Director Guy Ritchie may no longer be remembered as Madonna’s ex, for he has helmed arguably the best comedic spy thriller in recent memory.
If Tarantino could mash up Mission Impossible, James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Danny Ocean, he still couldn’t top Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre. It has the required elements at their best: wit, style, stars, twists, and photography, all the best of their kind without a frame lost to over indulgence.
The formula for spy thrillers is safe here with billionaires juggling for world dominance, in this case a briefcase seeming to hold global military dominance. Special agent Orson Fortune (Jason Statham in cheeky kick-butt spy form belying his character’s grand taste for wine) is joined by beautiful brainiac hacker Sarah (Aubrey Plaza in a variation on her criminal Emily) and Hollywood star Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett doing a fine Brad Pitt impersonation) to find out the principle elements of the arms sale including the wealthy middleman Simmonds (Hugh Grant in a heavy’s role that suits his debonaire, boyish, and dangerous persona).
The global hunt is all fun with enough whodunit to keep the spy thriller crowd satisfied while the rest of us thoroughly enjoy the screwball-comedy dialogue. Besides Ritchie’s flare for glamourous photography and movie stars, the story crackles with the fast pace and sarcasm of the principals and does not indulge the usual romantic or melancholic subplots common in contemporary thrillers (especially: no children to be cutting to or held hostage). Lovely locations like London and Turkey help the easy glitz of the chase.
Operation Fortune is a thriller that satisfies in every spy-thriller formulaic requirement, as fast-paced as it is charming, with a sense of joy Ritchie must have borrowed from his Madonna divorce. It’s clear he has unloaded that burden and found his voice as a director who can handle farce, comedy, and thrills without letting them overwhelm him as the diva might have.
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts NPR’s It’s Movie Time and hosts Cinema Classics as well as podcasts Back Talk and Double Take out of WCBE 90.5 FM. Contact him at JohnDeSando52@gmail.com
