It’s always a coin flip with Guy Ritchie. You might get Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, or you might get Revolver. Sometimes you get Snatch, sometimes you get Swept Away (but not swept away). When he’s in his groove, there’s a cheeky charm and a seemingly effortless Cool Britannia tone to his work. When he’s off, his films are smug, self-indulgent, and weirdly joyless.
Sad to say, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre belongs in the latter category. It might be his worst film yet. If it’s not, it certainly showcases his cinematic shortcomings to clearest effect. Even fans of his stuff will struggle to find much to enjoy here.
Ritchie regular Jason Statham is Orson Fortune, a kind of bare-knuckle James Bond whose main character quirk is manipulating his employer’s mental health and wellbeing program to keep himself in private flights and fine wines. It’s a bit weird, not least of which is because Orson and his handler, Nathan Jasmine (Cary Elwes as Basil Exposition, effectively) seem to be private contractors.
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