When navy pilot Troy Kelly (Ryan Reynolds) is shot down during a reconnaissance mission in Soviet airspace, he is forced to find his own way out of enemy territory. Luckily for Troy, he finds, or is at least found by the rather capable Nicky (Kenneth Branagh), who not only wants to help, he's a fan. If buddy comedies live and die by their central pairings - which, obviously they do - then Mayday  is one that lives. Much like the characters they play, the teaming of Reynolds with Branagh is an unlikely one. Or at least unexpected. But that's probably why it works so well. While Reynolds plays it fairly safe with a toned down take on his usual fast-talking smart mouth (very much a winning formula), Branagh returns to the accent he used in  Tenet  and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit . The thing is; that accent is the only thing Nick has in common with those other less sympathetic characters. In fact, in many ways, the friendly woodsman who finds the downed pilot is arguably the mo...