OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

I have always been a sucker for a solid quick-paced action team-up film, whether it be dramatic in its storytelling, or a more straight-to-the-point narrative with spectacle and comedic elements thrown in. Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre falls into the latter camp, however, it only takes itself as seriously as it needs to. Guy Ritchie delivers the action, laughs, and all-around fun joint of a film, even if it sits more prominently on the satisfactory side of his filmography rather than in the superb.

Ritchie's reliable actors such as Jason Statham and Eddie Marsan return with Statham as the lead Orson Fortune, an operative who is often relied upon by the British government when difficult tasks arise. Marsan takes a minimal role as Knighton, a government figure boss type who is only shown when he's calling or receiving a call from Cary Elwes' character Nathan. Who's responsible for managing and putting teams together for government-backed missions; in this case his choice seems to be a controversial one as he wants Orson for this specific job. Once Orson is brought in, the team is quickly rounded out by Aubrey Plaza's computer expert/hacker character Sarah, and JJ (Bugzy Malone), Orson's right-hand man, for the film's fairly straightforward mission. Soon after the team has assembled, Josh Hartnett's character, an actor named Danny Francesco is brought in to get Orson and his team into an extremely exclusive party on billionaire Greg Simmonds's (Hugh Grant) yacht. The billionaire who surrounds himself with questionable people at best has a thing for meeting celebrities and is easily starstruck by Francesco's presence. The film's comedic moments stem from Francesco and Simmonds on screen interactions with each other, with Sarah also providing a fair amount as well. This isn't surprising seeing as that is one of Plaza's strengths she brings to her roles when needed. The chemistry of all these characters and the actors portraying them works well enough but Malone's role as JJ is rather rigid as the script does not give him much of a personality or much to do aside from whatever Orson wants or to save him when he's in a tight spot. Although Operation Fortune's script doesn't give many characters much dimension, its focus is more on what skills they bring to the team and the team's relationship overall without building much between them over the film's runtime. 

While Operation Fortunes' script is lacking in overall character building it's not so ill-conceived that it subtracts from the enjoyable elements of the film that do work well. While the mission the movie sets forth is, as I said, fairly straightforward, it's a blast to watch Orson's crew endure every setback or outsmart the opposition even if to its detriment as the characters never really feel like they are in any real danger. The action packs its biggest punch when Ritchie allows time for the camera to stick with it and not cut away to a different scene. Utilizing some interesting POV and close up shots in certain sequences helps retain the quick paced nature. While Operation Fortune: Rose de guerre is nothing incredible nor peak level Guy Ritchie it is an entertaining watch worthy of your time. Although it would have benefitted from better character building and even some minor backstory to each of the main characters, Operation Fortune mostly succeeds at doing what it sets out to do.