Can Operation Fortune: The Great Deception Entertain?
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre delivers solid entertainment for viewers seeking undemanding action, though it falls short of Guy Ritchie’s best work. The film earned an 82% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes despite mixed critical reception, indicating it successfully entertains its target demographic even while lacking the director’s signature flair.
The Entertainment Value Paradox
Here’s what makes Operation Fortune interesting: it demonstrates a significant gap between professional critics and general audiences. The film holds 51% from critics but 82% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, revealing that what entertainment professionals consider mediocre, casual viewers find satisfying.
This disconnect stems from expectation management. Audiences approaching the film as a Jason Statham action vehicle get exactly what they want. Those expecting vintage Guy Ritchie—the kinetic energy of Snatch, the clever plotting of The Gentlemen—leave disappointed. Critics noted the film feels “strangely limp” despite its loaded cast and glamorous locations, with something essential missing from Ritchie’s usual formula.
The film’s entertainment capacity depends entirely on what you bring to it. Think of it as a spectrum rather than a binary yes/no answer.
What Actually Works
Hugh Grant’s Performance Steals the Show
Grant and Plaza are described as the “kings of the function” without whom the story would never work. Grant plays billionaire arms dealer Greg Simmonds with a combination of charm and menace that elevates every scene he inhabits. His deadened voice oozing corruption, his tinted glasses, his cooing dead-eyed presence—these details create the film’s most memorable character.
Josh Hartnett provides unexpected value as Danny Francesco, the Hollywood star blackmailed into the mission. Hartnett’s character arc from egotistical movie star to someone genuinely traumatized by the spy experience creates the only real character development in the film. Every time he appears on screen, the mood lightens and the comedy actually lands.
Aubrey Plaza Brings Edge
Plaza’s Sarah Fidel serves as the team’s hacker, but more importantly, she injects energy into otherwise generic scenes. Spanish critics particularly praised Plaza, suggesting she deserves her own action franchise based on this performance. Her snarky delivery and sharp timing provide the closest thing to Ritchie’s trademark wit that the film manages to achieve.
The Action Delivers When It Needs To
Statham remains reliable in fight choreography. While he’s essentially on autopilot playing yet another version of his usual character, he executes the action competently. The film includes solid shootouts, exotic locations spanning Madrid to Turkey, and enough explosions to satisfy action enthusiasts. User reviews consistently praised the action sequences and Statham’s fight scenes as highlights.
Where It Stumbles
The Plot Feels Generic
The central MacGuffin—”The Handle,” a stolen piece of technology worth billions—lacks urgency. The mystery of what’s in the briefcase isn’t revealed until halfway through, which is meant to be suspenseful but has the opposite effect. When the reveal finally comes, it doesn’t justify the buildup.
The plot follows a predictable spy caper template: retrieve stolen tech, infiltrate villain’s operation, recruit unwitting celebrity, execute elaborate ruse. There’s nothing inherently wrong with familiar beats, but Ritchie’s earlier films made familiar feel fresh through inventive execution. Operation Fortune plays it too straight.
Missing Ritchie’s Signature Style
Observers noted that outside of Plaza’s off-kilter Sarah and Grant’s scene-chewing Simmonds, the film fails to give audiences the type of memorable players found in Ritchie’s best crime/action comedies. Where are the colorful nicknames? The interweaving timelines? The rapid-fire cockney dialogue? The eccentricity that defined Lock, Stock and Snatch feels absent.
The sarcastic quips that are usually ruthless in Ritchie’s scripts feel warmed-over and obligatory in Operation Fortune. The film goes through the motions of being a Guy Ritchie movie without capturing the essence.
Characters Remain Underdeveloped
Beyond Hartnett’s Danny, the characters function as archetypes rather than personalities. Statham’s Orson Fortune gets some surface quirks—expensive wine preferences, private jet requirements—but these feel like bullet points rather than character traits. The characters never take shape, not even as caricatures, creating a weirdly empty experience.
JJ Davies (Bugzy Malone) spends most of his screentime staring at GPS screens. Sarah Fidel hacks things. Fortune fights people. They exist to perform functions rather than engage as individuals you care about.
The Box Office Reality
Operation Fortune grossed only $6.5 million domestically and $42.5 million internationally for a worldwide total of $49 million against a $50 million production budget. This made it one of 2023’s notable box office disappointments, especially surprising given the star power involved.
Several factors contributed to this underperformance. The film faced a troubled release schedule, originally pulled from its January 2022 release date because it featured Ukrainian gangsters as villains, which producers deemed inappropriate during the Russo-Ukrainian War. By the time Lionsgate acquired U.S. distribution rights for a March 2023 release, momentum had dissipated.
However, the theatrical failure doesn’t tell the complete story. The film found significant success on streaming platforms, currently ranking in Hulu’s Top 10 movies as of August 2025. This suggests Operation Fortune works better as casual home viewing than as a theatrical event requiring ticket purchase commitment.
Who Will Actually Enjoy This?
Based on analysis of reviews and audience reactions, here’s a practical viewer compatibility guide:
You’ll Likely Enjoy It If:
- You’re a Jason Statham completist who watches for his action sequences
- You appreciate Hugh Grant in villain mode
- You want background entertainment that doesn’t require full attention
- You enjoy spy capers with exotic locations and decent production values
- You’re not particularly invested in Guy Ritchie’s filmography
You’ll Probably Be Disappointed If:
- You expect the clever, energetic style of Snatch or Lock, Stock
- You want a plot with genuine surprises or emotional stakes
- You’re tired of Statham playing essentially the same character
- You need memorable dialogue and quotable lines
- You want something that lingers in memory past the next day
You’ll Find It Acceptable If:
- Your expectations align with “competent streaming action”
- You’re watching with friends and conversation is happening
- You judge it against other generic spy thrillers rather than Ritchie’s best work
- You value star charisma over narrative innovation
The Streaming Versus Theater Question
The film’s resurrection on streaming platforms reveals something important about its entertainment value. Multiple reviews characterized it as a “popcorn flick that doesn’t leave a lasting impression” but provides adequate entertainment for casual viewing.
