Sundaymail Editor
Film Review
Tinashe Kusema
GUY Ritchie is one of those filmmakers whose work I am simply ambivalent about.
In an age where the likes of Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino are either way past their prime or approaching retirement, someone seriously needs to pick up the baton and take us forward.
While I am a huge Marvel fan, I refuse to live in a world where the Russo brothers — Anthony and Joseph — are the only dependable directors in film.
Ritchie, for me, is like a cross between Tarantino and Nolan in that he has an appealing style, and you know what you are going to get when you enter the movie house.
The problem, however, arises when you analyse the film as a whole.
I loved “Wrath of Man”, “The Gentleman”, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and the “Sherlock Holmes” movies for their distinctive Ritchie touch, but I have little regard for the final product of all the aforementioned flicks.
They were all saved by the outstanding performances of their leading men, namely, Jason Statham (Wrath of Man); Charlie Hunnam and Matthew McConaughey (The Gentleman); Arnie Hammer and Henry Cavill (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), and, of course, the improbable Robert Downey Jnr (Sherlock Holmes).
Ritchie’s latest release, “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre”, follows the same pattern.
The spy-action-comedy follows a gang of Ukrainian mobsters who steal a mysterious device only known as “the handle” from a secure army base with the intention of selling it on the black market.
The British government decides to hire their special agent, Orson Fortune (Statham), to retrieve it.
But here comes the hook: The device or its capabilities and the identity of the thieves are unknown.
Fortune and his team — which includes cyber specialist Sarah Fidel (Audrey Plaza) and utility man J.J. Davies (Bugsy Malone) — manage to track down the courier of the device and elusive billionaire Greg Simmonds, who is brokering the sale of the gadget.
In their attempt to find more information, the team blackmails a famous Hollywood actor, Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett), into infiltrating Simmonds’ inner circle to find out the identity of the buyers and what the device is.
Based on this reading alone, it is not hard to identify the film’s biggest weakness – a flawed plot.
There are way too many pieces moving around at the same time such that it is extremely difficult to follow one line of thought, from Fortune’s backstory, the mystery surrounding the device and its capabilities to an out-of-the-blue introduction of Hartnett’s Danny Francesco character.
For a Hollywood actor constantly in the public eye, Francesco just so happens to be having an affair with his sister-in-law and only the British secret service knows about it.
Convenient or just lazy writing?
You decide.
Luckily for the audience, salvation comes in the form of Ritchie’s unique directional style and a slew of great performances.
Statham, as he has done throughout his acting career, plays the brooding action hero with a dry sense of humour.
The action sequences are performed by the Wing Chun kung fu, karate and kickboxing expert, as he spends a larger part of the movie beating up bad guys.
He also spews cheesy one-liners.
Ritchie does his best work when dealing with Statham.
For what they lack in actual acting chops, Audrey Plaza and Josh Hartnett make up with their witty sense of humour and unbelievable charm.
Hartnett provides the movie’s comic relief and almost steals every scene he is in.
The MVP award, however, goes to Hugh Grant for his excellent Simmonds character.
I equate Grant’s performance to that of the late Raul Julia in the 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie “Street Fighter”.
Here, I mean the Englishman is simply having the time of his life.
If you can forgive or ignore the exaggerated accent, everything about Grant’s performance is on point.
The character has charisma and great chemistry with co-star Hartnett.
That said, while certainly flawed to an extent, “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” is one of those movies you have to watch.
Twitter: @nashaar
Online Reporter