Those Who Wish Me Dead movie review: In Taylor Sheridan’s old-school chase thriller, Angelina Jolie stars as a firefighter who must save a boy not only from a raging forest fire but also from the bullets of two hitmen.
Those Who Wish Me Dead is a Taylor Sheridan-directed action thriller starring Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Hoult, and Jon Bernthal (Yellowstone, Wind River). The story follows a smokejumper who is haunted by a traumatic incident but determined to guide a young boy to safety from assassins, lightning storms, and wildfires in Montana’s forests.
Jolie (Salt, Interrupted, Maleficent) plays Hannah Faber, a smoke jumper who is still reeling from the loss of three lives she failed to save from a fire when she comes across Connor (Finn Little), a traumatized 12-year-old boy, whose father Owen (Jake Weber) has already been murdered by two assassins. Leaving her emotional struggles aside, Hannah must now navigate the dangerous forest fire and save the boy from ruthless killers.
Those Who Wish Me Dead – Official Trailer
Angelina Jolie’s Hannah is an intriguing character, but unlike in ‘Salt,’ where she played a CIA officer with extraordinary skills and years of experience, her portrayal in this film is of an ordinary human being with no elaborate soldierly skills. However, the film gives her enough room to shine once more, both in the dramatic scenes depicting her emotional turmoil and in her confrontation with the assassins.
Despite its simple premise, it is a conventional yet effective thriller. Taylor Sheridan co-wrote and directed the film, which could have been more detailed in terms of characters and a plot with a conspiracy. We all know Sheridan’s scripts were amazing in ‘Sicario’ (2015) and ‘Hell or High Water’ (2016), but here in ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead,’ we can feel the lack of intent for some complex character studies, as well as the development of an emotional connect between Hannah and Connor, even though we see multiple pairs with good chemistry.
All of the actors’ performances are compelling enough for such fast-paced thrillers. Normally, we don’t get to see or expect so many good actors to deliver crucial performances for the plot.
It’s not just the bond between father and son or Hannah and Connor; even the ruthless killers, played by Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult, are entertaining to watch as they are always ready to kill anyone in sight. If it was all about the killer duo, they could easily carry a story.
Besides, we have Owen’s brother-in-law Ethan (Jon Bernthal) and Ethan’s pregnant wife Allison (Medina Senghore) who runs a survival school. They are both fascinating to watch, though, in a longer story, there would have been more opportunity to explore their dynamics.
‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ is currently streaming on Netflix.
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Finn Little, Jon Bernthal, Nicholas Hoult, Aidan Gillen, Jake Weber, and Medina Senghore.
Genres: Movies Based on Books, Crime Movies, Thriller
Based on: Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Screenwriters: Michael Koryta, Charles Leavitt, Taylor Sheridan
Cinematography: Ben Richardson
Release Date: May 14, 2021 (United States)
Where to watch Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