This describes the perfect streaming movie: engaging enough to keep you from checking your phone constantly, but not so demanding that missing a few minutes while grabbing snacks matters. The exotic locations look good on any screen size. The action sequences work in compressed formats. The plot’s simplicity means you can follow along while multitasking.
For theatrical viewing, these same qualities become weaknesses. When you’ve paid for tickets and arranged your schedule, you want more than “adequate.” You want memorable. You want the experience to justify leaving your home. Operation Fortune delivers commodity entertainment in an era when theaters need events.
Comparing to Ritchie’s Recent Output
Context matters when evaluating entertainment value. Within Ritchie’s recent filmography, Operation Fortune lands somewhere in the middle tier.
The Gentlemen (2019) represented a stronger return to form, earning critical praise for its ensemble cast and more confident execution of Ritchie’s signature style. It felt like a director comfortable in his genre.
Wrath of Man (2021), Ritchie’s previous collaboration with Statham, received better reviews and demonstrated more focused intensity. That film’s darker tone and revenge-driven narrative gave Statham material to work with beyond generic super-spy.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) showcased Ritchie could still deliver stylish action when properly inspired, suggesting Operation Fortune’s issues stemmed from creative choices rather than declining abilities.
This positioning matters for audience expectations. If you enjoyed The Gentlemen, Operation Fortune will likely disappoint. If you found even Wrath of Man too serious, the lighter tone here might work better for you.
The Technical Execution
Credit where due: Operation Fortune looks expensive. The cinematography is solid, the CGI effects are good, and many scenes were shot on real locations rather than green screen. The production design captures the glamorous spy aesthetic effectively.
The film maintains brisk pacing across its 114-minute runtime. It never drags, even if it never particularly excites either. The editing keeps things moving without feeling choppy. The score does its job without being memorable.
Everything technical works at a professional level. The issue isn’t execution but inspiration. The film resembles a well-built car that drives perfectly fine but lacks any personality distinguishing it from thousands of other vehicles on the road.
The Rewatch Factor
One viewer assessment captured this precisely: “Operation Fortune will certainly not stay in my memory for a very long time. But since I was well entertained and could easily overlook the weaknesses, I award a solid 7/10 points – Low rewatch value”.
This nails the entertainment equation. The film works once, maybe twice if enough time passes that you’ve forgotten the specifics. But it lacks the quotable lines, memorable scenes, or clever twists that make movies rewatchable. Compare this to Snatch, which fans have watched dozens of times and still find fresh details to appreciate.
For streaming purposes, this might not matter. Many viewers consume content once and move on. But for anyone building a personal library or considering purchase versus rental, the low rewatch value becomes relevant.
Final Assessment
Can Operation Fortune entertain? Yes, but with significant caveats about what “entertainment” means and who’s watching.
The film succeeds as disposable action that passes time pleasantly without demanding much from viewers. It fails as meaningful addition to Guy Ritchie’s filmography or as must-see cinema. This duality explains both the critical dismissal and the audience approval—they’re evaluating against different standards.
Spanish critics summarized it well: the film is “entertainment by the truckload and nothing more,” noting that while it doesn’t revolutionize the genre, it extracts maximum visual value from familiar ideas. That assessment captures both the film’s success and its limitations.
The 82% audience score suggests most viewers get what they came for. The 51% critical score suggests what they came for isn’t particularly ambitious. Both can be true simultaneously. Your satisfaction depends on which camp’s priorities align with your own.
For a Friday evening when you want to watch attractive people in exotic locations execute spy hijinks with minimal brain engagement required, Operation Fortune delivers adequately. For anything more demanding than that—emotional investment, intellectual stimulation, artistic achievement—look elsewhere in Ritchie’s catalog.
The film entertains. It just doesn’t inspire, surprise, or linger. Sometimes that’s enough. Often it isn’t. The answer depends entirely on what you’re hungry for when you press play.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Operation Fortune worth watching if I haven’t seen other Guy Ritchie films?
Yes, actually. If you’re not comparing it to Snatch or The Gentlemen, you might enjoy it more than longtime Ritchie fans. The film works fine as a standalone spy action comedy with a good cast. Your expectations won’t be colored by his better work, which paradoxically makes you more likely to find it entertaining.
Why did critics and audiences rate it so differently?
Critics judge films against artistic standards and directorial potential—they saw a Guy Ritchie movie that felt generic and uninspired. Audiences often evaluate based on whether they had fun and felt their time was well-spent—they got a Jason Statham action movie with Hugh Grant being delightfully villainous, which satisfied their simpler requirements.
Does the film require watching on a big screen?
Not at all. This is one of those films that actually works better at home on streaming. The plot isn’t complex enough to demand full attention, the action doesn’t rely on theatrical scale, and the casual viewing environment suits the film’s breezy tone. Save your theater money for something that truly benefits from the experience.
How does Jason Statham’s performance compare to his other roles?
It’s Statham on autopilot. If you’ve seen him in The Transporter, Fast & Furious, or his other action vehicles, you know exactly what you’re getting. He’s competent and professional, but the role doesn’t challenge him or allow for much personality beyond “capable tough guy who fights well.” Fans will be satisfied; those hoping for range will be disappointed.