PLOT: A group of mercenaries (Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Bugzy Malone and Cary Elwes) working for the British government try to recover a super weapon called The Handle. Believing that the device is now in the hands of a billionaire arms dealer (Hugh Grant), they use a famous movie star (Josh Hartnett) to infiltrate the man’s estate and recover the weapon.
REVIEW: Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is an action flick I’ve been looking forward to seeing for a while now. While the movie wrapped ages ago, it sat on the shelf for over a year because a group of bad guys in the film are said to be Ukranian, although any mention of their nationality seems to have since been cut from the film. Strangely, it’s getting a low-wattage release, with it only opening in the United States, and set to go to streaming in Canada and the UK. A bizarre fate for a big-budget action film directed by an A-list director and starring one of the world’s most popular action stars.
Despite a great cast, it’s a shame that Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre isn’t up to the usual Guy Ritchie standard. It’s his shot at making a globe-trotting action romp, but it’s very middle-of-the-road as far as these things go. Nothing happens in Operation Fortune that you haven’t seen before. The movie starts promisingly, with Cary Elwes’ polished fixer negotiating with a British spymaster (Eddie Marsan) to bring in his usual crew. Statham’s Orson Fortune is established as some kind of head case, with Marsan complaining that he’s claustrophobic, agoraphobic and addicted to the high life. This would have been a fun twist, giving Statham something fun to chew on, but this aspect is dumped immediately, with him having no trouble spending half the movie in a private jet and ordering a beer from the bar. He’s playing the same old Statham character – for better or worse.
One wished Ritchie could have gotten him to stretch a bit, as Statham is becoming a dull action hero. One of the worst aspects of his movies is how he never (ever) faces an adversary that could overshadow him and even challenge him in a fight. He’s similar (in this regard) to Steven Seagal in the nineties, with him always presented as ultra-capable and never in danger of losing a fight. It makes his on-screen bouts dull, which has been the case for many years.
What might have made Operation Fortune a little more intriguing had been if the cast had been remixed, with Statham playing Josh Hartnett’s role, and vice-versa. In the movie, Hartnett is an action star whose blackmailed into helping the group infiltrate a billionaire’s estate. Hartnett is fine in the part but not super believable as a major action hero, which, oddly, might have made him an intriguing, off-center choice to play Orson Fortune. The film also suffers from coming out in the wake of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, as Hartnett’s arc is similar to Cage’s in that movie, with him having to lie to a billionaire super-fan (amusingly played by Hugh Grant) and finding that, despite everything, he really likes the guy.
It’s not all bad, though. Operation Fortune actually has a great supporting cast, with the kind of unconventional casting that proves the point that the movie would have been better if the rest of the choices had followed suit. Aubrey Plaza is terrific as a “whizkid” technical pro brought in to help the crew. She’s funny and is able to really fit into any role she’s asked to play. Her talents are on full display here, with her able to play the sarcastic technician and then turn on a dime to pose as Hartnett’s drop-dead gorgeous arm candy. She also gets to flex her action chops, although she’s denied a major adversary of her own to fight, with the climax of the film a tad underbaked.
Hugh Grant is also great as the billionaire arms dealer. Adopting the same gangster accent he used in Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, he has a blast chewing the scenery as the likeable quasi-villain. Plus, Cary Elwes has a great role as the head of Statham’s crew, with him still a pro with a cutting one-liner or two.
In the end, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre isn’t a disaster, but it’s an average action flick for the usually outstanding Guy Ritchie. His last collaboration with Statham, Wrath of Man, was really unconventional and fresh. In this one it feels like Statham is just doing the same old thing but in the process, is overshadowed by Plaza and Grant.