Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre

Official Australian release date: 12/1/23.
Viewed: 8/1/23.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Actors: Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Hugh Grant, Josh Hartnett
Genre: Action / Comedy
Rating: M

‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’ is the 5th time director Guy Ritchie has used Jason Statham in one of his films – and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! This is a pretty straight-forward spy-action-adventure, with a fair bit of comedy thrown in – closer to ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ than ‘Wrath of Man’. I’d say I liked it better than ‘The Gentlemen’, but not as much as ‘Snatch’. There is only minor introductions for Orson Fortune (Statham), Sarah (Plaza) and JJ (Malone) as the spy team working for Nathan (Elwes), before we’re off and running.

Not sure why the “Ruse de Guerre” suffix was needed, but it translates as a cunning war trick. I assume it also helps if there are to be sequels. The trick is that the team use actor Danny Francesco (Hartnett) as bait for billionaire arms-dealer Greg Simmonds (Grant), to track a stolen weapon. Most of the plot is quite formulaic, but Statham & Ritchie know how to stage action scenes and there’s plenty of exciting moments.

Hartnett plays spoiled actor well; Plaza has plenty of fun; Malone, Elwes and Statham are all solid; with Hugh Grant relishing the role, having even more fun than he did in ‘The Gentlemen’. Not too long, satisfying ending, noting too new, but a nice mix of comedy and action with a good cast.

Overall: Rewatchable popcorn spy fun

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars.