After a minimum of acting jobs in recent years Angelina Jolie is returning in a big way in 2021. The first of her two films is a firefighting / crime drama rather poorly titled Those Who Wish Me Dead, based on a novel of that title by Michael Koryta. The title seems to refer to the fact that the killers in this drama are given about as much screen time as their prey, yet next to nothing is revealed about them, so I still don’t care for the title. This film also seems derivative of two other, older movies that I have seen recently, which are Firestorm (1998) and The Contract (2006). There are probably others as well that I am not thinking of right now.
Taylor Sheridan’s film follows a boy named Connor (Finn Little) who witnesses the death of his father at the hands of two contract killers (Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult). Alone in the wilderness of Montana, he is befriended by firefighter Hannah (Angelina Jolie), who vows to protect him from the killers, and the blazing inferno they have set to cover their tracks. Also involved are a sheriff’s deputy (Aiden Gillan) and his pregnant wife (Medina Senghore), who know a bit about survival.
The boy’s predicament is certainly empathic, and Angelina’s maternal instincts are on full display as things get hotter. I actually think even more attention should have been paid to them, and less to the two killers on the hunt, whose easy chemistry and professional methodology is so strongly conveyed. Because almost no information is forthcoming about the reasons for their hunt, or their employers (represented by a corporate Tyler Perry in one scene), I was not satisfied with their part in the story.
What does work is the majesty of the Montana wilderness (actually New Mexico, where they filmed), the power and speed of the inferno, and the sudden, devastating influx of lightning. We get a glimpse, and, unfortunately, it is just a glimpse, of what these firefighters and smoke jumpers are facing when the winds turn wild and nature turns savage. The forest is also too bereft of life to be fully believable. If you liked Firestorm, which is an underrated action movie, you will probably enjoy this one, which is professionally made but too cold for its heated premise to fully warm. ☆ ☆ 1/2. 27 November 2021.