I want to start by saying that I really love watching George Clooney and Brad Pitt together. Even now I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with rewatching the “Ocean’s” movies — and the chemistry between the A-list pair is one of the big reasons I keep going back.
So I was intrigued when I saw “Wolfs” pop up on Apple TV Plus. Watching this caper flick, I could tell immediately that the two Hollywood heavyweights still make a great duo as Clooney and Pitt play fixers who are brought in to clean up the same mess and dispose of a body.
But a lot of other things about this Clooney-Pitt collaboration movie turned me off, and I can see why Apple decided to do a limited theatrical release before going straight to streaming.
For one thing, this movie is way too dark. No, not the mood — I’ll get to that. The literal lighting is too dim. Yes, “Wolfs” takes place mostly at night, but it’s almost like director Jon Watts doesn’t want us to see how old Clooney and Pitt are getting. And I totally understand as someone who recently turned 50. But I say turn on the frickin’ lights — they look fine.
Overall ‘Wolfs’ is like a buddy comedy taking place on the set of ‘Gotham.’ It’s a weird mish-mash of a vibe.
I do appreciate that Clooney and Pitt share some Advil in the car and both have to pull out reading glasses at one point so we’re all in on the advancing age joke. And the good cop, bad cop banter between these two when trying to figure out what to do with someone in their care is magnetic.
But overall “Wolfs” is like a buddy comedy taking place on the set of “Gotham” with 80’s music thrown in. It’s a weird mish-mash of a vibe.
My other major problem with “Wolfs” is the pacing. The first third of the movie lacks urgency given the surrounding events. It takes a bit over 30 minutes for anything interesting to actually happen and honestly I’m a bit bummed because one of the most fun scenes (no spoilers from me) is heavily featured in the trailer.
Once the action finally kicks into high gear, there’s a couple of humorous moments thrown in to break up the tension. But as a result everything in “Wolfs” feels fairly low stakes as the formerly lone wolves can’t help but become buddies. It’s not a spoiler to say that these two get along.
I really liked the chaotic energy from Austin Abrams, who plays a kid at the wrong place at the wrong time, and I wish Amy Ryan was given more to do than be the damsel in distress. But ultimately this flick is about Clooney and Pitt. And as the credits rolled I wanted more of them — just in something else.
For now, I would check out our list of 7 movies like ‘Wolfs’ but better.
