Film review: Brad Pitt and George Clooney make most of rudimentary script in 'Wolfs'
- Wolfs
- ★★★☆☆
- Streaming on Apple TV from September 27
Sixteen years. That’s how long we stewed for the eagerly anticipated return of contemporary cinema’s favourite movie star double act. Was it worth the wait?
Well, sort of.
“Flimsy” is a word that comes to mind and it’s as good as any, but there is still enough chemistry and caper between the terrible twosome to keep us engaged.
Jon Watts of fame has parked the latex and web shooters as he tackles an original project for the first time since the charming low-budget feature in 2015. He has drafted the only two men for the job — “Nobody does what I can do” they chime.
The duo play opposing fixers, suspiciously hired to do the same clean up job. As you can probably imagine, the two butt heads and fight like an old married couple.
Clooney’s fixer first enters the fray when called upon by a panicked business exec played by Amy Ryan who has just witnessed her one night stand meet his untimely and accidental demise. She knows who to call. Moments later Pitt’s fixer enters, to the confusion of all.
If one was searching for the exampla gratis of star power and palpable chemistry elevating a rather lacklustre script, then this is it. You can almost overlook the film’s many derivations and cliches to watch Pitt and Clooney cut it up — and shoot it up — together on screen.
It’s a rather ropey start, clunky dialogue and exposition sprinkled with counterfeit humour but we, not unlike the wolfs (not wolves) in question, settle into the company. Momentarily, one has flashes of déjà vu when it feels like dialogue is straight-up repackaged from the Ocean’s trilogy.
Clooney and Pitt can do most of the heavy lifting but mention too for Austin Abrams as a very capable and convincing foil as an innocent and forgivably foolish kid known as, well, the Kid. He more than holds his own.
will roll out for a one-week limited cinema run before going straight to streaming on Apple TV+, raising all sorts of conversations about pulling power, both actor and cinema. It has just enough to fill out its 105-minute runtime and doesn’t outstay its welcome.
If this is the farewell tour for the delectable dyads, it’s not enough to keep the reviewing wolves from the door.
