Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Written by: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, and Marn Davies
Starring: Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Bugzy Malone, Josh Hartnett, Cary Elwes, and Hugh Grant
A film with captivating on-screen action, but the new weapon technology could have been bolder.
Deadly operation ➢ Check
Weapons ➢ Check
Quirky team ➢ Check
Hollywood star ➢ …check?
In this fast-paced action, Orson Fortune (Jason Statham) is the collected and composed lead special operations agent. Overcoming the challenge of working with new teammates, tech-wiz Sarah Fidel (Aubrey Plaza) and footman JJ Davies (Bugzy Malone), Fortune must complete this mission to save the world from dysfunction.
Quirky and cohesive are two ways to describe the group as they utilize movie star Danny Francesco (Josh Harnett) as the ‘bait’ in an undercover mission to stop extravagant billionaires, including Greg (Hugh Grant), from using a new technological AI weapon, nicknamed “The Handle.” But the operation never seems to go as planned when “Mike the Competition,” who -if the nickname didn’t give it away- leads the competing special operations team and constantly obscures Fortune’s plans.
Phew! The film has a lot to cover in 1h 53m and does so in a variety of ways. In the beginning, the film places a lot of information on the viewers all at once, which can feel clustered at times, but I wouldn’t say this is uncommon for spy films that need to provide background information. Even with a lot of content, however, the execution is well-timed between scenes and there is plenty of concise repetition, like “Mike the Competition.”
Through the middle and end of the film, the informational release is more evenly paced, and of course, includes incredible cinematography. Imagine two different scenes alternating on the big silver screen to give just the right amount of information on both topics. Including some of my favorite scenes between Sarah and Orson, as one finagles information from the web and the other smoothly breaks into a highly guarded area. Director Guy Ritchie purposefully includes transitions to give action-movie fans plenty to focus on.
The characters, embodied through talented actors and actresses, felt consistent with the usual ‘mission impossible’ movie castings. Orson Fortune calmly leads the operation while receiving life-saving help from new partners JJ and Sarah. While Fortune possesses admirable qualities, like working easily with a completely new team, the bond between Fortune and his teammates isn’t particularly shown through actions as much as stated.
The liveliness of the team is added through Aubrey Plaza’s well-rounded sarcasm as she acts the role of a hacker. However, as with many action films, Sarah fell into the background as a lead female character when her role doubled as the sexy, fake girlfriend who must downplay her intelligence in the presence of stuffy, rich people. Similarly, JJ conveniently aids Orson in life-threatening scenes but is on the back burner for the rest of the film.
Other characters that played the ‘bad guys’ were inconsistent in their resolve. At the slightest provocation, these characters were easily swayed from their world-changing plans.
More nuanced roles and positions that deviate from the classic ‘lead spy,’ their ‘helpers,’ and fickle villains would better reflect and include the vast audience that is bound to see the film.
While in consideration of the audience, the deadly new weapon technology that is part of Orson’s mission objective falls flat in our tech-heavy world. Our current understanding of ChatGPT, deep fakes, and calling for Siri/Alexa at any point has deeply influenced our forms of communication and will change our future. So, the new technological weapon in “Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre” is underwhelming given the opportunity that our current basis of technology offers.
Plot: ★★★☆☆ 3/5
Cinematography: ★★★★☆ 4/5
Character Arc(s): ★★☆☆☆ 2/5
