Those Who Wish Me Dead

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Finn Little, Nicholas Hoult, Jon Bernthal, Aidan Gillen, Medina Senghore, Jake Weber, Tyler Perry

Director: Taylor Sheridan

Based on the novel "Those Who Wish Me Dead" by Michael Koryta

Hannah (Jolie) is a Montana smokejumper, traumatized after a recent forest fire killed three kids she was unable to prevent after reading the wind incorrectly. Not ready to return to active duty yet, she is assigned watchtower duty. Meanwhile in Florida, Owen (Weber) discovers his boss has been killed under mysterious circumstances and he is forced to go on the run with his young son Connor (Little). He decides to head to Montana and seek refuge with his brother in law Ethan (Bernthal), a sheriff who also runs a survival school. Hot on Owen and Connors trail is the assassin brother combo of Jack (Gillen) and Patrick (Hoult), intent on doing whatever is necessary to silence Owen. As Connor is forced into the Montana wilderness on his own, he crosses paths with Hannah who does everything she can to keep him safe as not only the assassins are hot on their heels but a raging forest fire.

This movie would have been very much at home in the 90's, sporting a summer action blockbuster premise led by movie star Jolie. While the story is quite ridiculous, at one point the villains decide its a good idea to start a massive forest fire to help them catch Connor, Sheridan wrings every ounce of suspense he can out of the premise and delivers several tense action set pieces.

Sheridan has had an interesting cinematic journey, coming out firing as the scribe of Sicario, Hell or High Water and Wind River (on which he also made his directorial debut). Those films, while featuring action beats, were very much character driven and can credit their success to that fact. Here Sheridan seems torn between what type of movie he wants to make, a character driven piece about Hannah's grief or an over the top action thriller. This tonal whiplash takes a little time to get used to and some viewers might get impatient waiting for the action to pick back up. In fact, Hannah and Connor don't meet until about halfway through the film. It didn't really bother me though and despite featuring some cheesy moments, with Jolie and Little outrunning an electrical storm and a raging forest fire in separate occasions during the run time, I quite enjoyed myself.

Jolie, as expected, makes for a very likable screen presence and her chemistry with young Finn Little drives the film in its quieter moments. Even before their characters meet, we are invested in Hannah and her grief because of how good Jolie is at showing it without overacting. It's a delicate balancing act but Jolie nails it. While Hoult and Gillen are good as the assassins, their characters themselves are somewhat inconsistent. These are cold blooded killers who not only start a massive wildfire to help track down Connor but have a code to kill anyone who sees their face and as soon as they start meeting main characters let them live. This isn't the only movie that does this, it won't be the last and I get why the screenwriters made this choice in terms of suspense. It just didn't fit with what had been established about them.

While it sports a ridiculous premise, Sheridans taut direction and Jolie's blazing performance help elevate this suspenseful thriller.

Director: Taylor Sheridan

Grade: B-

Those Who Wish Me Dead is available in theaters and on HBOMax