A teenage murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert tasked with protecting him – and a forest fire threatening to consume them all.
2010’s “Salt” is the last Angelina Jolie movie I really enjoyed. Having made a name for herself as action heroine Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider movies, she then branched out into animation with the Kung-Fu Panda trilogy and the two Maleficent films, as well as becoming a director with “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” “Unbroken,” “By the Sea,” and “First They Killed My Father,” but she still stayed away from straight-up action movies. Also, I’m sure having a large family with Brad Pitt took up a lot of her time but “Those Who Wish Me Dead” is a welcome return for her to the world of derring-do and escapism, a film where she successfully manages to balance both the dramatic and physical elements demanded of her.
Jolie plays Hannah Faber, a veteran smokejumper in the Montana wilderness who is still reeling from the trauma of a previous forest fire a year earlier that took the lives of three young boys she could not save. While her fellow smokejumpers knew there was nothing she could do, she tries to mask her emotions with humor and reckless antics, such as parachuting from the back of a speeding pick-up truck. Her ex, sheriff Ethan Sawyer (Jon Bernthal), can see straight through her phony veneer and instructs her to pull herself together before she ends up killing herself.
In Florida, Owen Casserly (Jake Weber), a government accountant who works for the local district attorney, is getting his 12-year-old son Connor (Finn Little) ready for school when he sees on the news that his boss and entire family were killed in an apparent gas explosion inside their home. He immediately grabs Connor and they hit the road. Owen informs him that part of his job is to research and analyze the financial records of various companies, including government agencies, and at his boss’s request, he was investigating local government officials when he found disturbing information that could destroy their careers and put them in jail if the information ever came to light. With his boss the only person he gave his data to, Owen knows it’s only a matter of time before the bad guys come after him and his son.
He reaches out to his brother-in-law, Ethan, and informs him what is happening, and tells him that he is on his way to Montana. While Ethan prepares for his arrival, two assassins, Jack and Patrick Blackwell (Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult) are hot on their tracks. They manage to get ahead of Owen and shoot his car, which goes over an embankment and into a ravine. Unbeknownst to Jack and Patrick though, Owen manages to safely get Connor out of the car before they fill it with bullets. The two men quickly leave the scene of the crime but when they hear on the local police channel that only one body was found, they realize that Connor must have gotten away. Now disguised as FBI agents, they deliberately start a forest fire, knowing it will keep the local police busy while they track down Connor. But what they didn’t count on, was Hannah, who discovers Connor in the woods by himself, and takes it upon herself to get him to safety, before it’s too late.
Taylor Sheridan has made a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s best writers, having written “Sicario” and its sequel as well as “Hell or High Water.” He also created the Kevin Costner TV series “Yellowstone” and directed “Wind River,” which he also wrote. With “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” Sheridan is in fine form and one thing he excels at in the role of a director is being able to elicit excellent performances from his actors. Both Jolie and her young co-star, Finn Little, are lost souls who just happen to find each other when they need it most and they both share some tender and emotional scenes that tug on your heartstrings without ever feeling forced or unnatural. Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult play their bad-guy roles with so much relish, you literally cannot wait to see how they will meet their demise, and believe me, they do!
The cast, overall, is superb in their respective roles and the fire scenes are exhilarating and, at times, breathtaking, showing just how quickly a forest fire can spread. While the fire itself is a big part of the story, Hannah and Connor’s journey is what’s most important. Sheridan cuts between the story’s various characters and their individual plights, whatever they may be but Hannah and Connor are the heart and soul of the movie, and it’s the first time I can remember actually wanting to concentrate on the human element of a film of this ilk, instead of the flaming inferno chasing them. It’s great to see Jolie back in action, I just hope she doesn’t leave it for another eleven years before returning to this genre.
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