Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre review: Guy Ritchie delivers exactly what you'd expect
Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, and Hugh Grant bring the laughs and play to their strengths in the director's latest spy caper

Guy Ritchie’s movies are recognizable for a few things. A team of some sort groups together for a mission. They could be gangsters or spies or a combination of both. The team’s comprised of mostly men, though sometimes a woman or two is included. Some or all on the team are British with some distinctive accents and they like to spar verbally with each other. Their adventures take them to some exotic locales, there’s some nifty choreographed action and a few car chases. Everything is light, sprite, and a fun ride. No one gets hurt except the bad guys, and our heroes always win and continue to snap jokingly at each other. With the exception of some forays into big studio movies (Aladdin, King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword), Ritchie has followed this formula in all his movies, starting with his debut, Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (1998).
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Ritchie doesn’t change much in his latest, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. He brings back his merry band of actors he’s worked with before: Jason Statham (Revolver, Wrath Of Man), Hugh Grant (The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Gentlemen), and Josh Hartnett (Wrath Of Man). He also adds two newcomers to the Ritchie company who are well versed in quick-witted repartee, Aubrey Plaza and Cary Elwes. The plot almost doesn’t even matter; Ritchie’s fans know exactly what they’re in for. For the record, the story involves Statham, Plaza, and Bugzy Malone (The Gentlemen) as operatives in a shadowy British government agency who are tasked by their boss (Elwes) to infiltrate the inner circle of an international arms dealer (Grant). To that end, they recruit a movie star (Hartnett), who happens to be the arms dealer’s idol. Chaos ensues henceforth.
All the ingredients are here. British accents abound; from Elwes’ clipped English to Grant’s over-the-top Cockney. The snappy dialogue is full of sexual innuendo and mildly threatening one-upmanship. Throw in a couple of silly character names (Statham’s eponymous Orson Fortune and Hartnett’s Danny Francesco) and the laughs come easy. Nothing and no one is serious and that’s all intentional and fun.