Wolfs Review

Welcome to The George And Brad Show! A buddy movie that tries not to be a buddy movie, an action caper which feels stuck in the 70s and where the two main characters are almost interchangeable. This is Wolfs, with Messrs Clooney and Pitt teaming up for the first time in 16 years, this time as two fixers (but not in the Michael Clayton mould) who discover, much to their annoyance, they’re working on the same job.

Originally destined for an extensive cinema release by Sony, it was purchased by Jon Watts (he of the last three Spider-Man movies) was greenlit last month to write a sequel. This first outing for the duo, both of whom prefer to work as “lone wolves” (geddit?), sees Clooney being hired to cover up a death with political ramifications but, when Pitt turns up on the same assignment at somebody else’s behest, the two are forced to work together. Over the course of one long night, what should have been a straightforward job spins out of control as they tangle with gangsters, drug dealers – and each other.

A $200 million budget, Watts at the helm and two of the biggest stars on the planet as headliners all pointed to Wolfs being autumn’s big action comedy. The sad truth is that, while it doesn’t wholly deserve the battering it’s taken in the US, it’s a long way from living up to expectations. Frothy and insubstantial, it gives its A list double act very little to get their teeth into, either in of character or the banter that we’d expect. They do the same job, have the same s, dress almost the same in their regulation designer black leather jackets and, with their silver fox hair and goatees, clearly frequent the same salon. Neither of them have names, making them the ultimate job-sharing team and, while attempts to make Clooney the grumpier of the two, coupled with regular running gags, sometimes hit the spot, in the main they’re well off-target.  What laughs there are simply don’t come as thick and fast as they should. And, given that the film is set at night, the thought that most of its budget went on the lighting bill is inescapable.

In case you’re wondering, Clooney and Pitt aren’t the only of the cast, even though it feels like it. Amy Ryan opens the film as the woman involved in the death, but disappears after five minutes and, aside from a fleeting glimpse of her face on campaign poster, never comes back. It’s a criminal waste of her talents, as is Richard Kind’s eccentric Sinatra fan, who feels like he’s been included just to remind us of the connection between the original Ocean’s Eleven, which starred Ol’ Blue Eyes, and the subsequent franchise from the early 2000s. Only Austin Abrams gets a decent amount of on-screen time, but his character isn’t much more than a running joke.

Wolfs is a Friday night film, one for the end of the week when you’re too tired to think very much and need an undemanding piece of entertainment. That’s exactly what you get, something that’s relentlessly average. But its two stars deserve so much better, and so does their audience. We make no apology for hoping the sequel “fixes” its many problems.

★★

On Apple TV+ from 27 September / George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Poorna Jagannathan, Richard Kind / Dir: Jon Watts / Apple Original / 15