Jason Statham has done a violent dance movie villains on land, sea, and occasionally even in the air, but in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre , he relies a little more on some witty banter than straight-up bruiser tactics to deal with his adversaries. The British tough guy leads Guy Ritchie's action caper, which sees him teaming up with Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes, Josh Hartnett, and a movie-stealing Hugh Grant in full Trump-tan, and pulls out a performance that audiences loved when the film was originally released in 2023.
The film operates in familiar territory for anyone who has followed Statham's roles in his spy-orientated mode. This time around, he stars as Orson Fortune, a covert operative whose skill set and deadpan snark make comparisons to a certain British super spy inevitable, even if he likes to get a little more down and dirty than any 007 ever did. However, while Bond movies play things straight, Operation Fortune deals with things in a less serious way, focusing on more comical escapades for its titular character. The full synopsis reads:
"Super spy Orson Fortune (Statham) must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds (Grant). Reluctantly teamed with some of the world's best operatives (Plaza, Elwes, Bugzy Malone), Fortune and his crew recruit Hollywood's biggest movie star Danny Francesco (Hartnett) to help them on their globe-trotting undercover mission to save the world."
Supporting Statham in the movie, Plaza plays a tech expert who may or may not have eyes on Orson, Cary Elwes is a smooth-talking handler, and Hugh Grant continues his impressive run of smarmy villain roles playing a billionaire arms dealer with suspect morals. Under the direction of Ritchie, the story quickly pivots from moments of comedic dialogue to over-the-top action sequences and back again, making the film a treat for fans of the Statham/Ritchie combo.
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Operation Fortune struggled to compete at the box office on its original release in 2023. Coming with a $50 million budget, the movie only made $49 million worldwide, making it one of Statham's uncommon flops. While his movies may not have always landed well with critics, tending to fall in the same pot as other generic action movies, audiences have normally gravitated towards his offerings.
Operation Fortune did not manage to break out of the "rotten" realm, landing a 51% Tomatometer score, which was actually quite impressive compared to the 20-30% range many fall into. Audiences, on the other hand, scored the film an impressive 82% rating, which makes its box office performance even more disappointing. However, that means nothing when it comes to the film's streaming success.
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Having now made a low-level appearance on Starz's movie chart (number 9 at the time of writing), it is likely that the film will climb significantly higher in the next few days. With movies like The Mechanic, The Beekeeper, and several other movies constantly appearing on streaming charts, Operation Fortune is just another classic Statham offering that fans just can't get enough of.
Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre R Action Thriller Release Date March 17, 2022 Runtime 114 Minutes Director Guy Ritchie Writers Ivan Atkinson, Marn Davies Cast See All Jason Statham Aubrey Plaza Josh Hartnett Cary Elwes
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