I noticed this movie in the Coming Soon section of AppleTV+ that was scheduled to be released yesterday. From the glimpse of trailer that I saw plus the lead cast, I was quite intrigued and thought of giving it a try. So I watched this last night after got home from work. OK, let's get on with the movie then.
Brief Story Line
Margaret (Amy Ryan - Only Murders in the Building TV series, Central Intelligence etc) who was a candidate for District Attorney was shocked when the young man she was hooking up, referred to as the Kid (Austin Abrams - Do Revenge, Euphoria TV series etc) accidentally fell on his head in a hotel room she booked. Amy decided to call an unknown number who was apparently a Fixer to help on this, which the man (George Clooney - Ticket to Paradise, Burn After Reading etc) agreed to assist.
However, while they were going over the plan, another Fixer (Brad Pitt - Babylon, Ad Astra etc) came to the room and insisted to help as he was assigned by the Hotel's mysterious owner Pamela (Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Miller's Crossing etc).
Ultimately both Fixers were forced to work together despite they had always been working alone which obviously would result to chaos. Things gotten complicated when they found something else that had major implications to their work. So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
This movie started off with the story as hinted in the brief synopsis and trailer which was interesting and fun with strong dark humor that arise from the situation and their dialogues. The interaction between both fixers was funny. Not the laugh out loud kind, but more like something that would make us chuckled or at least grinned. Even their obvious disapproval looks on one another's method was pretty amusing. There was one time that was quite hilarious for me when they asked Amy to change her clothes.
As the movie progressed though, it was clear that the story would not only involve just a simple clean-up job but also something dangerous. Not to mention the complexity arising from when they realized a huge problem related to the Kid. This made the film became more exciting. But the most surprising for me was the existence of some action scenes cause I was under the impression that the movie would be crime thriller drama with some comedy and no action.
The movie plot was not complex at all, basically just how two lone wolf fixers had to work together on a job that started simple but grew complicated. The main attraction was definitely the two lead cast George Clooney and Brad Pitt who seemed to really enjoy themselves here. They were such good actors that their acting looked to come naturally and made them convincing in their characterization. Their chemistry was very good and nice to watch as well. From the opening credits, I noticed that both of them were credited as producers together with several others, including the writer & director Jon Watts. Jon was known for directing Spider-man: No Way Home and its two predecessors which was successful critically and commercially.
Apart from the names I mentioned above, there was also support cast of Poorna Jagannathan (Never Have I Ever TV series etc) as June, Zlatko Buric (Triangle of Sadness etc) as Dmitri and very brief experience of Richard Kind (The Out-laws etc). The movie had a duration of 108 minutes without any mid or post end credit scene. It has an ending that seemed conclusive, but after reading about the film, there was a possibility for a sequel depending on the film's performance. Although not sure how it would be measured considering it only had limited released for 1 week in the US before it was released in AppleTV+.
Overall for me, this was a pretty entertaining movie. I like the performance of Clooney and Pitt and the plot was not difficult to understand. The action scenes though not spectacular was a nice surprise. However, it did not exactly scream total excitement and it was fun while it lasted. Personally this was OK enough but did not leave a lasting impression that would make me remember it for a long time. So if you are interested in seeing these two famous actors working together after Ocean's Trilogy, then you are welcome to give it a try. Critics seemed to enjoy this too, which would be an added point if that's what you are looking for. But if you expect something really thrilling or lots of action, then this won't be satisfying. The choice is yours.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars