Marvel star Angelina Jolie's new firefighting action film gets first reviews
Angelina Jolie is set to make her Marvel debut in Eternals alongside a star-studded cast which includes Richard Madden and Salma Hayek.
But before Angelina officially enters the MCU she's got some fires to put out, in new action film Those Who Wish Me Dead.
In the film, which is based on Michael Koryta's best-selling novel of the same name, Jolie stars as Hannah Faber, a veteran smokejumper (or specially-trained wildland firefighter) who assists a 14-year-old boy who is being hunted by two assassins.
Ahead of the film's US release on May 14 the first reviews are in and it's a mixed bag. While many find it an exciting watch, whether you find its impossible premise a good or bad thing is up for debate.
Check out some of Those Who Wish Me Dead's early reviews below:
Entertainment Weekly
"What [writer Taylor Sheridan] can't fix is the movie's innate silliness, from Jolie's improbable hair to the not-Bob-Seger-but-it-could-be rock that dad-boogies over the soundtrack. Dead isn't particularly ugly or offensive; it's engaging enough and sometimes almost unintentionally fun. For a star who so rarely chooses to be on screen these days though, it feels like another kind of mortal sin, at least in Hollywood: forgettable."
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Financial Times
"Formulaic enough to have come from a packet, Those Who Wish Me Dead is exactly the kind of banged-out action thriller that would have once starred Sylvester Stallone or a smirking Bruce Willis, cast as a rowdy firefighter with a past."
IGN Movies
"Those Who Wish Me Dead sees Angelina Jolie return to her action roots in what amounts to an underwritten vehicle. While there's plenty of large entertaining set pieces, Sheridan's intriguing premise withers under its overabundant components."
The Washington Post
"With the guaranteed brilliance of the good guys and pivotal blunders by the bad guys, amid lightning fields and licking flames and noisy fusillades, Those Who Wish Me Dead finally implodes in a fireball of cheesy disaster-flick cliches."
Empire
"A lean and mean throwback of a thriller bolstered by excellent performances and first-class filmmaking. Occasionally bites off more than its CG budget can chew, but when director Taylor Sheridan keeps the action grounded, it's sweaty palms central."
Hollywood Reporter
"The well-crafted film's principal arcs may be largely predictable, but it's an emotionally satisfying and gripping watch."
The Guardian
"It’s a fierce, muscular piece of work, not a million miles from something like the Coens' No Country for Old Men."
Variety
"The idea may be outrageous, but Sheridan's commitment makes the whole thing work."
Those Who Wish Me Dead, based on the book of the same name, premieres in cinemas on May 14 in the US and May 17 in the UK.
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