Wolfs (2024) | REVIEW

Directed by Jon Watts — Screenplay by Jon Watts.

A couple of years back, a crime comedy with George Clooney and Brad Pitt as co-leads would’ve been all the rage. Now such a film is given a limited theatrical release before being chucked onto a streaming platform without much fanfare. It is a shame, really. As if Pitt and Clooney’s names weren’t enough, the attached director is none other than Jon Watts. Though not a household name, Watts spearheaded the production of the extremely profitable and popular Tom Holland Spider-Man movie trilogy as its director. His first attempt at a film outside of the Mouse House since Cop Car, Wolfs is designed to be more than merely an Ocean’s reunion between ‘Brad’ and ‘George,’ but is the reunion worth getting excited about? Your mileage may vary, but I eventually warmed to what the film was throwing at me, despite the film feeling relatively unremarkable.

Jon Watts’ Wolfs follows two unnamed fixers (played by George Clooney and Brad Pitt) who have, inadvertently, both been hired to do the same job — to fix the very same nasty situation. You see, when a young man falls and hits his head in a pricey hotel room, Margaret (played by Amy Ryan), i.e. the woman staying in the hotel room, calls a number that she had previously been instructed to ring, if she ever found herself in a messy situation needing a clean up, a fix, a job done, etc., and, as a result, a veteran fixer (Clooney) shows up to guide her through the steps and execute the clean up, so to speak. However, unbeknownst to them both, the hotel owner, who was watching it all happen through illegal hidden cameras, has simultaneously called the number of another fixer (Pitt) who the hotel trusts to make sure their reputation won’t be ruined. The two fixers — both of whom are used to being lone wolves in their profession — are now forced to work together to fix things for their respective clients, whether they like it or not.

There is no getting around the fact that it is a bit of a treat to see two genuine movie stars back together on screen, whether big or small, despite the behind-the-scenes rumors that may or may not have significantly altered one of the two’s legacy, but I digress. But, frankly, for a while it feels like that — their pairing, I mean — is all that is keeping the film afloat. The film opens with very dark, ominous, and slick scenes. It all feels very serious, which is perhaps especially the case because it takes a while for the film to get into the somewhat comedic buddy-esque tone that the marketing had advertised. While, yes, the film livens up once it gets to the awkward comedy of the two overlapping each other and judging each other’s methods, the film initially has a surprisingly laid-back pace and very dry humor that makes it tough to become emotionally engaged with what is happening. It’s surprisingly dull initially.

That said, the two movie stars’ magnetic presence does do quite a bit for Watts’ film, and it does consistently look good (it features some distinctive sideways wide shots of characters walking or cars driving). But despite the leads’ best efforts in this overly dry opening (I kept thinking the tone should’ve been closer to that of Shane Black’s The Nice Guys and, frankly, let Brad Pitt be more outwardly comedic or silly to counteract the effective serious approach that Clooney’s character takes), it is a relative newcomer — who has shone in Euphoria previously — who gives the film the shot of adrenalin it sorely needs. Austin Abrams is outstanding in this film, and he has a particularly well-executed half-brained explanation of his day, at one point, that functions as a great impassioned monologue that is so fun to watch. In addition to him being good, there is a twist related to his character in the relative early goings that does a lot for the film. There’s also some fun to be had in an exciting but overlong chase scene between the fixers and Abrams.

So, I guess you could say that I ended up having a fine time with Jon Watts’ Wolfs. That said, the film never fully escaped my initial impression which was that this was somewhat of a tonal mishmash with misjudged levels of seriousness and dry humor, even though, I’ll admit, it got some decent chuckles out of me. The film definitely gets funnier as it goes along, as the bickering competitiveness eventually works quite well when a third party is introduced to the overarching narrative. Outside of the three actors that I’ve written about here, there isn’t a lot to write home about, as the remaining relative stars in the film have surprisingly slim supporting roles that I, especially in the case of Zlatko Buric, felt was a waste of talent and presence. On the whole, though, despite being a noteworthy reunion for two movie stars, they are shockingly outshone by a relative newcomer, while the film, despite its eventual magnetic movie star charms, doesn’t feel like anything special, which is a huge missed opportunity given the talent involved. This shouldn’t be the kind of film that you could easily forget about, but, alas, here we are.

6 out of 10

– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.