Those Who Wish Me Dead

I wonder if I've ever seen a more inept duo of killers in a movie. If they were clumsier, Those Who Wish Me Dead could have been a comedy. Otherwise, I don't really understand why a film starring such big names turned out to be so mediocre. It’s watchable, but it doesn’t stand out in anything. I prefer Sheridan as a director in the snow, and Angelina... well, nowhere really. (05/14/2021)

Thanks to Sicario, Wind River, and the few Yellowstone episodes I've seen, I like Taylor Sheridan a lot, and I was understandably excited for his new release. Unlike my colleagues, however, I had the advantage of having read the book, so I was rather cautiously looking forward to it. And thanks for that, because that's why I’m so disappointed with Those Who Wish Me Dead. While Sheridan did get rid of some rather boring and unnecessary plot lines, unfortunately he was left with what was already a problem in the book. That is, rather uninteresting characters and, above all, the pointless waiting for something to actually start happening. Angelina Jolie sits on a watchtower with a trauma, Jon Bernthal is a cool sheriff dealing with an expectant family, a little boy whose dad pissed off the wrong people who killed him runs around the woods, and ridiculously incompetent hit men try to complicate everyone's lives. And it takes an hour for all the uninteresting plot lines to come together, the forest to catch fire, and for Angelina to finally be able to save the day. The ending doesn't look bad, and as a survival thriller set in a burning forest it could be interesting, except that we have that hour beforehand to spend with boring characters on a story that is, to say the least, B-grade trite and simple, which I don't mean as a compliment. I'm finally going to finish watching Yellowstone to fix my appetite and remind myself why I like Sheridan in the first place. (05/17/2021)

A naive and, in places, pretty stupid story about a spoiled liquidation of a forensic accountant and his family. The murderers are clumsy morons. The fire is too digital in places. The main female character is not even likeable. And to top things, zombie Jolie looks like she has already committed suicide not that she’s only just thinking about it. Bernthal is the only safe and reliable actor here, but when it is the wife who has to save The Punisher, there must be something wrong. A great disappointment; I was expecting much more from Sheridan. Even From Paris with Love was slightly better that this. P.S.: The only thing missing is that Angelina keeps him, because that’s what she always does. (06/07/2021)

The veiled answer to the question of who set Democratic California on fire under Trump? A classic thriller theme of good guys on the run from hired killers, promisingly set in a forest imperiled by a wildfire. The bad guys are solid and well cast, but Angelina doesn’t fit here at all. A chick like that wouldn’t do this work, especially not in America. And the whole movie gradually slides into such naïveté, as well as silly clichés and pathos. And that’s a shame. (12/13/2021)

Can someone please explain to me what happened to those luxurious scripts from Taylor Sheridan? When I think of his genre masterpieces like Wind River or Sicario, it almost makes me want to cry, seeing what he's been delivering in the past year. He hasn't just fallen into B-movie territory; this is a significant drop from the top. I was genuinely looking forward to the film, not expecting a revolutionary experience, but still. Plus, there was the return of Angelina Jolie to an action role. But the result was disappointing. It was definitely a good move to sketch out interesting antagonists who are always a few steps ahead of everyone, but the problem was the accumulation of sloppy mistakes and blunders over time that made me shake my head in disbelief. The only scene that stayed with me was the one involving the car ambush on the road; it was brilliantly shot and built up. Overall, the camera work and music were among the few positive aspects. The action didn’t impress me; some scenes were outright laughable (like the field where lightning was striking one after another? What was that about?) and the supposed happy ending didn’t add much. If I were you, I’d avoid the film. 4/10 (06/29/2021)