Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021) Movie Review
Those Who Wish Me Dead caught my eye mainly because Angelina Jolie is in it. Jolie has taken a back seat in her acting career, preferring to direct or produce instead. Unless you wanted to see her in Disney’s Maleficent, you were out of luck. I generally think Jolie is a fantastic actor and I have missed her presence on the big screen. Luckily Those Who Wish Me Dead is a more classic Jolie movie.
Hannah (Angelina Jolie) is a smokejumper who is haunted by an especially nasty fire that she read wrong, costing the lives of some civilians. It turns out smokejumpers are a real thing, which I was not aware of. They jump out of planes and parachute down into remote fires as an initial point of attack to stop wildfires from spreading. After botching the last fire, Hannah has been sent to a remote fire tower alone to watch for fires; A form of punishment that she isn’t too thrilled about.
The parallel storyline features Connor (Finn Little) and his dad, Owen (Jake Weber). Owen is some sort of forensic accountant and came across sensitive information that his bosses don’t want revealed to the general public. In order to ensure Owen keeps quiet, two henchmen are sent to silence him. We see the henchmen, Patrick (Nicholas Hoult) and Jake (Aidan Gillen), take out one of Owen’s colleagues so we know they mean business. The “sensitive information” is a MacGuffin, and you never really get an explanation about what it was so don’t hold your breath waiting for it to be revealed. When Connor witnesses the henchmen murder his father, he is forced to go on the run in the forest where he crosses paths with Hannah.
Those Who Wish Me Dead is action packed with murders, shootouts, and fire scenes that were intense. The plot is a little flimsy but keep in mind this movie is merely a vehicle for Jolie to be an action star again. And it’s a part she plays rather well. She’s tough and you believe that she is the rebellious and brave Hannah. (She wasn’t Lara Croft for nothing!) Finn Little is a bit of a scene stealer, proving he can act alongside the likes of Jolie. I’m excited to see what he does next and I expect his future performances to be noteworthy. Those Who Wish Me Dead is simply a fun action movie. There isn’t a complex plot to follow so if you want impactful twists and turns watch something else. But if you want something semi-mindless to turn on after a long day at work this is the perfect movie.
Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You want to see Angelina Jolie back in action
2. You like movies with simple plots
3. You want a fun action movie with decent acting performances
