Operation Fortuna: Ruse de Guerre , 2023.
Guy Richie directed it.
Cast: Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Josh Hartnett, Hugh Grant, Cary Elwes, Bugsy Malone, Peter Ferdinando, Eddie Marsan, Lourdes Faberes, Max Beasley, Sam Douglas, Axel Ustun, Oliver Maltman, Ergun Kuyuku, Evgenia Kuzmina, Vee Sinan Yuldiz Wang, Tim Seif, Antonio Bustorff, Amy Jackson, Conor McNeil, Bestemsu Ozdemir, and Kaan Urgancioglu.
SYNTAX :
Special Agent Orson Fortune and his operative team recruit one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars to help them on an undercover operation when a deadly new arms sale threatens to destabilize the world order.
Guy Ritchie's style and mischievousness are certainly present in Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre , though he comes across as meek and sterile, as if afraid to accept his trademark overactive energy and plot madness. Likewise, the comedy doesn't always work (at one point, the mission instructions are filled with a sexy tone that feels cheap and childish), and even with exotic locations and Jason Statham in the spotlight, not much happens. . The order of actions is saved.
Guy Ritchie (who co-wrote the screenplay with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davis) resists the urge to embrace his kinetic differences, leaving half-baked and mediocre villains at the mercy of dangerous technological weapons that could potentially fall into the wrong hands.
There is also something off about the presentation of Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre , which is technically R-rated but looks completely PG-13. The whole plot plays out like a violent Guy Ritchie atomic bomb movie, and while there's a lot of on-screen violence, it's very clean (people used to be stabbed in the neck just to get the blood flowing). Whether this was done out of sensitivity (there seems to be some dilution of the situation in Ukraine since the Ukrainian mafia is involved in the plot) I can't tell you, but the fact that this film is such a shame.
Luckily, Jason Statham doesn't need gallons of blood to make the action exciting (especially in tight quarters like claustrophobic elevator fights), but as special agent Orson Fortune (a name I'd happily give him) he embodies a lot of personality or character. Dunno calls Nathan (Cary Elwes), who runs it, to find out what was stolen from the high-end facility, why, who's trying to broker a deal, and identify the buyer.
Of course, Orson Fortune is assigned a team, even though his trusted teammate, Special Agent Mike (Peter Ferdinando), is currently on a different mission (unsurprisingly, he's on the same mission, but for a different agency, and that leads to the both teams collide everywhere).
As for the Orson Fortune team (yes, I type my full name in every time I get home), they're the boring archetypes played by the hilarious ensemble that Guy Ritchie throws into this hodgepodge. Director's pedigree. Aubrey Plaza plays a charming and flirty tech double agent who can get close to unsuspecting men willing to reveal their secrets and dirty work, while Bugsy Malone plays backup sniper Orson Fortune in many dangerous encounters. .
A refreshing addition to the team was popular movie star Josh Hartnett Danny Francesco, who was brought in to energize and distract, while Hugh Grant salesman Greg Simmonds was a huge fan who was easily distracted.
Unfortunately , Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre doesn't even like the thought of a Hollywood star getting caught up in a spy arms race. The character is defined by a set of skills, often conveyed in hilarious jokes. However, it can be seen thanks to trips around the world (including places like Morocco) and luxury production projects anchored in expensive art galleries.
Granted, the second half gets more interesting as the violence and weapon effects unfold, but the plot is still dry. It's also hard to fuel a burning hatred for Operation Fortune: Cunning of War because I still let Jason Statham be the action star, even though the action evaporates from my brain after the credits roll. The result here is more like Operation Tribulation.
Blinking Myth Rating – Movies: ★★ / Movies: ★★★
Robert Coider is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Association. He is also the editor of the Flickering Myth Review. Find new reviews here, follow Twitter or Letterboxd, or email [email protected].
