Starring Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, and Hugh Grant, Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre is clearly an attempt to launch a spy-thriller action franchise. However, most production companies don’t like to lose millions of dollars on their movies, so I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for a sequel.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre

Known for his punchy dialogue and signature energetic directing style, Guy Ritchie decided to go another way with the Jason Statham action vehicle, Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre. If I’m being honest, I didn’t know that this was a Guy Ritchie film until the closing credits. In fact, at one point during the first act, I remember thinking that this movie is like a Guy Ritchie film without the pizzazz or commitment.

There are moments when it’s entertaining. Those moments are usually when Statham is delivering a beating to someone. Say what you want about the man, but he knows how to sell a fight scene. However, it’s far from enough, especially since he himself never really gets hurt at all. With the exception of Hugh Grant’s Greg (more on him later), the rest of the characters are ill-defined and seem barely invested.

Simply put, there’s no sense of urgency to the film, and it doesn’t help that neither the protagonists nor the audience even knows what the good guys are trying to stop from happening until one hour and nine minutes into a one-hour and fifty-nine-minute movie. We all know that it’s something bad, but not how bad. Furthermore, we don’t know who wants it, or for what exactly they want it, until there are about thirty minutes left in the film…and we don’t care because the bad guys are ill-defined, dumpy, generic greedy rich white guys, and the “weapon” is not something that immediately evokes fear in most people.

The thing is that all of the above could be forgiven if there were an ounce of energy or style in the film. It’s as bland and generic an action flick as I’ve ever seen. Hugh Grant is the only bright spot. He is a ton of fun to watch as he chews up the scenery in every scene, and I hope that his character somehow makes it into another Guy Ritchie film (once Ritchie is off the Lunesta) so that we can see his true potential.

P.S. Josh Hartnett is in the movie, and I nearly completely forgot because, in a film with bland and lifeless characters, his was the watercress of the bunch. It’s not even his fault; there was absolutely nothing for him to work with.

WOKE REPORT

Just Two

• The main antagonists are greedy self-described capitalists, even though no capitalist capable of earning tens of billions of dollars would ever come up with a plan as stupid as theirs.
• Aubrey Plaza’s character is perfect at everything. She’s also needlessly sarcastic to men who are doing a good job or even a superior job at something that they aren’t trained to do.
  • Before anyone starts comparing her character to Statham or the block of wood better known as Bugzy Malone, who plays JJ, both Statham and Bugzy have fairly well-defined roles in the team, and they stick to those roles. She, on the other hand, is a supergenius hacker, a tech wizard, and a flawless field agent who possesses superhuman aim…for reasons.