In the grand tradition of bad work trips, Tommy Ward’s London assignment goes sideways faster than a dropped pint in a crowded pub. One minute he is a smooth-talking hitman; the next, he is fleeing the United Kingdom with a very angry boss on his tail. London Calling, directed by Allan Ungar, takes that spectacularly bad day and wraps it in explosions, deadpan lessons, and a very reluctant mentorship.

Josh Duhamel plays Tommy with enough charm to make a contract killer seem cuddly. Jeremy Ray Taylor is Julian, the crime boss’s son and a walking tornado of good intentions and terrible timing. Rick Hoffman and Aidan Gillen round out the ensemble, with Gillen’s Freddy Darby hunting Tommy like a man who never learned to let go of a grudge.

The trailer makes one thing obvious: Julian does not need a life coach; he needs a miracle. Tommy’s crash course in ‘how to be a man’ includes a few unforgettable lessons:

• 🎯 Shooting: Julian handles a firearm like it owes him money, and not in a cool way.

• 😅 Interrogation: Tommy tries to teach menace, but Julian looks like he is asking for the Wi-Fi password.

• 💥 Hand-to-hand combat: The floor wins most rounds, but at least Julian is consistent.

Plenty of movies show a hardened warrior training a scrappy teen, but London Calling flips the homework assignment. Tommy is not teaching Julian to survive high school. He is teaching him to become a hitman. That is a whole other kettle of fish. Buddy comedies and assassin origin stories rarely share a bunk bed, and this odd-couple pairing gives the film a mischievous spark.

The reunion matters, too. Duhamel and Ungar previously teamed on 2022’s Bandit, a biographical crime comedy that became a sleeper hit on digital platforms. Redbox named it the most-watched original title of its release year, and critics often pointed to it as one of Duhamel’s best leading performances. If Bandit was a fizzy heist cocktail, London Calling is the same drink after a double espresso and a firecracker.

The new trailer practically swaggers. Slow-motion shots high-five the camera, explosions bloom like rude flowers, and Tommy smiles while aiming a gun, which is less a red flag and more a crimson parade. It feels like the duo wanted to turn every knob marked ‘more’ until it snapped off.

Meanwhile, Aidan Gillen does what he does best: looking like a man who can make a phone call and ruin someone’s entire month. His UK crime boss gives Tommy a reason to glance over his shoulder in every other scene. Underneath the gunpowder, though, the story keeps a soft spot. Tommy’s goal is to see his family again, which gives the chaos a heartbeat. The film does not ask viewers to take it too seriously; it just invites them to enjoy a hitman stuck with a trainee who should probably be in witness protection from himself.

The script, credited to Omer Levin Menekse and Quinn Wolfe, knows the buddy formula well enough to tick its boxes, then politely shoves one of those boxes out a window. The humor comes less from Julian’s incompetence and more from Tommy’s slowly eroding patience. Duhamel’s face in the trailer cycles through bemusement, horror, and exhausted acceptance, often within the same gunshot. It is a performance that suggests a man who has killed for a living but may now be killed by group projects.

Action fans get their due as well. The trailer teases shootouts, a car chase or two, and enough slow-motion strutting to fuel a dozen gym playlists. Yet the central relationship stays front and center. Tommy is not simply babysitting a mob heir; he is trying to shape him into someone who can survive the family business while also keeping his own route home intact. That mix of silly and sincere is what made Bandit work, and London Calling seems eager to double down.

After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival and landing in theaters on September 18, 2025, London Calling has become one of those action-comedy titles people mention when they want polished nonsense with a grumpy mentor. By early 2026, it remains an easy pick for a Friday night when the brain wants explosions and the heart wants a weird little friendship. Nobody is calling Tommy a role model, but watching him try is half the fun. 🍿