Those Who Wish Me Dead

Fire jumpers are people who are completely mysterious to me. They parachute from low altitude into mostly steep terrain to fight enormous fires with basically a large spoon. That level of craziness does not compute in my head, but it sure is a great milieu for two more hours of action. So of course the writer added in some gun toting government sociopaths as seasoning.

The screenplay is taut, as you might expect by best selling author Michael Koryta. Beginning with a raging fire that crisps a firefighter and some badly placed teenagers, followed quickly by Hannah (Angelina Jolie) pulling a chute cord from the back of a speeding truck just for fun, and then a house blowing up into teeny tiny splinters, the action starts quickly and doesn’t slow very often.

The blown up house sends forensic accountant Owen (Jake Weber) immediately on the run with his young son Connor (Finn Little, who does a great job for his age). He discovered some secrets he shouldn’t have, and he knows that his life and his son’s are in the hands of the above mentioned sociopaths because of it, so he drives off to hide where he thinks they’ll be safe. They’re not safe.

I was pleasantly surprised at how unconnected story lines could be tied together so tightly, and how many kinds of action can be had in just a couple of hours. All of the stunt choreography is great, except for the brief running scene by Jolie. There should be a law against allowing her to do that. It’s mystifying how well she sells a fight scene, especially now she’s gained some weight, but has the most awkward run. Monty Python should parody that run.

Besides Jolie, there are few women characters in the film, the best one being the pregnant wife of Sheriff Ethan (Jon Bernthal). Medina Senghore is smart, tough and resourceful. While Jolie was getting the crud beat out of her with adventures, Senghore’s Allison was kicking butt and taking names without the histrionics.

There’s not a lot to be said about the film except there’s a lot of action, it’s all done really well, the acting is solid throughout, and you should check it out if you’re in the mood for a quiet gem of an action film.

LINKS:

• Those Who Wish Me Dead – Official Website
• Those Who Wish Me Dead – IMDB
• Those Who Wish Me Dead – Wikipedia
• Those Who Wish Me Dead – On Author Michael Koryta Website

CFR: In Addition

Oooooo I’m so glad Mildred reviewed this because I really liked this movie.

First: OMG what a fantastic title!!!! I mean that title ROCKS and Koryta (author of book this was based on) should pat himself on the back. LOVE IT!

Now this movie was one of those “COVID Movies” as I call them, where the movie was in the theater AND on HBO MAX. Being the tech head that I am, I stayed home and watched it on HBO MAX. I was please with both the movie and the release technique.

I really, really, really liked the movie. It is not often you see a woman recluse in the woods who is RESPECTED by her colleagues and community. That was a big plus for me. I also liked how Jolie’s character was a bit awkward socially. Again, that is not something I see in a movie and I LIKE it.

I thought the characters and how the plot moved together was excellent. The villains were truly heinous as playing with fire in a NO in my books. It all worked together very well. I might just watch it again!

And I feel silly, but I don’t know why Mildred doesn’t like Jolie’s run. I guess I’ll have to go watch again!