Those Who Wish Me Dead

In the fast paced thriller, Those Who Wish Me Dead, a young boy named Conner (Finn Little) witnesses a mob hit and flees into the woods for survival. There he is aided by Hannah a firefighter (Angelina Jolie) and Ethan the local sheriff (Jon Bernthal) who are all soon hunted by the assassins. Oh, and of course there is a huge forest fire that threatens to destroy them all.

This is a straight forward cat and mouse story which helps keep the viewer engaged. It is obvious it wanted to do more but in the end it is best that it stayed simple. It easily could have gotten mired down in a lot of fluff. Instead it kept the eye on target and rode it until the end.

Hannah is struggling with some past demons from an earlier fire that took some lives. This never plays into the story line and could have been left out. It is possible that this past trauma is a driving force for her to help Conner. As a firefighter it would have been just as believable that she was doing it because of her line of work. She does find some redemption through it all which I guess was important. Take that as you will. This rugged action style character seems an interesting choice for Jolie. It has been over a decade since we have seen her get her hands dirty. She has delivered impressive work of course, but this is far from a Disney queen. It was good to see her in this and it reminded me of her “Sway” character from Gone in 60 Seconds.

Bernthal has fast become one of my favorite actors over the last few years. I really like this guy regardless of the roles he takes on. Whether you love or hate his character there is always something about it you gravitate to. He is a good guy this time around and though there is not a lot of dialogue meat in the script he brings a lot of emotion to the role and it is a welcome element.

My favorite performances in the film surprisingly are the two hitmen sent to take out the kid. They are played brilliantly – and ruthlessly – by Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult. The characters are relentless in their pursuit. If I had wanted more of a history it would have been with them and the organization they worked for. There is a random scene with Tyler Perry who plays Arthur, who is obviously their boss. But again there is only a small glimpse into their world which neither adds or distracts. So why bother if you aren’t going to go full in.

Those Who Wish Me Dead looks fantastic and is an ultimate thrill ride. The fire soon becomes its own character as its doom looms closer. The filmmakers built an entire woods just for the purpose of burning it down. So the look and feel of the area is legit. It did feel as if the world of forest fire fighting was going to play more of a role in this but it didn’t happen. In fact there seemed to be a lot of changes in the intent compared to the final product. That said, what we get is fine and an enjoyable watch. It does exactly what I think viewers want it to do regardless of how it was intended.

THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD – a strange title really – is rated R for strong violence, and language throughout. See it in the theater if you can and if not, at least catch it on HBO MAX before it goes away.

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