'Wolfs' Review
“Wolfs” is a new action comedy from Jon Watts, the director of one of the highest-grossing movies of all-time, “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. And even with all that box office and instant iconic Marvel movie success, Sony decided (at the last-minute) that “Wolfs” shouldn’t go to theaters (beyond a 50-ish cinema, one-week, limited release) and instead made it solely a streaming, AppleTV+ release. George Clooney’s “Ticket to Paradise” and Brad Pitt’s “Bullet Train” (both from 2022) proved that these guys still have the power to bring moviegoers to theaters. Would “Wolfs” have done just as well? Probably not because most of the movie is pretty forgettable.
Amy Ryan plays a politician running for office (even though it’s Christmastime… the timeline doesn’t quite work). Something happens in a hotel room one night and she calls up a fixer. The first fixer we meet is played by Clooney. And then a few minutes later, Pitt’s fixer shows up. It becomes a situation of ‘Anything you can do, I can do better.’ A unique concept, but the opening section is way too stretched out. These two have to team-up to clean-up a number of problems that occur over one monumental night in their lives and careers.
The situations get increasingly sitcomy. It’s challenging for “Wolfs” to keep your attention because the film struggles to balance comedy with grit and a ‘tough guy’ vibe. There are a few facial expressions and reaction moments from Pitt and Clooney that remind you why they’re acting vets and pros (both have Best Supporting Actor and Best Picture Oscars). And I instantly recognized the voice of the ‘boss on the phone’ to be Frances McDormand, who co-starred with Pitt and Clooney in 2008’s “Burn After Reading”.
But there’s not much to enjoy or take away from this experience. It’s frustrating that the script is this mediocre and tedious. The action (including one particular chase) is ridiculous. The humor falls flat. The style lacks true pizazz. And the ending — just before and during the closing credits — is kind of bizarre.
