark." It's a subtle, but sweet Easter egg for people who were really into this adventure franchise. Even the background music seems referential to the musical score from the "Indiana Jones" franchise.
With all the loot, we wouldn't be surprised if people discover more Easter eggs hidden in the Nazi bunker.
The Italian Job
At its heart, "Red Notice" is a heist movie, filled with action sequences typical of the genre. This includes car chases, of which "Red Notice" has a couple. The first one ends quickly in a car crash, when a delivery van runs into the exotic sports car Hartley commandeered. While still in the mining tunnels attached to the Nazi bunker in Argentina, Booth, Hartley, and Bishop hop into a very rare Mercedes stored in the bunker to escape Interpol yet again. This leads to an explosive underground chase scene with elements reminiscent of the tank fight scene in "The Last Crusade" where Indiana almost gets his heads taken off by rocks. In "Red Notice," Hartley nearly takes a hit to his noggin by rocks protruding from the tunnel wall.
Toward the end of this action sequence, the car chase morphs into a very subtle reference to another underground chase scene from a well received heist film. "The Italian Job," specifically the 2003 version, had an all-star cast and a fun chase scene shot in the underground tunnels of Los Angeles. In Netflix's "Red Notice," when the Mercedes approaches the light at the end of the tunnel, the audience might be reminded of the scene where three Mini Coopers jump out of an underground tube and into the dry Los Angeles river.
Star Wars
After Hartley and The Bishop abscond with Cleopatra's third egg, they hop a jet to Egypt to deliver the eggs, getting their 100 million dollar payout. During the lavish, over-the-top wedding set amongst ancient Egyptian ruins, men dressed in ancient Egyptian costumes carry an intricately carved litter containing Cleopatra's eggs to present to the bride. The father of the bride talks briefly about how this is the first time these three eggs have been reunited in thousands of years.
According to Thurber, there are references to a few iconic science fiction characters hidden amongst the hieroglyphics. "If you hit pause, you can spot ET, R2D2 and C3PO on some of the little hieroglyphics on the box itself. This is all basically me saying thank you to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who basically invented my childhood," Thurber told Netflix.
Bond Girls
"Red Notice" is filled with subtle and overt references to the "James Bond" franchise. From the far-flung locales the story takes place in, to Booth and Hartley's tuxes at the masquerade parties, and all the nifty gadgets they use during their missions, we see echos of the action franchise. Toward the end of the film, we catch up with Hartley and The Bishop enjoying their spoils off the coast of sun drenched Sardinia, where we see the most overt homage to Bond.
When The Bishop (Gal Gadot) steps out of the water and onto a beautiful boat at the end of the film, the image stirs up images of the various Bond Girls we have seen over the years doing the same thing. It is an iconic image linked to Bond in the popular imagination. "We wanted to tip our cap to Bond," Thurber told Netflix. "They do global action better than anybody."
Ocean's Eleven
There are various stylistic nods to the "Ocean's" franchise throughout Netflix's "Red Notice." Like the flash backs Booth has to his interactions with Hartley earlier in the film that were clues Hartley wasn't being honest, or the ones showing us how Hartley and The Bishop enjoyed playing enemies, when they were in fact partners and also in love. There's also storytelling tactics common to heist films like the "Ocean's" franchise, where we see how the score is supposed to go down while the thieves are discussing their plans.
The most obvious visual reference comes at the very end of the movie, when Booth, Hartley, and Bishop line up for a close-up shot, showing them all in profile before they walk towards the Louvre and their next score. It not only sets up "Red Notice" for more films, but it shows how these thieves covet the thrill as much as the money. When asked by Insider, Thurber hasn't confirmed a sequel but has said, "I just really love the world and the tone and characters so much that I can't help myself but think about what the next heist would be. It's certainly something that could happen."