The Adventures of Cliff Booth (2026)

There’s a rare kind of screen presence that can turn a simple smile into a cinematic event, and Brad Pitt wears it like a custom-tailored suit. The Adventures of Cliff Booth doesn’t just bring the beloved stuntman from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood back — it gives him the whole damn world to play in, and he doesn’t waste a single frame.

Cliff Booth was always the guy who could keep his cool when everyone else was losing theirs, and here, that quality gets tested in ways he never could have imagined. No longer confined to the hazy backlots and sunlit streets of 1960s Los Angeles, Cliff’s journey becomes a passport stamp collection of peril and possibility.

We first catch him in Italy, where golden sunlight spills across cobblestone streets and espresso-fueled conversations lead to trouble faster than you can say “Ciao.” What begins as a simple favor for an old friend quickly spirals into a dangerous hunt for a set of stolen film reels — reels that certain people will kill to possess.

From there, the film whisks us away to Tokyo, where neon-lit alleys and rain-slick streets serve as the perfect backdrop for Cliff’s brand of unshakable charm. Here, the pace quickens, the stakes skyrocket, and the line between friend and foe blurs beneath the shimmer of city lights. Pitt moves through it all like he owns the place, even when the room is filled with people who would rather see him in a coffin.

The humor is as sharp as the punches. Pitt has always excelled at blending dry wit with sudden, bone-rattling bursts of action, and this film weaponizes that balance to perfection. One moment he’s trading sarcastic barbs with an eccentric movie star in a penthouse suite; the next, he’s dismantling a room full of hired muscle with the casual grace of a man taking out the trash.

Director Marcus Holloway (a fictional but entirely believable choice for this globe-trotting caper) treats each location like its own character. Italy is warm, romantic, and deceptively inviting; Tokyo is electric, labyrinthine, and just dangerous enough to make you watch your back. The visual style leans into a retro sensibility — grainy filters, whip-pan transitions, and a soundtrack that blends 70s funk with modern beats — but never feels stuck in nostalgia.

What truly makes The Adventures of Cliff Booth sing is its refusal to overcomplicate the man at its center. We still don’t know everything about Cliff’s past, and the movie wisely keeps it that way. Instead, it lets us live in the moment with him — the smirk before a fight, the shrug after an explosion, the quiet gaze when he knows something we don’t. Pitt’s performance is a masterclass in understatement, proving once again that charisma isn’t about saying more, but about meaning every word you do say.

The action sequences are worth the ticket alone. A rooftop chase across Roman skylines, a silent knife fight in a Tokyo bathhouse, and a showdown on a moving bullet train all deliver adrenaline without sacrificing character. Every stunt feels tangible, grounded, and unapologetically old-school — a refreshing break from the CGI-heavy set pieces that dominate modern blockbusters.

By the third act, the stolen film reels turn out to be more than just celluloid. They hold secrets that could topple reputations and destroy lives, pushing Cliff into a confrontation that’s less about survival and more about deciding what kind of man he wants to be. It’s a clever pivot that gives the film emotional heft without weighing it down.

When the credits roll, you’re left with the satisfying aftertaste of a great meal — the kind that makes you want to tell everyone about it, then go back for seconds. The Adventures of Cliff Booth is pure, distilled movie-star magic: a little dangerous, a little ridiculous, and endlessly watchable.

In an era of grim, brooding action heroes, Cliff Booth reminds us that sometimes the most lethal weapon in the room is a laid-back smile and the absolute certainty that you’re walking out alive.

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