Jason Statham And Guy Ritchie's Failed Spy Movie On Prime Video Deserves A Second Chance

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Three years after its original release, Jason Statham and director Guy Ritchie's spy movie has the chance to find a new audience. "Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre" first hit theaters in 2023. Part spy movie, part action/comedy, this one didn't connect with audiences initially, going down as a big financial failure for Lionsgate and STX. But viewers are catching up with it now, thanks to Amazon.

Streaming now on Prime Video, "Operation Fortune" is currently sitting at #3 on the streamer's charts. This is a welcome surprise as it's a movie that feels like it deserved better initially. It was a reunion between Statham and Ritchie, who previously collaborated on "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" as well as "Snatch," which gave Brad Pitt his best comedic role ever. But that is neither here nor there. This movie gave Statham a chance to get out of his raw, action man comfort zone and do something a bit more fun.

The film centers on super spy Orson Fortune (Jason Statham), who must stop the sale of a deadly new weapon that is in the hands of billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant). He reluctantly teams up with some of the world's best operatives to recruit Hollywood's biggest movie star, Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett), to help them on their globe-trotting mission to save the world. Aubrey Plaza ("Parks and Recreation"), Cary Elwes ("Saw"), and Bugzy Malone ("The Gentlemen") also star.

/Film's Chris Evangelista called Ritchie's "Operation Fortune" a "stylish, sunny spy flick" in his review. Critics were largely mixed on it, but audiences were a bit kinder. It currently holds an 82 audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, its initial release was a total disaster.

Guy Ritchie's "Operation Fortune" bombed at the box office in 2023. It came at a terrible time as it opened against "Creed III," with "Scream VI" and "65" arriving the following weekend. "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" also followed, meaning it got buried by the competition. By the time "John Wick: Chapter 4" arrived in late March, it was over. Against a $50 million budget, it finished with just $49 million worldwide.

It was part of a pretty rough run for the director. Ritchie had three movies bomb at the box office over 13 months, with "The Covenant" and "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" also falling well short of expectations. His thriller "In the Grey" has been in the can for years and is finally getting released later this year, likely in no small part due to this cold streak.

In any event, this is the kind of movie that used to exist more comfortably and more frequently in the pre-pandemic days. It's not some sort of unsung masterpiece, but it's a damn good time. It represents the kind of movie we used to take for granted. A sturdy, fun movie for a movie's sake. Unfortunately, in recent years, getting any original movie to become a theatrical hit has been hard.

Fortunately, it looks like this one is finally finding a bigger audience on streaming. It's Jason Statham flexing comedic chops. It's Aubrey Plaza getting to do action, which she doesn't get to do nearly often enough. It's also a great showcase for Josh Hartnett, who doesn't get to be in the spotlight as much as he probably should. It's worthy of a second look.

You can also grab "Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre" on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD on Amazon.