Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
The bizarrely-named Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, suggesting the film is part of franchise that doesn't exist, is a slight deviation from the usual Jason Statham-versus-the-world stories. In what appears to be a half-assed Mission: Impossible knockoff, Statham stars as the Ethan Hunt of the film charged with getting back a stolen weapon about to be sold on the black market. His team includes Aubrey Plaza, doing double duty as the female field agent and tech support, and Bugzy Malone in a role best described as "the other guy."
Needing to steal back the mysterious weapon from the arms dealer (Hugh Grant) brokering the deal, the team blackmails the man's favorite actor (Josh Hartnett) to help them gain access the arm's dealer's villa in Antalya. What follows is lots of by-the-book mostly inoffensive, but also mostly forgettable, action and comedy sequences often playing up the actor being out of his depth, the mark turning out to be not that bad of a guy, and mentioning, but not really employing, the idiosyncrasies of Statham's character (which feel hastily written into the script at the last minute).
The film lacks a real bad guy. Grant's unscrupulous businessman isn't exactly a hero but he's charming enough and far from a legitimate threat. The other agency team also working to retrieve the weapon are competition but, again, never properly set up as proper movie baddies. We get Cary Elwes as the team's handler opening up the possibility for betrayal, but (like much of the film) that leads nowhere. The result is a lukewarm action film posing in spy thriller drag.
- Title: Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
- IMDb: link
