Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023)

Plot of Operation Fortune: The British government gets information about the existence of a secret called “The Handle” which has been obtained by some villains and is to be marketed by arms dealer Greg Simmonds. They hire superspy Orson Fortune to obtain it, whatever it is and he in turn decides that the only way of doing it is to infiltrate Simmonds personal life, using a film actor Danny Francesco as bait. Fortune and his assistants, Sarah, a computer wizz and J.J a special forces guy, together with Danny infiltrate Simmonds’s world and all seems to be going well. However they are opposed by Mike with a more heavily armed team, also after the Handle but on the outside of the Simmonds entourage. Who will win, or will the Handle, whatever it is, find its way into the criminal world?

Content: No sex or nudity, although some scantily clad young women here and there according to the IMDb Parents Guide. No drugs or smoking but alcohol consumed in party environments. There are numerous scenes of hand to hand combat and some firefights in the Jason Statham/Guy Ritchie style. But a lot of fun in the interaction between Greg Simmonds and Danny the film star, often involving a Ford Mustang beloved of them both. Fortune is supported with  computer operations by Sarah and fire arms where necessary by J.J.

A View: The release of the film was held back because it featured ‘Ukranian baddies” at a time when Ukraine was in trouble, but even so did not make any money. I enjoyed it quite a lot, mainly because Hugh Grant has really refined his characterisation of villainy. He is terrific in this outing. There is also a bit of a film within the film which I always also enjoy, so quite a bit for me, and probably for all Guy Ritchie fans as well.

Fun Fact: The 1966 Ford Mustang which starred in the film appears to have been sold at auction in 2023 for £16,675. Sounds like a bargain.