Wolfs

Wolfs is one of the "smallest" films I've seen this year. That's certainly not meant as a criticism, but in a world where everything from thrillers to action films can and should expand to the protagonists unravelling a national conspiracy or even saving the planet from some existential threat, this is an extremely intimate story about a couple of fixers over a single night with very little impact on the wider community. And that also makes it a breath of fresh air.

Wolfs comes from Spider-Man director Jon Watts, who has successfully married tangible dramatic tools with quippy comedy and solid action sequences, and while this is a bit of a genre hop, he uses the same central toolbox here in Wolfs, but again with a much more moderate scope.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt play two 'fixers', anonymous handymen who have built a precariously balanced career on taking care of delicate situations. They clean up, get rid of evidence, move contraband, you name it, and in this situation, it's a dead body in a hotel room with the district attorney who calls Clooney's character to get rid of it. But Pitt shows up too, but even though these fixers usually work alone, they are now forced to work together. It's going to be a long night.

And the whole thing takes place over a few hours, from late night to early morning, and while there's a lot at stake for Clooney and Pitt (who don't exchange names at all), it's an extremely small story about a small showdown with surprisingly little at stake. It's surprisingly easy to digest, and while that means you're not really in for a big dramatic payoff, it's all well constructed and the essence is just enough for you to bite off just enough that you can chew it easily and smoothly.

Clooney and Pitt have acted together several times before, including in the Ocean's series, and are clearly comfortable in each other's company. Even when the script misses a delivery here and there, which happens more often than you'd think, the two patch it up with sheer experience, with bravado, with ability, and combined with a surprisingly fantastic performance from the young Austrin Abrams and Zlatko Burić, this is a well-played film that is unmissable.

There are small things that could have been tightened up, no doubt about it. The film is generally at its best when Clooney and Pitt are allowed to give each scene a little comic relief, and like Ocean's, the action sequences aren't really anything to write home about. Thankfully there are few, but a car chase in the second act drags, and gunfights lack some inventive editing and framing. No, it's better when this is content to just let the characters talk to each other, because they're the ones who present all the entertainment value, and are almost the sole reason for Wolfs' existence.

It's also worth mentioning that the film's musical score really, really disappoints. It's like something out of a B-thriller series on a second-rate streaming service, and misses the opportunity to give the film any kind of distinct audible character.

But technical quibbles aside, it's hard not to smile when Clooney and Pitt do what they do to perfection, and somehow it's reassuring that good acting and charismatic leads really are enough to save a film that would really stink without it. It's an ode to star power at its best.