«Operation Fortune», a low-cost «Mission Impossible

After the excellent The Gentlemen (2019) and the more anecdotal An Angry Man (2021), Guy Ritchie returns with Operation Fortune: War ruse. A film halfway between sincere enthusiasm and lack of ambition.

A powerful arms dealer (Hugh Grant) has gotten his hands on a mysterious object that threatens the world. The British government puts Orson Fortune (Jason Statham) in charge of a small team of MI6 experts to track it down. Will the cream of the crop be enough to prevent the end of civilization? 

To feel inferior when compared to others

This umpteenth over-the-top action-movie premise is merely a pretext for developing a plot that blends fight scenes, humor, and high-tech gadgets. Operation Fortune is inspired by the saga Mission impossible, without really managing to match it. The problem lies with the action, which is slow to get going and fails to keep us on the edge of our seats. Furthermore, the film quickly turns its protagonists into icons through extraordinary performances, pragmatism in every situation, and well-timed wit. These characters are too strong, too clever, and too quick for anyone who might try to stand in their way. As a result, the film quickly loses its sense of stakes, and we even find ourselves rooting for the antagonists, patiently hoping that one of them will manage to teach the protagonists a brief lesson in humility. A patience that will never be rewarded.

Operation Fortune and thus quickly falls into the trap of paying homage. By drawing too much inspiration from its role models, it ends up falling short in comparison to them. The technological gadgets never measure up to those developed in Mission impossible. Car chases never quite measure up to the ones made iconic by James Bond. Operation Fortune never really manages to make us forget the classics that inspired it, to its detriment.

Ritchie's Rich Cinema

Despite all that, it’s hard to hold it against a director like Guy Ritchie. His films, ever since his debut, have shown a sincere love for the art form. A love that can certainly lead to some missteps—you just have to watch Revolver (2005)—which embodies this in every shot—but a love that makes it unique. This love is a love of clever plot twists, often more complicated than necessary. It is a love of the characters, always elevated by their costumes and dialogue. But above all, it is a love of rhythm: the constant search for the right moment to cut, the precise placement of a line that hits the mark, the audacity to structure an action film as an ensemble piece, following several characters at once.

Pace is the essence of cinema. Guy Ritchie understands this, but rather than making it a subject of analysis, he’s turned it into a toy. Going to see a Guy Ritchie movie means you’re guaranteed to discover something new, even when it recycles old ideas and even when it defies good taste. At the very least, his films will always have the advantage of being playful.

With Operation Fortune, Guy Ritchie continues to demonstrate his enthusiasm. The action scenes, though lackluster, offer their fair share of well-timed jokes. A single scene in which Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant) reminds his associates of his omnipotence is enough to mask the antagonists’ weakness. And the film’s weaknesses, highlighted by its homages, are mitigated when the director begins to draw on his own body of work. Guy Ritchie’s best model remains Guy Ritchie himself. 

Operation Fortune is a mixed bag of a movie. While the humor and the strong cast are enjoyable, one can’t help but be disappointed by the uninspired plot and action sequences. It’s a pleasant but frustrating piece of entertainment that will mostly leave us wanting to rewatch De Palma’s classic or revisit Guy Ritchie’s early films.

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Photo credits for all photos: Operation Fortune © Leonine

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