In this new Guy Ritchie spy/action/comedy mix, secret agent Orson Fortune (played by Jason Statham) and his team blackmail actor Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett) into helping them gain access to arms dealer Greg Simmons (Hugh Grant) in order to stop him from acquiring a mysterious device known as “the Handle.”
I'm guessing that after The Wrath of Man, which might be Ritchie's darkest work, he wanted to do something fun and just lighthearted. (This also kinda has Man from Uncle vibes; Ritchie stated he liked that one and due to its poor box office, this is probably the closest he can get to doing a sequel.)
Unfortunately, this is the weakest of the several films of his I've seen (no, I haven't watched Swept Away yet). The worst part is that this the has bones of a good film in it. If parts had just been tweaked and some jokes cut, this might've worked. To be clear, this isn't straight up bad, just lackluster.
On the plus side, the movie looks great. It's very colorful, echoing the look of the Sixties' Bond films. Though this is a more tongue-in-cheek spy film, the action can be surprisingly intense at points. Also, it's got a strong cast (more on them later).
I know the part about Danny getting into the good graces of Simmons (who's a fan) sounds very similar to that film Nicholas Cage made recently, and yeah, it does a little, but much not as much as you think. The trailer makes it look the whole movie is focused on that, but it's only a subplot. (Danny's really just a supporting character not a main player.) I'm glad that section didn't wear out it's welcome, because some of the most enjoyable moments come from the actor and arms dealer interacting. (I won't spoil how it plays it out.)
On the negative side, the tone is all over the place and the movie gets too complicated for it's own good. There's a repeated bit about how Orson has expensive tastes and constantly tries to finagle extravagant benefits from his employer. It's not funny or done well, and the writers really go all in on it. It is clear that this had parts cut and reshoots. The problem is that they don't cut the parts setting up later scenes. There are three plot points that are never followed up on.
As I said, good cast. Statham and Cary Elwes as Orson's boss both play the roles they usually play, tough guy and stereotypically British person, but to be fair, they do it well. Hartnett is amusing, and Grant does an admirable job of continuing to prove in his recent years that he's a character actor. Aubrey Plaza is Orson's team's computer person. Yeah, this isn't her best work and is given dialogue beneath her, but she is still AUBREY PLAZA and brings her trademark energy.
Not a must see. It can make for a nice timewaster/background film. There are good parts. Just don't make this a film you're spending too much on.
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