The Solace of Dark Times: A review of Guy Ritchie's Operation Fortune: The Art of Winning
An escapist action movie with necessary nostalgia and the brilliant Aubrey Plaza
Elite mercenary Jacob Fortune (Jason Statham) is forced to cut short his vacation due to an order from the British government. Another billionaire and arms dealer Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant) wants to sell dangerous people a mysterious device that can change the world. To stop the deal, Fortune assembles a team of experienced colleagues and enlists the help of famous Hollywood star Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett).
A year after its scheduled release, Guy Ritchie's new film reaches the box office, where the irrepressible harshness of "The Gentlemen" and "The Wrath of Man" gives way to a not always workable but sincere flavor of spy comedy about the importance of vacations and the salvation of the movie business. In the notable tradition of "Mission: Impossible" and other genre representatives, here they put a ridiculous evil with warhead potential in its place and go on vacation.
A return to light-hearted humor and faded aesthetics in the present circumstances seems an appropriate, even necessary, measure. The world has long wanted to be destroyed, but somehow it does not work out - the blame for this may well be considered preserved in the brutal variety of Jason Statham. Being a true patriot, Fortune isn't shy about spending public money on expensive wines and jets, because he knows that at any moment he himself will be rented. This happens regularly, the stage of denial is replaced by bargaining and acceptance, followed by Cannes and Antalya. Criminals do not know the measure, reminding of it is a job for Fortune.
This time the role of the two-faced devil is once again played by Hugh Grant. His character Greg Simmonds wants to sell to interested people an artificial intelligence stolen from a secret laboratory, capable of destroying any security system anywhere in the world. There is only one weakness Simmonds has: the face of Hollywood, Danny Francesco. Popular and mostly naive Danny (the excellent and undeservedly forgotten by everyone Hartnett) loves vintage cars and his own cousin, until he himself, at Orson's request, becomes a movie character. Getting into the confidence of the world's most dangerous man is easy, getting out of his web is almost unreal.
The good news is that Ritchie is still not broken by the corporate machine: between Disney remakes of "Aladdin" and "Hercules," the director carefully convenes a council of old friends, sends out explosive vignette cards, and reminisces about his and others' youth. The "one for them, one for me" maneuvering evokes tears, but not of regret, but of trust once lost, now restored again. The machismo that oozes out in just about every frame is honored, wonder and indignation should be kept to themselves.
"The Wrath of Man" was one of Statham's attempts to go into drama, but "Fortune" changes course and brings the actor closer to the period of the first collaborations with Ritchie. Reaching the meta-ironic heights of "Spy" with a great monologue about immortality, the actor can no longer, but with paternal concern advises "finish the carrot" to the boss (Cary Elwes) and solves all the problems before they appear. At the same time, the main reason "The Art of Winning" wins over Ritchie's previous works is Aubrey Plaza. The title of best female protagonist in the patriarchal director's filmography now certainly belongs to her. The actress adds action-charisma to the impassioned humor, and her character Sarah Fidel's brief slo-mo shooting scene is on the list of the year's top movie revelations in advance.
Ritchie seems to be philosophizing for the first time about his own destiny: the rebelliousness of the 90s can be forgotten, but the stoic adventurism never can. Everything will go smoothly, Fortune is sure, and one can only be thankful for this unceasing flow of self-confidence in an era of no time.
Comments