INTRODUCTION
In any movie where there is a bidding war, the movie is usually a blast.
Sony, Lionsgate, Apple, and Netflix all bid for Wolfs before this bid was won by Apple.
Brad Pitt and George Clooney took a pay cut, per insiders near the deal, in exchange for a theatrical release alongside Apple.
Wolfs (2024) is an action-comedy written and directed by Jon Watts, who declined Fantastic Four 2025 to do this. A star-studded ensemble cast includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, and Poorna Jagannathan.
The movie will have its world premiere out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2024, followed by the opening in the U.S. in a limited release via Columbia Pictures under a Sony Pictures Releasing banner on September 20, 2024, and its streaming bow on Apple TV+ on September 27, 2024.
Wolfs runs for 1 hour and 40 minutes. It is rated R for strong language throughout and some violent content.
WOLFS (2024) OFFICIAL TRAILER
WHAT IS WOLFS ABOUT?
George Clooney and Brad Pitt play grown, lone wolf fixers, each with his way of going about his line of work. Clooney is a cool-headed professional, his character succinctly piecing together high-stakes situations with precision.
When District Attorney Margaret- played by Amy Ryan-gets herself into a rather sticky situation involving the sudden death of a young man in her hotel room, she calls Clooney in to quietly clean up the mess.
This would have been a typical job for him, finished quickly, efficiently, and without a trace, until things suddenly took a different turn.
In walks Pitt’s character, also hired to solve the problem, by the hotel’s new owner, a businesswoman played by Frances McDormand.
The competitive tension between Clooney and Pitt’s characters quickly ramps up, since neither man is used to working with anyone else, let alone someone of equal caliber. Clooney operates measured and by the book while Pitt adopts a more brash, antagonistic style, constantly playing off the other man.
The movie centers on their combative yet humorous dynamic as the two men try to one-up each other while working out of an increasingly convoluted web of problems that arise in their attempt to remedy the situation.
Most of the comedy ensues with their banter, replete with quick-witted dialogue and one-upmanship. What should be a straightforward clean-up job becomes an unforeseen, chaotic night of obstacles that ultimately force the two reluctant partners to begrudgingly cooperate.
MY THOUGHTS ON WOLFS
Wolfs, I actually love this name because it reminds me of my dog, is an interesting reunion for the two beloved actors George Clooney and Brad Pitt. While it should be exciting to see them together, I left the film rather torn. On one hand, it’s enjoyable for what it is a lighthearted action-comedy.
Less a movie and more, at times, an excuse to get some major star power on screen together. Clooney and Pitt have great chemistry, they always do, but the storyline is a little lacking and the humor doesn’t always land quite right. That being said, Wolfs isn’t a total disappointment.
There is fun to be had, some good action, and a couple of rather humorous scenes, but it feels very much like a missed opportunity for something far more memorable.
WOLFS (2024) FILM REVIEW
CHARACTER PERFORMANCE
The undisputed shine for Wolfs comes forth from none other than the relationship between George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Their onscreen dynamic has always been one of their stronger elements, and here they continue right where they left off in films such as Ocean’s Eleven.
Clooney, smooth and confident, plays particularly well-off Pitt’s slightly more brash and antagonistic character. Where Clooney’s character was a cool, collected, by-the-book fixer, Pitt was more of a rebellious, loose cannon. It’s fun to watch them bicker and try and one-up each other over who’s the better fixer, even if the roles feel somewhat familiar.
They’re two old pros who know how to get around the camera and their roles with ease, but one can’t help but feel the script gave them too little to do.
The supporting cast does deserve a shout-out, however. Austin Abrams as “Kid” comes close to stealing the show in a number of scenes with his comedic timing and wide-eyed terror in the face of the two elder fixers. He brings fresh energy into this movie as the young awkward sidekick who keeps Clooney and Pitt in trouble at all times.
Amy Ryan and Poorna Jagannathan also had much smaller roles but did well with the little screen time they had. It otherwise feels like very much “The Clooney and Pitt Show,” where the rest of the cast is more about gap-filling in the story than any actual character development.
VISUAL DESIGN AND CINEMATOGRAPHY
Visually, Wolf’s is sleek and polished. The cinematography by Larkin Seiple, who also worked on Everything Everywhere All at Once, is exemplary. The film looks sleek and modern, with adequately lit scenes that create a moody atmosphere tinged with neon.
Seiple uses shadow and light well, especially in the nighttime sequences, to give the film its stylish edge that easily wins the eyes. There’s also an aspect of elegance regarding how the action scenes are shot down to a T, with a great balance between chaos and clarity.
The chase scenes in this movie are most enjoyable to watch, and New York City provides a setting that can be used to great effect, making it feel very urban and gritty.
But for all its visual merits, the film feels a little hollow. The slickness of the visuals cannot make up for the deficiency in deeper emotional resonance or narrative complexity. It’s more of a visual treat than it is a story-driven one.
WRITING STYLE AND STORY
The writing in Wolfs is, unfortunately, its weakest aspect. Written and directed by Jon Watts, this is a film that has the feel of a vehicle far more than it does of a compelling narrative.
Paper-thin, often it feels as though the movie exists for no other purpose than providing Clooney and Pitt with space to banter and play off one another.
At the core, it’s a buddy-action comedy, yet it never digs deeper into telling a story that’s much beyond surface-level entertainment. The witty dialogue at times feels forced and the jokes do not work.
There are a great number of scenes wherein it sounds like the stars are ad-libbing; some of these moments work, but most others do not. It’s a pretty classic setup.
Two fixers, one black and one white, who are forced to put aside their differences and work together stumble into an Albanian heroin mess, the same mess into which a young man draws them through his series of misadventures.
The plot twists along a rather predictable arc; the stakes are never really high. The pacing is wrong, which means that there’s a lot of lag, especially in the middle, dragging out the plot.
THEMES
At the heart of Wolfs, there isn’t much more to say beyond fun, light action-comedy. Perhaps there’s just a very, very small tad of a sense of addressing aging-both Clooney and Pitt’s characters are portrayed as older men who may very well be over the hill but still want and need to prove they are best at their craft. The running joke about back issues adds some levity to what’s otherwise a fairly predictable storyline.
It vaguely shows the themes of ego and pride as well. Clooney and Pitt’s motivation in the film is due to their need to outdo one another. Each of them is trying to prove that he is better at his job.
At the core of their dynamic, there is this ego-driven competition, but while it’s played for laughs, it speaks to the greater overall theme of aging in an industry that often prizes youth.
Beyond that, Wolfs is more about genre tropes than anything deeper. It plays with the conventions of the buddy-action-comedy but doesn’t subvert or add much to them.
It’s a movie that’s more interested in style and banter than exploring any profound themes.
CONCLUSION
In the end, Wolfs is fun but forgettable.
It’s fun enough to watch once if you’re a fan of George Clooney and Brad Pitt, but it’s not a film that’s going to stay with you long after the credits roll.
The chemistry between the two leads is, of course, great, and there are some genuinely funny moments scattered throughout the film.
The visual design and cinematography have that stylized panache to it, which will make the movie easy to sit through superficially. However, with its weak storyline, un-even pacing, and predictable plot twists, Wolfs ends up feeling like more of a missed opportunity than a must-watch film. It is not a bad movie, mind you, but neither is it great.
Go in with the right expectations – a light, action-comedy with two charismatic leads, basically – and you’ll probably have a pretty good time. Just don’t expect anything deeper than what you see on the surface. Wolfs is fun while it lasts, but it’s a film about nothing more than seeing two stars do what they do best.
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