‘Operation Fortune’ Review: A Promising Idea And A Great Ensemble Cast Can’t Stop This Romp From Floundering

Every once in a while, a piece of cinema comes along like an exciting breath of fresh air, a palate cleanser with just the right amount of everything it needs. “Americana” is one of them.

With Hollywood now turning to franchises like “The Last of Us” and “Borderlands” in the search for new audiences, it might be safe to say that video games are no longer the untapped frontier of adaptations. And that might mean it is the tabletop industry’s time to shine.

I have friends who’ve played table-top, role playing, and fantasy game Dungeons and Dragons (DnD), but I haven’t played ever. My friends tell me I’m missing out by not playing, but none of them will explain and teach me how to play, but what I’ve learned is that players can create their own characters and adventures. Whether Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves keeps true to the spirit of the game, I can’t say. However,  as a film, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein’s execution pays off in a major way. Written by Daley, Goldstein, and Michael Gilio, the movie has an all-star cast including Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Daisy Head.

Check your local listings to find it in a theater near you.It heads to Amazon Prime on March 7 in the UK.Super spy Orson Fortune (Jason Statham) must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant). Reluctantly teamed with some of the world’s best operatives (Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes, Bugzy Malone), Fortune and his crew recruit Hollywood’s biggest movie star Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett) to help them on their globe-trotting undercover mission to save the world.As the title “Ruse de guerre” (ruse of war) suggests, there’s plenty of scheming.

Guy Ritchie‘s new movie Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is now in theaters and lots of fans are ready for an action-comedy to be back in the cinema.

Television might have more highly anticipated releases coming out in March, but the film world certainly isn’t slacking with an eclectic lineup that samples from a bit of every genre. There are superheroes in two ways, from the standard DC and major studio format to the bizarre with “Smoking Causes Coughing.” Multiple tough-to-watch coming-of-age stories have made the rounds on the festival circuit as well as high-profile science fiction films looking to attract a larger audience.

2019’s “The Gentlemen,” he’d have the usually dapper Hugh Grant play a sleazy journalist who refers to England only as “Angleterre” in an East End accent, and in 2021’s “Wrath of Man” he showcased frequent collaborator Jason Statham’s ability to switch from hilarious to killing machine.With this director, we’re never so much watching an espionage or crime movie as enjoying another off-the-rails Guy Ritchie attraction. That is, until “Operation Fortune,” the co-writer and director’s most uninspired movie in a minute. Lazily bopping around to exotic locales like Cannes, France, Antalya, Turkey, and Doha, Qatar, it’s a generic collage of mega-yachts, luxe hotels, fancy parties, disguised identities and tame fights that add up to a big nothing.Worry not about your blood pressure at “Ruse de guerre.” One chase scene in sunny Antalya, with actor Max Beesley on a vespa, is downright soothing.

Well, this is upsetting. We imagine most everyone following the case of the University of Idaho murders is on roughly the same page right now. The evidence we’ve seen against Bryan Kohberger is overwhelming, and any delays in the trial are just delaying the inevitable — justice for the victims, Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.

When a movie gets tangled up in all kinds of financial problems, delayed for over a year, played out internationally, sent straight to streaming in Canada, and then finally getting the green light to open in the U.S. via a new distributor and thrown into theaters with virtually no notice or time to mount a marketing campaign, you have to think there must be something very wrong here.

