Wolfs

Wolfs Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Austin Abrams, and Amy Ryan.

Director: Jon Watts

What’s Good: Brad Pitt and George Clooney are as charming as ever, and their charisma is definitely the film’s driving force.

What’s Bad: The dialogue tries to have that Tarantino or Shane Black’s quality to it, but it just doesn’t hit, and the film comes across as trying too hard to be cool.

Loo Break: There is a section starting the second act that really doesn’t matter, and from there, the movie keeps on going without any real stakes.

Watch or Not?: This is a must-watch if you are a massive fan of George Clooney or Brad Pitt; if not, it’s a pass.

Language: English (with subtitles).

Available On: Apple TV+

Runtime: 108 Minutes

User Rating:

Opening:

Jon Watts is one of those indie directors who managed to hit the gas from the get-go, delivering a fantastic police tale with “Cop Car” and then jumping straight into the biggest film franchise ever, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, directing a trilogy of very well-received Spider-Man films, only to go back to the crime genre, directing two of the biggest film in recent memory, not a bad career, but Wolfs, Watts’ newest film, doesn’t feel like the natural progression the director should have taken after directing so many big films.

Wolfs Movie Review: Script Analysis

Wolfs feels like one of those very slick films that look great and have solid technical production values but lack any sort of justification for their existence. Yes, you could say that about any film, but the value of telling a story is often enough when it comes to making art in any medium. However, the story Wolfs is trying to tell here doesn’t really feel like it is worth all this money, time, and effort.

Jon Watts goes back to being a writer-director, just like he did with Cop Car, but this time he is all alone. While the premise of a couple of fixers trying to work together without killing each other sounds good on paper, it is not enough to maintain the suspense or the comedy that Wolfs wants to have throughout its entire runtime. The film loses steam pretty hard after the first act sets up all the characters and the situation, and from there, it meanders in ways that only make it evident that the film doesn’t know where to go.

A film doesn’t need to know where to go regarding the plot; sometimes, it is just enough to follow the characters through their action, but that only works if they are interesting enough. Wolfs really tries to give its two main characters, Jack and Nick, any sort of three-dimensionality. Still, it fails because the characters are only faint drawings of something bigger, and what remains are only the actors who play them.

Pitt and Clooney try to give the dialogue as much charm as possible, but the movie is trying too hard to come off as cool. The comedy doesn’t really hit as hard as the movie thinks it does, and you know what it is like when you meet someone who thinks they are hilarious but are really not. Still, it is only barely half that, and that is exactly what watching Wolfs feels like, as it is good enough to pass the time, maybe, but not good enough to be truly compelling.

Wolfs Movie Review: Star Performance

Clooney and Pitt are the reason why you should watch the film. Both actors have worked together before in the successful Ocean’s franchise, and here they feel just as good collaborating, it is their charm that makes the movie watchable at all, as the dialogue is elevated by both of them, and they carry every scene on their shoulders. Clooney especially feels like he is taking the entire job very seriously, while Pitt is going on auto-pilot, returning to the persona he has basically acquired in real life lately, a sort of tamed Tyler Durden.

However, Austin Abrams is the film’s revelation, managing to top the energy from the two veteran actors he is working with. Abrams has been doing amazing lately, playing all sorts of roles in many different films, proving his amazing range. Here, he comes off as someone who is always worth watching, even if the script doesn’t really match his energy or delivery.