Writer-director Jon Watts returns to the crime thriller genre after helming Sony and Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man trilogy with Wolfs, a by-the-books effort that is entirely reliant on Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s chemistry. Maybe working knee-deep in IP for the last few years has thrown Watts off his rhythm, so to speak. Aside from directing three back-to-back Spider-Man outings in the MCU, each of which grew bigger in scale, Watts also developed the upcoming Star Wars: Skeleton Crew series for Lucasfilm and Disney+. It might not be as surprising, then, that Wolfs — his first totally original creation since 2015’s Cop Car — is poorly written and lacks much substance for audiences to dig into, as everything is at the surface layer in the execution of this bland story.
New York District Attorney Margaret (Amy Ryan) invites a young man to her lavish Manhattan hotel room after a night out at her favorite bar celebrating Christmas. Things go sideways as her nameless male companion (Austin Abrams) accidentally slams through a glass table. Seemingly dead, Margaret panics and calls a professional fixer to make her problem go away. George Clooney’s suave and composed Jack shows up and is unphased by the cover-up at hand. To great surprise, a second fixer named Nick, played by Brad Pitt, is then sent up to the same room by the spying hotel owner, Pamela Dowd-Henry (4x Oscar-winner Frances McDormand), who is only heard as a voice demanding this “absolute clustserfuck of a mess” be resolved at once. The two professionals must now ensure on her behalf that nothing gets leaked, as it would be terrible press for the new establishment.
Courtesy of AppleTV+
The two lone wolves each believe they are the best in the business. However, Jack and Nick are forced to team up by the DA and hotel owner, which leads to problems as they are both dedicated to working alone. Nonetheless, they get on the job, bringing the body down to the basement car park and driving off to their unknowingly mutual contact, who is meant to examine the corpse. The plot picks up the pace when the seemingly dead “Kid” suddenly storms out of the hideout and runs off into the street in his underwear, leading to a sprawling chase across New York City.
Brad Pitt and George Clooney are a natural pairing with a shared history that cannot be compared to today’s Hollywood standards. Having worked together on Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy and briefly in the Coen Brothers’ Burn After Reading, their chemistry comes naturally and remains on-point in Jon Watts’ Wolfs. However, this filmmaker does the iconic acting duo no favors with his unoriginal script that, frankly, feels like a first draft. The dialogue is clunky, predictable, and tedious at times. The “Kid,” played by Austin Abrams (Do Revenge, Euphoria), is naive and clueless but speaks with a Tarantino-like inflection. The helpless boy rambles about everything at a break-neck pace and swears non-stop. It’s painfully obvious that Watts has convinced himself that this is great writing, but swearing and speaking fast does not make Tarantino’s dialogue good; it’s the meaning behind all the banter that makes it work.
The wolf archetype is a tired concept that is best seen in Pulp Fiction with Harvey Keitel’s Winston Wolfe. These types of characters are common in crime films, as most crooks have a go-to “cleaner” on their speed dial. Jon Watts could have added anything new or refreshing to this classic archetype, but this project is just too uninspired all around, leaving the titular wolves as boring, stereotypical characters. George Clooney is the serious one, while Brad Pitt is the relaxed one, constantly dropping quips and being sarcastic. They may appear different at first glance, though on paper, they are essentially the same character. Jack and Nick share the same criminal contacts, wear similar clothes, and complete their tasks all the same. Whatever entertainment Clooney and Pitt do manage to conjure up is almost always then undermined by the screenplay.
Courtesy of AppleTV+
Little brain power is needed when watching Jon Watts’ Wolfs, as the movie doesn’t try to be anything more than what the cover says. And yet, the worst crime of all is how forgettable and pointless its action sequences are. There are a few bloody shootouts, though the most memorable action scene features Brad Pitt chasing the “Kid,” who then does a flip over George Clooney’s car and lands perfectly. It’s cool, sure, but there is absolutely no purpose to the stunt. It’s like Watts said, “Give me action!” and didn’t specify what he wanted because there was no vision to begin with. For it being labeled as an “action comedy,” Wolfs severely lacks in both departments.
Wolfs never takes itself seriously. It tries to be funny and might even get a few smirks out of you, yet it’s still nothing profoundly hilarious. Taking MCU-style humor and placing it in a high-profile crime movie works for Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s first acting project together in 16 years… at first. But then it just keeps dragging on and on. Pitt and Clooney are the only saving graces in this tiresome film that makes them constantly squabble and bicker throughout. Undoubtedly, two other actors with this script could have easily made Wolfs a straight miss. Jon Watts has arguably spent too much time steeped in the MCU, and it will probably take a while for him to adjust to storytelling outside of that predictable formula. With reports of a Wolfs sequel already in the works, Watts is now, unfortunately, in a place of needing to prove himself.
Wolfs premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. It will be released in limited theaters on September 20 and begin streaming on AppleTV+ on September 27!
Release Date: September 20, 2024 in limited theaters & September 27, 2024 on Apple TV+.
Directed by Jon Watts.
Written by Jon Watts.
Produced by Jon Watts, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, & Dianne McGunigle.
Executive Producer: Michael Beugg.
Main Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Poorna Jagannathan, Zlatko Burić, Richard Kind, & Frances McDormand.
Cinematographer: Larkin Seiple.
Composer: Theodore Shapiro.
Production Companies: Apple Studios, Plan B Entertainment, & Smokehouse Pictures.
Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing & Apple Original Films.
Runtime: 108 minutes.
Rated R.
