This afternoon I spontaneously went to see "Operation Fortune" in the cinema. Here is my spoiler-free review:
This is once again a typical Guy Ritchie film. You just notice his signature, in a mostly positive sense.
The story is relatively simple, but in places it is told in an unnecessarily complicated way. I found that better in "The Gentlemen" and "Cash Truck". The former has a more complex story with some twists and turns and more suspense, but without being complicated. The latter, on the other hand, is kept very simple and is also told in a relatively straightforward manner. In "Operation Fortune", on the other hand, some dialogues are strung together very quickly, so that I sometimes couldn't keep up with the many names and changes of location. That was a bit too fast for me. I hardly had time to think and let my thoughts run free. I'm not quite sure, but in my memory two or three situations didn't make direct sense and it seemed illogical how the characters behaved in those situations. Emotions are also very rare here in the plot. In any case, I couldn't really sympathize.
This brings us to the characters: They all remain pretty pale and it's really only about the direct situational action. You don't really learn much more about any of the characters. They are quite stereotypical. Hugh Grant's character is the best, I think, because he plays his role very well and somehow he seems much more tangible and interesting than the others. In general, he steals the show when he's in the picture. Wonderful! Jason Statham plays his cool and tough agent character as usual. But that's all there is to it. It's also nice to see Josh Hartnett in a bigger movie again. His role is that of an actor and he is the one who always tries to be witty, but he is also the "coward" of the film. Then there is Aubrey Plaza as Sarah Fidel. She is the intelligent one of the agent troop and shows the men again and again that she can do more than they give her credit for. Finally, there is Bugzy Malone as JJ Davies. He is also an agent and he is the quiet type and sniper who acts more from ambush. But he also remains very pale. All in all, the characters don't develop much and everyone plays his role here and remains trapped in this corset from beginning to end without breaking out of it, which is kind of a pity because I couldn't build up an emotional connection to any of the characters.
The action scenes are solid, but often they are hardly shown, as if there had been a lack of budget. But the hand-to-hand fights with Jason Statham are fun as always, even if he's a bit too good for me, because he never really gets hit himself. He can have a few more weaknesses.
The CGI effects are good and if I'm not mistaken, many scenes were shot directly on real locations, which I liked.
The cinematography is solid, the cuts are also okay and didn't stand out to me either positively or negatively.
The humor in the film is well measured and mostly manifests itself in dry sarcasm and a few quips, which I liked.
The music didn't strike me as particularly positive or negative.
Overall, "Operation Fortune" is a solid, good-looking action-agent thriller that follows in the footsteps of Mission: Impossible, but can never reach its class. A viewing is worthwhile, however, and you will definitely get your money's worth, if you don't set your expectations too high. However, you shouldn't expect the class and style of "The Gentlemen". "Operation Fortune" will certainly not stay in my memory for a very long time. But since I was well entertained and could easily overlook the weaknesses, I award a solid
7/10 points - Low rewatch value.
