It may not be Ocean's level extraordinary but George Clooney and Brad Pitt's latest, Wolfs, is breezy, witty, and smooth.
Wolfs Review
There are “movie stars” and then there are movie stars, the kind of talent that draws a crowd and rarely ever disappoints. Clooney and Pitt are the latter, having the kind of star power that hasn't diminished since the 90s. Separately, they are entertaining but together? Their charm is nearly unmatched. I'm sure that their pairing was the only thing needed to convince any studio exec that this film needed to be made. It might be a throwaway caper but it's a breezy, witty, and fun action comedy with charisma for days.
Wolfs follows two “fixers” who are brought in to clean-up the mess a district attorney (Amy Ryan) made in a penthouse hotel room. After a chance meeting with a much younger man who appears to now be very dead, she calls a fixer (Clooney) to help her out. He immediately relays instructions to her in the same tone and flair as Michael Clayton. Once he arrives, he begins to gather information while donning blue latex gloves. However, his cleanup job is soon interrupted by the arrival of another fixer (Pitt). Why is he here? Well, turns out the hotel owner saw it all happen on her hidden security cameras, and not wanting a scandal, called a fixer to ensure that doesn't happen. Neither woman will send her man away so these two lone-wolf types (hence the grammatically incorrect title) reluctantly agree to work together.
Reading through that synopsis you may think this will be a by-the-numbers kinda caper and it is for the most part. There are a few twists–though none you won't see coming unless you aren't paying attention– with the biggest surprise of all being that the third act moves it out of “fixer” territory and into a crime-solving one. The predictable flow of events never dulls the fun as director and writer Jon Watts (Marvel Studios' Spider-Man Trilogy) lets these two industry titans do what they do best: trade barbs, outsmart others, and all with dashing grins on their faces. Watts obviously knows his way around action sequences and despite the lack of spandex and web-slinging is able to infuse the chase scenes with energy even when its leads are grumbling about their back problems.
Pitt and Clooney, the never named Fixers, are what elevate Wolfs from being just another made-for-streaming movie. Their constant stream of bickering and determination to prove they are the better man provide all the entertainment you need for the concise runtime. Unrelated but I would like to thank Watts for keeping this under 2 hours. If their chemistry feels familiar it is because it mirrors their Ocean's Eleven adventure, especially during the scenes where they talk over top of each other while also giving epic side-eye.
Clooney's character seems the more serious of the two. He has his ways and likes to stick to his preconceived plans. Deviations make him agitated and that's exactly what Pitt is there for– to throw a wrench in the proceedings. Just getting a body from the penthouse to Clooney's car in the parking garage has these two nitpicking the other's methods, although it all magically still works seamlessly just like in Ocean's. They would never admit the other might have a good idea so the snark, exaggerated sighs, and annoyance continues. The wedding scene as well as the diner one towards the end are absolute highlights of this odd couple pairing.
Both of them get thrown for a loop when: Surprise! The corpse isn't a corpse. Someone really should have verified that right? I feel like that would be the first step in a fixer plan but what do I know? They are the experts. The “kid” (Austin Abrams) gives the two old-timers the slip until naturally they grab him again. He's the sunshine to their dark cloud demeanors and to his credit Abrams is able to still make himself known sharing scenes with those two.
Verdict
Ultimately, Wolfs is a breezy, witty, and smooth action comedy that more than gives audiences something entertaining, stylish, and fun. Both Clooney and Pitt seem to be having a total blast and it shows. Their pedantic behaviors and sardonic asides are expertly timed and delivered. It's not a perfect film by a long shot and I doubt there will be a follow up. But we don't need sequels for everything and just having these two back together in this type of scenario is enough for me.
Wolfs is coming to select theaters and will begin streaming on Apple TV+ September 27. It is rated R for language throughout and some violent content with a runtime of 108 minutes.
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