Guy Ritchie is a director I have never quite synced with. I have seen a couple of his movies, but I have never been able to finish the movies that made him: Lock Stock… , Snatch, Revolver…
His aesthetic choices and choice of subject matter just never appealed to me.
But he has been very productive in the last couple of years, and I have found myself reviewing his more recent films. After this one, I think I will go back and check his earlier stuff out.
Back to his latest venture:
As a movie, Operation Fortune is an average caper - the scheme is not that unique, the set pieces are not that inventive and the banter is not that sharp.
But that is not that important. This is a movie of small pleasures, in terms of the locations and the score, and the casting.
It is nice to see Cary Elwes back in a major supporting role. He has a fun dynamic with Statham, but he is relegated to being the guy on the other end of the phone.
Hugh Grant returns to the Guy Ritchie fold with another version of an English regional sleaze - this time a nouveau riche arms dealer with a heart of gold.
Josh Hartlett is great as a Hollywood heartthrob who is torn between terror at being press-ganged into covert operations and stretching his thespian talents by playing ‘himself’.
The most interesting part of the film to me was the relationship between Grant and Hartnett’s characters. They both want things from each other, and it makes for a weird and unique dynamic.
Aubrey Plaza is always added value, and she certainly adds something to this picture.
I am not sure that she fits this movie, but I also think she is one of the most interesting elements of it. This character is such a cliche - a tech genius who is also a top infiltration agent - but Plaza's deadpan approach simultaneously punctures the macho posturing of the movie around her and elevates the character.
Ritchie’s universe is built on a particular strain of machismo, action and humour, that always feels a little bit posturing. So having a performer like Plaza there pops the Ritchie balloon.
The script gives her some agency, and she seems to be playing dumb to make her teammates underestimate her, but I was a bit let down. Plaza deserves more than to be stuck behind a computer during the third act.
While the movie is a bit generic, it feels like the movie is missing connective tissue in the dynamics between the characters - while I liked Plaza’s wink at her colleagues’ dismissal of her talents, the movie does not set them up as particularly antagonistic. While I appreciate the speed with which the team comes together, the characterisation seems to rest on the actors’ established personas and the audience’s expectations of these characters and their team dynamics.
The one character I was disappointed with was Statham as Fortune. There are some fun quirks - he is a snob who tries to make the government pay for his expensive tastes, and pretends these extravagances are therapy for his various phobias.
I love Statham but he feels a little bit too in his wheelhouse to give this character some shading - does he like his job? Any of his colleagues? He is cool and gets some cool moments, but there is something a little stock about the character and the performance.
Stylistically and visually, the film is not half-bad. There are some lovely locations, some good-looking photography.
I left the movie wishing it had a little more on its bones.
It is a little too familiar to be worth seeing on the big screen. Wait until it turns up on streaming.
Related
No comments:
Post a Comment