Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre  ★★½   

THE films of English director Guy Ritchie may be a lot of things, but rarely are they boring.

They can be messy, over-the-top and stylistically haphazard, plus Ritchie has a tendency to repeat the same character types and technical choices.

Two decades ago he was a darling of the critics for a few years, but many of them have since turned on him.

I’ve mostly kept the faith. The Gentleman was a nice return to form in 2019 while the action thriller The Wrath of Man was a successful change in style and approach.

Unfortunately his latest, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, is a disappointment, delivering mostly bland action and comedy saved only by a scene-stealing performance from Hugh Grant.

Richie’s favourite leading man Jason Statham is mis-cast as lead character Orson Fortune, a type of working-class James Bond which, by definition, doesn’t really work.

Nor does the by-play between Orson and his immediate boss, Nathan Jasmine (Cary Elwes, again miscast), whose status is also never really explained.

Orson has to find an ‘item’ that nobody is clear what it is but they know arms dealers are trying to sell it for billions of dollars so it must be important and deadly. I think this thread is meant to be funny but comes across as being a little lame and unbelievable.

Anyway, Orson assembles a team, none of whom are particularly interesting characters. Aubrey Plaza provides a few laughs but they are one-note, in terms of constantly questioning Orson’s abilities.

In a plot-line very similar to the recent The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the bad guy is besotted by a movie star, in this case Danny Francesco played by Josh Hartnett, and the team recruits the reluctant actor to help them get close.

Then along comes Hugh Grant as sleazy billionaire arms dealer Greg Simmonds and you breathe a sigh of relief – at least we have one great character.

Grant proceeds to chew the scenery at every chance and his moments continue to be the best of the film which otherwise just provides an average set of jokes and action choreography.

Watched at the cinema.