Wolfs

So far, Jon Watts was mainly known for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy, but by providing the platform for the reunion of a legendary silver screen duo, the American director made waves at the Venice festival. While a record number of shrieking fans awaited the arrival of the year’s highest-carat cast at the Lido, cinemas worldwide had their hopes shattered for Wolfs to salvage the summer’s rather poor box office results at Apple’s announcement of a one-week limited theatrical release.

In this action comedy, George Clooney stars as a self-proclaimed “lone wolf”, a fixer who cleans up other people’s messes, a role that puts him in a position where he cannot trust anyone. When a “tough on crime” congresswoman (Amy Ryan) needs his help getting out of a pickle, he finds himself forced to work alongside someone just like him (Brad Pitt).

Pleasantly dégagé, Wolfs leans into the tropes of a classic buddy film, and instead of an odd pair, we have two protagonists who are so alike that they still butt heads on every occasion.

Not unlike The Instigators, which Apple TV+ only released last month, there is a certain reliance of the actors’ personal rapport to carry the feature, with each script only providing mere skeletons of characterisation. Despite the responsibility, their performances demand few challenges of the pair, and yet, Clooney and Pitt prove that there is a reason their names come up in every discussion about the last remaining “movie stars”. With an easy flick of their hand, the audience is enthralled by the two and all too willingly overlooks that they may have seen this exact story play out time and time again. A welcome surprise is the fact that morbid humour and pivotal suspense arcs play with the darkness of their craft. Paired with the jocular direction of high-speed action sequences, these elements add just enough of an edge for the feature to not slip from memory straight after consumption.

A sparkle stick of jolly, Wolfs is great fun, regardless of predictability.

Selina Sondermann

Read more reviews from our Venice Film Festival coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Venice Film Festival website here.

Watch the trailer for Wolfs here: