Danielle Solzman
Ocean’s stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt reunite as a pair of fixers in Wolfs, an action comedy that deserved a longer theatrical release.
It’s a sad world we live in when the likes of George Clooney and Brad Pitt get a one-week theatrical release before finding their permanent home on a streaming service. Because the theatrical release was so brief–my hometown was not included–I opted to wait for the Apple TV+ release before sharing my thoughts. Here’s the thing: star power is not enough to drive interest in a film on a streaming service. The box office earnings are a factor in spreading awareness because it means people are talking about the film. Sony Pictures may have distributed the film in theaters but this is really just a streaming movie when all is said and done. No financial details about its take were announced after its opening weekend. Much like Glass Onion, the studio left so much money on the table by not giving the film a wider and longer theatrical release.
Margaret (Amy Ryan) hires a professional–but mysterious–fixer (George Clooney) to cover up a crime involving a Kid (Austin Abrams) lying unconscious in her penthouse suite. Both are soon in for a shock when a second fixer (Brad Pitt) shows up. shortly thereafter. You see, they are lone wolves and they prefer to work alone so that nobody else is a witness to their activities. Unfortunately, they now have to work together in taking care of a lifeless body. However, they soon learn that they are in for a long night with one situation happening after another, especially upon learning that the Kid is still alive.
Despite the big stars in the film, it’s a way to get Watts closer to his roots. Sure, they might travel all over New York but the film does not have a blockbuster vibe. It’s definitely not a Spider-Man film. The combo of Watt’s direction and Clooney and Pitt’s performance is what makes the different tones work so well. There is a mixture of comedy and crime thriller. The camerawork here is simply excellent. There are a few stunts that you cannot believe they were able to pull off. One involves Clooney’s fixer flipping a garment bag into a vehicle. The other is when Clooney’s fixer hits the Kid in slow-motion.
Listen, it’s Clooney and Pitt. They could just be sitting down and staring at a wall and I’d still find myself watching. The two have them just have the absolute perfect chemistry together, especially in action comedies. Or heist comedies, too, for that matter. Oh, yeah, there was also a scene in Burn After Reading, too. In fact, watching these two together reminds me that it’s about time that they reunite once more for Ocean’s Fourteen. Make it happen! But anyway, thank you to Jon Watts for bringing them together again.
I don’t know what the Apple TV+ numbers will be like this weekend or during the next few weeks. What I do know is that the streaming service is on the lower end. Its numbers pale in comparison to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and Max. Apple TV+ is closer to Peacock in numbers with both below 30 million subscribers according to numbers compiled by Forbes. That’s why it continues to perplex me that the film got a one-week release, let alone a small one. Like I said, my hometown did not have a single screening. Because of that, my parents are probably not going to watch a film that they would have enjoyed watching in theaters. Clooney and Pitt are movie stars and like I said earlier, the studio is leaving so much money on the table.
George Clooney and Brad Pitt deliver cinematic magic once again in Wolfs with their flawless chemistry coming through in every scene they share together.
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Jon Watts
CAST: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Poorna Jagannathan, Zlatko Burić, Richard Kind
Apple TV+ will start streaming Wolfs globally on September 27, 2024. Grade: 4/5
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