The latest Guy Ritchie movie is a spy action comedy with a heist theme that brings together stars such as Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza. Will it prove to be another success story for the director by tying together some of the genres that are currently most popular in the entertainment world?
The Themes
The movie market right now is incredibly diverse, and Operation Fortune is perhaps best compared to 2022’s Hot Seat and Bullet Train films, with Brad Pitt starring in the latter. Heart of Stone with Gal Gadot should put spy movies in the headlines later in 2023, while Tom Cruise is back this year with the spy-themed Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
We can also see some of the themes this movie covers in the gaming industry. For example, the online casino betting at Paddy Power includes slots like The Perfect Heist and Reel Heist. Meanwhile, the title based on The Naked Gun movie series maybe leans more towards the light-hearted element but may still appeal to the same sort of viewer who is interested in Operation Fortune. These themed slots suggest that there is still plenty of interest in the genres mentioned.
The Russo Brothers are also creating the Citadel espionage series for Amazon Prime Video, with Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jones among the stars. Therefore, this suggests that the genres touched on in Ritchie’s movie are as relevant as ever before.
About the Movie
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre sees Statham play the role of Orson Fortune, a spy who has been given the task of recovering a high-tech device worth billions of dollars. His team travels to various locations around the planet to try and get the gadget before it’s sold or captured by another gang who’re also tracking it.
Things get more confusing when Fortune ropes in movie star Danny Francesco (played by Josh Hartnett) to help them. He then discovers that the device – known as The Handle – is a piece of artificial intelligence hardware that can defeat any type of security system ever created.
The movie’s release was delayed from 2022 and was eventually brought out early in March this year, before moving onto Amazon Prime Video in the UK in April. Early reviews suggest that it provides some moments of fast action and smart dialogue, but that overall it’s perhaps too unrealistic and at times too convoluted.
The Metacritic site brings together a variety of reviews from the likes of Variety, Observer and the New York Times. Their scores for Operation Fortune vary wildly, so it’s clearly a film that has divided opinion and this means that anyone interested in watching it would be best checking it out and forming their own opinion on whether it meets their expectations or not.
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is the type of movie that some fans will see as an enjoyable action romp, while others will be less impressed with it. The fact that it taps into a few of the most popular genres is certainly a plus point, while the director’s reputation should ensure that it attracts a good audience.