When it comes to the genre playgrounds he loves so much, is Guy Ritchie better off being himself or playing along? His brash, bad-lad calling cards (“Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch”) were never terribly original, but their style-to-burn derivativeness had spirit. His Hollywood larks (“Sherlock Holmes,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”) never felt honest but the occasional glimpse of a bruiser’s cockiness made for colorful upgrades in the IP machinery.After Ritchie’s return to leaner (but never in the dialogue) roots with the comically shaggy, seedy gangster wingding “The Gentlemen,” and reteaming with his best contribution to cinema — Jason Statham — for the brackish vengeance puddle “Wrath of Man,” the British filmmaker is once again aiming for sleek and starry heights with the spy-driven action comedy “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre.”Statham is the “Fortune” of the title, first name Orson, an elite for-hire operative with clever ideas and expensive tastes, hired by intelligence agency rep Nathan (Cary Elwes) to determine who’s interested in a stolen package rumored to be worth $10 billion on the open market.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic For 25 years, I have never been much of a Guy Ritchie fan. I found the in-your-face-and-over-the-top crime dramas that made his reputation — “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch,” “Revolver,” and “RocknRolla” — to be empty-flashy exercises in the too-muchness of genre kinetics, overly infatuated with their post-Tarantino cutthroat cool. It was clear that Ritchie had talent, but the way just about every shot in his movies was designed to remind you of that turned the films into layer cakes that were more frosting than cake. After a while, he dropped the badass glitz and settled into a more conventional career, and some of those movies were okay. I confess that I enjoyed his remake of “Swept Away” (yes, the one with Madonna), and he had fun applying what was left of his high-froth ADD style to the Robert Downey Jr. “Sherlock Holmes” franchise. Yet I could never escape the feeling that Guy Ritchie had trapped himself on a hamster wheel of trying too hard. I’ve liked a few of his films. But I’ve never loved one.

this year's SAG Awards.Honoring the most memorable acting showcases of film and TV, the Screen Actors Guild Awards went without a host this year, relying on some talented comedic presenters to move the show along to great effect.From delightful and charismatic presentations to charming cast reunions to emotional and inspiring acceptance speeches, Sunday's SAG Awards were filled with memorable highlights.Here's a look at all the best moments, biggest surprises and most magnificent speeches of the night.Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short opened the #SAGAwards with this feckin funny sketch. Tune in now: https://t.co/IwqelQVHRqpic.twitter.com/opH0kA3rlrThe show kicked off with an adorable reunion, as Steve Martin — strumming his banjo — tells Martin Short he no longer wants to be friends, and Short can't handle that kind of rejection until Selena Gomez explains that it's all because they are both nominated in the same category.

Jennifer Coolidge is a winner!

Christina Applegate.Stars such as Aubrey Plaza, Jennifer Coolidge, Jeremy Allen White, Steve Martin, Zendaya and more gathered at the SAG Awards on Sunday, February 26, which marked a poignant night for the Dead to Me actress.On Sunday, the actress made her very first red carpet appearance since announcing that she would be retiring from acting due to her battle with MS.WATCH: Christina Applegate reveals how acting became a 'platform for grief and trauma' after MS diagnosisMORE: Christina Applegate hints at retirement from acting following MS diagnosisShe had the best support system by her side, not only her fellow actors, but she walked the red carpet hand in hand with her daughter, Sadie Grace, who she shared with her husband of ten years, Martyn LeNoble.What's more, the mother-daughter duo graced the red carpet in matching, menswear inspired looks.MORE: Christina Applegate claps back at troll accusing her of bad plastic surgery: 'I laughed'Christina looked fabulous in a velvet, double-breasted suit turned full length gown, in a stunning navy color and with a long train. With her she had her cane, adorned with stickers which included "FU MS," as well as her daughter's name alongside a heart.

The house where four University of Idaho students were brutally murdered last November will be torn down, and a memorial will be erected for the four victims.

One of the key aspects of the University of Idaho murder investigation is the veil of silence over it. The Moscow Police Department chose to keep everything about the case secret — right up until they made an arrest six weeks in. And since then, apart from the probable cause affidavit, there’s been more silence. There’s even a gag order on all law enforcement right now.

Did this whole thing just get unlocked?

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Warner Bros. Pictures is revamping the “Lord of the Rings” film franchise. On a Thursday earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced that newly-installed studio leaders Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy have brokered a deal to make “multiple” films based on the beloved J. R. R. Tolkien series. The films will be developed through WB label New Line Cinema. The first series of films, helmed by Peter Jackson, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide. Embracer Group AB made the deal with he studio for adaptations of “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.”

Series 9 of the winter Love Island series kicked off back in Jan, with Maya Jama making her presenting debut in replacement of Laura Whitmore. So far, we’ve seen plenty of drama, including Islander Jessie going off-script during the Knowing Me, Knowing You task, and viewers calling out Movie Night after the episode was not what they expected - all while the contestants bask in the sunshine of their Cape Town villa. But for many eagle-eyed fans out there, there may have been something else (or someone else, should we say) you may have recognised from a previous stint on the show.

The trailer for Guy Ritchie‘s new action-comedy has been released!