Do you suppose there’s an alternative universe where Josh Hartnett and Brad Pitt have swapped places? Jerry Seinfeld had a running gag about the tense appearance of monkeys with taut faces and lidless, piercing eyes, iirc, “this is what you look like when you come thisclose to being the dominant species on the planet without succeeding.” Similarly, Josh Hartnett is what it looks like to be thisclose to being the Steve McQueen of the current generation and not succeeeding.
Let me be clear: there’s nothing wrong with Josh Hartnett. He’s closer to being a superstar than literally eight billion other residents on planet Earth. However, Brad Pitt also exists on this planet. And Brad Pitt is better, nay cooler, than Josh Hartnett in pretty much every conceivable way that matters. Hence, while Pitt is constantly taking on roles that highlight his assets, Josh is kinda just content to still have a career in the biz.
And now we have another Josh Hartnett sighting in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, the latest crime thriller from the imagination of writer/director Guy Ritchie. Hartnett is only a small piece of this; he plays a bigger actor than he is in Danny Fransceco, a star who can garner invitations on his name alone. Hence, he is useful for bridging the gap between McGuffin extraction team A and evil billionaire arms dealer Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant). But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The team sent for MacGuffin retrieval has been hand-picked by Nathan Jasmine (Cary Elwes), who heads his list with enforcer/problem solver Orson Fortune (Jason Statham). “Orson Fortune,” really? That sounds like a state lottery mascot. Aubrey Plaza and Bugzy Malone round out the team. Plaza gets to be mouthy here with just a hint of snark, rather than going full venom like we’ve seen her do. In fact, there’s a whole air of slick and smooth to this team most unbecoming of a typical Guy Ritchie squad – is Statham no longer 
rough around the edges? Did Guy want to see tasers and snipers rather than broken bones and bloodbaths? Or is this just what happens when a film includes both Hugh Grant and Cary Elwes? I’m not sure that should ever happen again. I’m pretty sure “Ruse de Guerre” here is French for “soft-peddled war.”
Meanwhile, the McGuffin is sought not just by the buyer, who gets little play here, but also by a rival extraction team. The rival team has more guys to compensate for Statham’s fists and Plaza’s mouth. It’s all very slick.
Guy Ritchie capers are a known commodity. There will be parts of action and humor in each in relative proportions. I objected to how neat and pristine this one feels … and Hartnett showing up as a movie star in a white tux doesn’t exactly detract from that feeling, knowwhatI’msayin’? However, this is a standard Guy Ritchie and if you like his stuff, you’ll probably like this one, too … and then forget about it while thinking about Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
A caper! Let’s see who showed up for this dance
Looks like Cary and Hugh have taken that chance
With this “pirate” un-sinister
And our favorite Prime Minister
Did anyone else think these two were going to romance?
Rated R, 114 Minutes
Director: Guy Ritchie
Writer: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, Marn Davies
Genre: Mission: Improbable
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Fans of capers
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Fans of anarchy
