Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023) Review

A Fun Spy Caper
3.5

Summary

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre isn’t as good as Wrath of Man but it’s inoffensive and a lot of fun with Statham doing what he does best (throat punching) and Hugh Grant stealing every scene. There are plenty of fights and the final half hour is suitably explosive making this well worth checking out.

Plot: Elite spy Orson Fortune must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds. Reluctantly teamed up with some of the world’s best operatives, Fortune and his crew recruit Hollywood’s biggest movie star, Danny Francesco, to help them on their globe-trotting mission to save the world.

Review: I think this March is one of the best months for action movies in several years and we’re not even half way through it yet. I finally caught up with Guy Ritchie’s latest called Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre starring Jason Statham and although I prefer Wrath of Man as it’s a grittier tale this is another thoroughly entertaining caper.

Hugh Grant steals the show with some great one-liners and no matter how many times I see it I will never tire of watching Jason Statham punching people in the throat. For me he’s always such a formidable presence as an action star and in every fight scene you can practically feel every punch or kick.

One thing Statham doesn’t get enough credit for is his comic timing and I think he works best with Guy Ritchie in that respect. He has some great banter with Cary Elwes’ Nathan who is essentially M with the amazingly named Orson Fortune (Statham) in the 007 style role. Orson has some nice character quirks like needing specific types of wine on the private jet before he’ll even consider doing a mission which provides a few laughs.

I’ve always thought Josh Hartnett was an underappreciated actor so it’s nice to see him working with Ritchie and Statham again after Wrath of Man. He has a lighter role but still important and he looks like he’s just having a good time. I’ll admit I found Aubrey Plaza’s IT whizz Sarah a little annoying at times and she wasn’t all that funny but she wasn’t too bad.

In terms of action we get plenty of fight scenes with the Stath doing what he does best and the bigger set-pieces come in the final half hour where we get chases, helicopters and explosions. The music score also feels like a tribute to Bond with the wistful strings working perfectly with the international locations.

Overall, Operation Fortune isn’t quite up there with Wrath of Man but it’s still a fun time with the cast clearly enjoying themselves, plenty of action and Hugh Grant having all the best lines. I’ll be buying this when it hits 4K and will happily watch it again in the future.