It’s been the better part of a decade since we saw Angelina Jolie in an action role, but she’s back, starring as a smokejumper named Hannah, in Taylor Sheridan’s Those Who Wish Me Dead. This action-packed story of survival and redemption is tense and thrilling, and if it’s one of the last times we see Jolie take on a role that demands this much physicality, she’s going out in a blaze of glory.
Taylor Sheridan has gotten a quick reputation for being a writer who can deliver a script filled with bravado and characters of substance. While he has typically been content to stay out of the director’s chair (other than with Wind River and the first season of his phenomenal show Yellowstone) he couldn’t pass up this opportunity with Jolie. He reportedly made a deal with Warner Bros. to direct if he could get Jolie to come on board. It was a tall ask, considering she had largely stepped away from acting at the time, but the timing was right and he succeeded to both his credit and to the film’s benefit.
While this movie has all the familiarities of a Sheridan production, including his usual cast of characters, gorgeous landscapes, and a horse (of course) you can also feel that it’s not entirely his own. Based on the book by Michael Koryta, Sheridan was originally just brought in to rewrite the script with Charles Leavitt, before taking on a larger role. As with Without Remorse, the film feels like a departure for him and is missing some components of his signature formula, but that doesn’t mean the film isn’t fun, and it’s still very much on brand.
In regards to the cast, if you’ve seen his work, especially Yellowstone, then you’ll recognize all of the supporting characters, and thankfully he has frequent collaborator Jon Bernthal joining him as Montana Sheriff Ethan Sawyer. Bernthal remains one of the most captivating actors working today — exhibiting the most positive definition of masculinity crossed with understated subtlety. Here he’s introduced trying to keep the smokejumpers from getting too rowdy during a graduation celebration. Something that he fails to do with Hannah, who may have a bit of a death wish following a traumatic incident suffered on the job the year before.
That tragedy has her relegated to an isolated watchtower, and directly in the path of Connor (Finn Little), who is fleeing a pair of sibling assassins played by Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult. Gillen obviously plays a villain very well, but someone should really let the poor guy be in a romantic comedy or something. The duo work fine as the antagonists despite their character’s range being limited to being high level professionals with a great working relationship. Jack (Gillen) is clearly the mentor, while Patrick (Hoult) is starting to come into his own as an emotionless killer. Outside of that, we knew three things about them: is that nothing is personal; they are adamant that this should have been a two-team job; and all decisions are made, including starting a massive forest fire, are entirely based on accomplishing their objective. Smokey the Bear is going to be pissed.
This is a movie that doesn’t care to go into depth about why events were set into motion. Connor’s dad (Jake Weber) is a forensic accountant who found something he shouldn’t have which would cause problems for people in high places. Something significant enough to where when Connor asks Hannah if they are leaving tonight, she replies with, “We are leaving right now.” What he found doesn’t matter. Who hired the hitmen doesn’t matter.
Why Tyler Perry shows up to micromanage his assassins really doesn’t matter. Instead, those trivial details give way to a scene of Connor bonding with a horse on the side of the road, to ease anyone concerned that Sheridan might not be able to fit one into the film (he fits two). There’s also some cool, but entirely unnecessary sequences of Hannah avoiding lightning strikes. The lightning seems to just be included to help give Hannah the John McClain treatment of getting beat to hell long before the gunfire starts.
Outside of some sparingly used CGI sequences — which hint at the medium budget — the fire in the film looks great. This makes sense considering Sheridan opted to construct his own forest in the New Mexico desert for authenticity. Cinematographer Ben Richardson is very familiar with how to capture what Sheridan is looking for, whether it’s the rugged landscapes, poignant moments on characters faces, or the elements closing in on them.
What works best and the reason the film surpasses its mindless action, are the characters’ relationships. Although underutilized, Hannah’s bond with her fellow smokejumpers is juvenile, fun and feels authentic. Ethan’s relationship with his wife Allison (Medina Senghore who basically steals the movie), heightens the tension in the film because you want to see them make it through together.
Most importantly, the connection between Hannah and Connor needs to not feel forced, and outside of one poorly written exchange in the middle of another pesky lightning storm, the film accomplishes that. It can be hit or miss with child actors who are just learning their craft, but Little seems like a natural most of the time, hitting the right beats. There is some truly funny banter between he and Hannah as he challenges her, as she clearly has little experience interacting with kids or being emotionally supportive.
Jolie effectively carries the majority of the emotional weight of the film, since this is ultimately designed to be a story of redemption her character thinks she needs. While it doesn’t require the depths she reached in Gia or Changeling, she has a wonderfully expressive face that lends itself to her character that is balancing a tough exterior with being internally broken. Even though some of the lines and payoff moments are telegraphed, they remain effective. It’s simply great to see her taking on a role like this again and owning it.
While it may contain unanswered questions, unnecessary scenes, and like most action flicks, require suspension of disbelief at times, Those Who Wish Me Dead is a very enjoyable popcorn movie that flirts with some greater depth without fully stepping into the fire.
