Wolfs (2024), directed by Jon Watts, stars Goerge Clooney, Brad Pitt, Austin Abrams, Amy Ryan, Poorna Jagannathan, Zlatko Buric, Vladimir Sizov, and Frances McDormand. The film follows a powerful politician (Ryan) who after being involved in the death of a young drug dealer/prostitute (Abrams), calls a fixer (Clooney) to make the problem disappear. To his surprise, another fixer (Pitt) is called and the two are ordered to work together. When they find a bag full of heroin in the room, the situation becomes more complicated than either of them could have anticipated. Annoying each other constantly along the way, the two fixers are forced to navigate a seedy criminal underworld in order to return the drugs to their rightful owner. 

To no one’s surprise, Clooney and Pitt carry this movie, and that seems like the point. There’s something very meta about two of Hollywood’s most iconic stars playing characters who consider themselves “professionals.” Frequently, these two don’t even need dialogue to communicate. Simple looks exchanged are worth a thousand words and I’m not sure if lesser actors would have been able to pull it off. The film spends a lot of time focusing on Clooney and Pitt as they immaturely bicker back and forth and although it’s entertaining, it often doesn’t feel particularly meaningful to the larger story. Their characters are also intentionally written to be similar, constantly making jokes about the fact that neither of them is as special as they think they are. With lesser actors, this would have felt grating, but Pitt and Clooney distinguish their characters simply through their distinct star personas. It’s also refreshing to see these characters’ masculinity challenged not to scathe, but to make laugh. For example, it’s funny to see two characters who have embraced their individuality to such an extent that finding someone similar to themselves actually annoys them.

This is a movie that often feels smooth as butter in terms of tonal balance, but this is coupled with a script that features more than a few plot holes/leaps in logic. It also feels like it’s sometimes afraid to take risks with its material. It’s never quite predictable, but it’s never quite subversive either. It’s just entertaining. It’s also quite funny throughout, but never funny enough to feel satisfying as a comedy. It’s also not gritty or dark enough to work as a traditional crime thriller. At the end of the day, it just feels like a vehicle for these two stars to play off of one another for two hours. 

Overall, this is a movie that isn’t particularly deep, but it’s fun and features two top-tier actors simply having a good time. It’s strange because although the movie is consistently entertaining, it feels like something is missing. I think this because, above all else, the story lacks stakes (which is strange to say considering the nature of the plot). That being said, I think this is a great way to kill two hours even if it’s not a very meaningful one. If you like these two actors, you won’t be disappointed. Jon Watt’s films aren’t unique, but they’re always entertaining. B