I'm starting to think Guy Ritchie wasn't too happy about not getting to make a sequel to The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (I know I wasn't). That's the feeling I get when watching Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (what a title!). It's like he decided that instead he would do his own take on James Bond and Mission: Impossible. Unfortunately, after a fun opening involving the recruitment of Elwes and Statham, it becomes inescapably clear that the movie suffers from a lack of Ritchie's signature flair - not to mention pretty much everything that made The Man from U.N.C.L.E. so cool. Making Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre a rather standard spy actioner. One that is never in danger of surprising its audience. Even the dreaded but coveted MacGuffin - that thing you have to wait more than half the movie to find out what it is - isn't all that interesting.
For the most part it's a lot of style over substance. Apparently being private contractors in the world of espionage is all you need for the presence of all the fancy cars, clothes, jets e.t.c. to make sense. Although at no point is the abundance of style applied to the action, which never surpasses the bar of 'average'. There's a reasonable supply of gunfights, car chases and hand-to-hand combat, all of which are entertaining enough, but it's never going to blow your socks off. Solid but unremarkable.
Normally with a Guy Ritchie movie this would all be made up for with a cast of quirky characters and their colourful dialogue, which to an extent is the case with Operation Fortune. Statham is likeable as the sophisticated hard nut with expensive tastes. Orson Fortune can be difficult to work with, which leads to some amusing banter between him and his team, all of whom fire back with equal ability - especially the magnificent Aubrey Plaza. It's also good to see Bugzy Malone back working with Ritchie after his rather amusing turn in The Gentlemen. And a delightfully prim and proper Cary Elwes does have the odd verbal battle with Eddie Marsan's government minister, as well as the leader of a rival team. Much like everything in this movie, however, said banter falls well short of Ritchie's usual standard.
As with The Gentlemen, Hugh Grant is the movie's M.V.P. Once again he's revelling in playing a slimy underworld type, cockney accent included. Rather unsurprisingly, one of Operation Fortune's best moments entirely belongs to him. Which makes it all the more disappointing that the movie's big premise - using an actor to access the arms dealer's inner circle - isn't really played with the way it should be. Josh Hartnett is great as 'Danny Francesco', a man as excited and terrified as he is out of his depth. He's also great opposite Grant, but he's never properly utilised. In fact, it's almost as if this outlandish plotline, the one thing that could really make Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre stand out from the legions of spy movies out there, both good and bad, was almost forgotten about.
What could have been a thrilling and hysterical foray into the world of espionage movies, turned out to be a rather average spy actioner. The banter and the action are enough to entertain you, but Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre never really comes close to being exciting.
6/10
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
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