On the hunt at Venice International Film Festival, Shane McKevitt catches the scent of Jon Watts’ Wolfs.
The glass shatters inside a Manhattan penthouse suite. Margaret (Amy Ryan) stares in disbelief at a man lying in a bloody heap on the floor. Two nameless solo fixers (George Clooney and Brad Pitt) arrive to clean up the mess, each thinking it was a one-man job. Forced to work together, the reluctant pair embark on a violent, night-long quest to finish the assignment, soon uncovering secrets that weren’t in the job description.
After a trio of Spider-Man films, director Jon Watts helms Wolfs, an ode to buddy comedies of the 80s. This film revels in genre conventions, while also turning them on their head. Written by Watts, Wolfs isn’t even the first action-comedy to poke fun at the genre this year. David Leitch’s The Fall Guy, released earlier this summer, follows a stuntman (Ryan Gosling) tracking down a missing movie star. While The Fall Guy suffered from a prolonged runtime and too many plot threads, Wolfs is a much leaner, better-paced affair. Moreover, the chemistry and charisma of Pitt and Clooney elevates the underwritten and sometimes messy screenplay. One which doesn’t quite make the most of its premise.
There is an icy coolness to Wolfs, both figuratively and literally. The reluctant duo cruises around New York in the wee hours of the morning, a light snow flurry cascades down. The streets are empty, neon signs illuminating the unploughed, snow-covered sidewalks. Inside, Christmas wreaths and twinkling lights adorn empty lounge bars and shuttered shopping centres. These lone wolves are cold, nocturnal creatures, prowling the streets as the city is fast asleep.
Clooney is the first to arrive at Margaret’s room, assuring her “There’s no one else out there who can do what I do.” Minutes later, Pitt arrives at their door. The pair dress the same: a leather jacket, grey trousers, and blue surgical gloves. They finish each other’s sentences, revealing similar plans, and bicker over who’s “guy” to call. In buddy comedies like Lethal Weapon (1987) and 48 Hours (1982), the humour comes from the odd couple pairings. In Wolfs, it’s the similarities. These two main characters both believe they are the star of the show, but don’t realise they have co-billing. Finally their “guy” (Poorna Jagannathan) does show up – having been called independently by both fixers.
The games of one-upmanship produce some memorable, funny moments. Needing to dispose of a body, Clooney makes use of a hotel baggage cart. Pitt is convinced it won’t work, which only emboldens his de facto partner. Later, they unintentionally crash a wedding reception and, realising one of their clients is in attendance, must pretend not to know each other. Austin Adams plays an unnamed 20-something who gets mixed-up in the fixer’s work. His relationship with these seasoned pros only adds to their conflict; how do they interact with the younger generation? In one clever scene, they attempt to interrogate Adams, prepared to beat the information out of him. To the contrary, however, the kid gives them too much info. It’s not about solving the mystery so much as it is watching the ‘wolfs’ solve it, and it’s a lot of fun: to a certain point.
There is a metatextual element that also adds to the humour. Two ageing professionals have been hired for the same job? This mirrors Pitt and Clooney’s own careers, having been at the top of Hollywood’s casting lists for the past three decades – often jockeying for the same roles or starring side-by-side. The fixers remaining unnamed isn’t an innocuous detail; the film wants us to see them as their real-world counterparts. This acknowledges the practicalities of their age, too. Pitt winces, gripping his lower back while uncovering a stash of drugs, and Clooney does the same tossing a body in a trunk. While staking out a heroin drop-off, they share a bottle… of Advil. To decipher an important message, they both don reading glasses.
It’s an interesting concept: how might realities of the real world, such as age, clash with the superhuman abilities often granted to action stars? It’s only played for laughs, however, and never affects the fixers’ ability to finish the job. When the action ramps up and the stakes are raised, the pair embody their archetypes, picking off gangsters with laser precision, deciphering clues in an instant, and embarking on high-speed chases. The film spends so long poking fun at the notion of two middle-aged men thinking they’re action stars, only to present them as just that.
While the on-screen dynamic is funny, the jokes eventually become repetitive and one-note, and the characters lack depth. With the film centred on the pair’s similarities, there’s nothing in the writing to differentiate them. They don’t grow or change; they start in one gear and stay there the entire runtime.
Once the fun premise has been established, the issues with the plot become apparent. The narrative is consciously clichéd, with the fixers coming up against Albanian drug runners, a Croatian mobster, and discovering a mysterious stash of drugs. The plot serves its purpose in fuelling high octane action, but there’s no sense of urgency; this is mostly a conduit for Clooney and Pitt to make quips. Once these stop landing, there’s little left to sink your teeth into. The loose plot threads are tied together through a rapid dialogue exchange in the film’s final moments which, although the puzzle pieces fit, leaves you feeling underwhelmed.
Ultimately, Wolfs is a sleek, stylish comedy-thriller that entertains, but also lacks bite.
Wolfs will premiere on Apple TV+ on 27th September 2024.
