Wolfs (United Kingdom/United States, 2024)

Presumably because of his mammoth success helming the trilogy of Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, writer/director Jon Watts achieved sufficient clout to attract A-listers (and good friends) George Clooney and Brad Pitt to star in Wolfs. With such a head-start, there’s a sense that Wolfs should have been better than it is. A tepid crime thriller with a comedic undertone, the movie struggles with its unremarkable narrative and relies too much on the chemistry between its stars (which is palpable) and their individual charismas to carry it. The open-ended conclusion is a potential bone of contention. Some will deem it elegant. Others will find it frustrating. I’d opt for saying it’s both.

Wolfs is about a pair of lone-wolf fixers who are brought in separately by different parties to clean up a very messy hotel room that features the apparently dead body of a nameless young man (Austin Abrams) who may have been a male prostitute. Fixer #1, referred to only as “Margaret’s Man,” is played by George Clooney. He arrives at the behest of Margaret (Amy Ryan), who needs the night’s events in the hotel room, including the body, to disappear lest her reputation be ruined. Despite being a little over-the-hill, he’s cool, calm, and efficient and seemingly has things under control until the arrival of Fixer #2, referred to only as “Pam’s Man” (played by Brad Pitt). He’s there because the new owner of the hotel, Pam, having seen what went on via an illegal camera, doesn’t want her hotel’s name besmirched. Although the two men initially clash, they begrudgingly work together and their partnership is cemented when they realize that the dead body may not be as dead as they thought and there’s a motherload of stolen drugs involved.

Wolfs really features only four actors – the two big stars, Amy Ryan, and Austin Abrams. Ryan is only on hand during the 15-minute setup. After that, she never again appears. Abrams plays possum for about 30 minutes then comes to life and acts like a less-annoying Joe Pesci to Clooney and Pitt’s Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Although there’s nothing especially wrong with Abrams’ performance, the character becomes a distraction because he impedes the interaction between Clooney and Pitt, which is the reason anyone watching the movie is watching the movie.

Had Wolfs been made with two anonymous actors playing the fixers, it would have struggled to get a distributor. There’s nothing about the screenplay or Watts’ direction that causes it to standout. The production often feels routine and cliched. Anyone expecting something like The Sting, the Oscar-winning 1973 caper movie that reunited friends and screen icons Paul Newman and Robert Redford, will be disappointed. The Sting had a lot of things going for it beyond the big-screen re-teaming of Butch and Sundance. Wolfs boasts little more than an opportunity for Clooney and Pitt to once again pal around in front of the camera.

Originally, Wolfs was on Sony’s release schedule for a September 2024 wide theatrical release. Over time, however, the decision was made to nix a U.S. multiplex distribution in favor of a direct-to-Apple TV+ opening. Although it’s doubtful the movie would have had big box office impact, the two stars are sufficiently bankable that it might have enjoyed a modestly successful run. Taking Wolfs directly to Apple’s subscription service can be considered a “win” for streaming insofar as medium-budget, non-franchise titles are concerned. There once was a time when bypassing theaters for a Clooney/Pitt film would have been deemed unthinkable. Now, hardly anyone is blinking an eye.

Wolfs is a pleasant enough experience. At 108 minutes, it’s not too long and, putting aside the aggravating manner in which Watts ends the story, it goes down easily. There’s a little action (really only one scene) and not a lot in the way of tension. When it comes down to it, the movie feels more like a comedy than a thriller. Streaming is probably a good choice for the film in that it will widen the audience while limiting expectations. And, because the bar is lower for at-home viewing, it’s easier to recommend this for those with an Apple TV+ subscription than it would be if a trip to a multiplex was involved, especially if 90 minutes of Clooney/Pitt banter sounds like a fund way to spend an evening.

Wolfs (United Kingdom/United States, 2024)