Those Who Wish Me Dead- Review

Warner Bros. faced a lot of backlash when they decided to go for a day and date Cinematic and streaming release strategy. Many people have shared their thoughts on the subject and I for one believe it helped people find movies they may have otherwise missed. Such as Those Who Wish Me Dead, a thriller that found very little box office success but yet still is a great film.

Set in the Montana Wilderness Those Who Wish Me Dead focuses on Hannah, a local smoke jumper who befriends Connor, a boy on the run after two ruthless assassins murdered his father for the secrets that he keeps. With help from the local Sheriff's department Hannah will stop at nothing to keep Connor safe even while an impending wildfire barrels towards the town.

This may not be the first film that comes to mind when you think of Angelina Jolie but it sure was an impressive one to say the very least. She didn't go overboard and her grief over a past fire has definitely led to a downward spiral. Jolie is able to convey the pain well with a couple of scenes devoted to said flashback that really gives you a sense of the toll this job has on people.

Finn Little stars as Connor. He does well to keep your interest in the outcome despite the fact most of the action takes place around his character and those trying to help him survive this crazy night. Those players include Jon Bernthal as Ethan, a local deputy and his pregnant wife Alison, played by Medina Senghore. Bernthal is always a shoe in for a wonderful performance and adding the layer of complexity that his wife is pregnant gave the added emotional weight to his subplot. Senghore also shows that Alison can hold her own in a fight and that's badass to see a powerful female doing everything it takes to keep her family safe.

The backdrop of the action comes as the killers set the fire to distract the town from their plan. It sets in motion a series of events they could not have accounted for. A local smoke jumper being the one who comes into care of the child. The action sequences are very tense if at times a bit on the predictable side. It works because you really want to see these people pull through. It's not the most unique story ever written but is elevated by fine performances and some cool looking fire sequences.

It's one of those films where people are picking it apart for every little detail just to nag and find faults but if you really look past all of the little things it's a fun watch that doesn't require you to have a headache to understand the plot and the outcome. It's simple. These are simple people who find themselves embroiled in the most unlikely of scenarios and they just want to live through the night. If nothing else at all I believe most people can relate to that.

This film doesn't strike me as the type that would have been a massive hit pre-pandemic or had it only had a theatrical release. It's just not the type of film everyone watches. It's not a big budget blockbuster but rather a small town story with grit and heart. It's the type of film that offsets those big budgets with personality and flair and a story that is quasi realistic with some over exaggerated action sequences for effect. It worked on me. I call it that Taylor Sheridan charm. His previous films Hell or High Water and Wind River are two of my personal favorite films of the past decade so the slight imperfections in this one get a pass from me.