Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre

Guy Ritchie is a terribly ambivalent and strange director. His name has been resonating in the film world for the last year for the absolute top of the action genre, Wrath of Man, but now he throws us such a dreadfully average thing as Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre. And when I say average, I mean literally average in every way. The acting is terribly bland, none of the three stars, Jason Statham, Hugh Grant, and Aubrey Plaza, have iconic roles, they are typical B-movie characters with no interesting traits, and there's only two action sequences towards the end, and they also suck. There's no action, above average fights, shootouts or hand-to-hand combat, and then the story is a despicable template full of bland clichés. And the humour? Zero! The whole film is completely devoid of ideas, effort and any kind of fun. In fact, I have to say that for the first time in a long time, I looked at my watch in the cinema and if I had watched the film at home, I probably wouldn't have finished it. Extremely mediocre crap that I won't remember a week later. And it pisses me all the more because this was spawned by a guy like Ritchie, everyone will compare it to Wrath of Man, and that's the stumbling block that drives the film's rating into drastic below-average territory. All I ask after watching it is WHY. (06/01/2023)

This is exactly the kind of film that would have blown producers away in the 90s. It just needs better dialogue with at least one memorable line and a lead actor who captivates you from start to finish. Unfortunately, Jason Statham doesn’t quite hit the mark these days. He lacks both the charisma and the punchy lines that made 90s action heroes so entertaining. Still, unlike in the 90s, he’s one of the few actors who continues to make films like this. (16/07/2024)

Attractive locations, expensive cars and booze, luxurious accessories both living and dead—these are all part of the business card Guy Ritchie could send to Barbara Broccoli if he wanted to. But he doesn’t. He’d rather continue living in his world of picturesque characters, dressing actors in stylish outfits, and promoting barbecue tables of his own design. Even though it all runs at about three-quarters throttle, with dialogues often in the child seat and the author skipping his traditional top-notch opening credits, it still offers solid entertainment. However, let’s admit that it would be less enjoyable without Grant. By the way, if Statham’s top collar button flew off, would filming stop until someone sews it back on? (10/05/2023)

After the phenomenal The Gentlemen, my expectations for Operation Fortune may have been too high, but I didn't leave the cinema disappointed. Guy Ritchie's latest is a brisk one-watch action flick with some issues when it comes to the script and (black) humour, but it flows nicely in the cinema, and thanks to the regularly dosed action it doesn't get boring. It was good to see Josh Hartnett in action after quite a long time, but the main driving forces are the cruel Jason Statham and the equally sharp Hugh Grant, for whom such roles just tailor-made. In the end, the film neither impresses nor surprises, but it entertains and thrills, and that's what counts. A weaker four stars! (25/01/2023)

Orson Fortune and his team must prevent the sale of a weapon that could threaten the entire world. To do so, they must get close to a dangerous adversary, and they're going to use a Hollywood superstar to do it. Guy Ritchie delivers an entertaining action-spy comedy that's driven forward by a particularly likeable cast. Unfortunately, they're a bit undermined by a muddled script, which often makes the story pause unnecessarily and deal with irrelevancies, only to have to unnecessarily plunge forward a few moments later. It's not boring, but one expects a bit more from Ritchie and Statham. (12/01/2023)