The director and screenwriter Jon Wattsmoreover, has not hidden the desire to play with his protagonists, writing and directing a film that can be included in the genre action comedy and which, at the same time, proposes a variation on the theme of “buddy movie”, that is, a film in which the friendship between the protagonists constitutes, regardless of the genre of story told, a fundamental element of the plot. Watts has directed the three behind him “Spider-Man” with Tom Holland and therefore has already amply demonstrated the ability to tell the fraternal relationship that is established between people who share the same mission: if for Spider-Man and his friends, given his young age, we can speak of a coming-of-age story , for “Wolfs” the target is decidedly adults, the “buddies”, the “companions”, at the beginning of the story are adversaries and carry out a questionable job, but very useful in criminal environments.
The fundamental clue, to understand what Jack (George Clooney) and Nick (Brad Pitt) do, lies in the title of the film: “Wolfs” could be translated as “the two Wolfs” and it is a quote taken from “Pulp Fiction” Of Quentin Tarantinodove Harvey Keitel interpreta Winston Wolfa “fixer”, or rather a “solver” expert in discreetly fixing hot situations and eliminating the evidence, whatever type it may be. Jack is called to this uncomfortable job at the beginning of the film: it’s a cold New York night covered in snow and the fixer is summoned to a luxury hotel to remedy a possible scandal, which involves Margaret (Amy Ryan), protagonist of the political scene invested with an important public office; the woman spent time in the hotel room with a man much younger than her, but their meeting ended badly, with destroyed furniture and broken glass, splashes of blood and an apparently lifeless body on the floor.
Margaret therefore calls Jack to her aid, but he is unexpectedly joined at the crime scene by his colleague Nick; the collaboration between the two does not begin in the best way, both are too expert to accept the idea of having an assistant, but the inevitable disagreements between fixers take a back seat when the body of the young victim (Austin Abrams) suddenly revives, after being tossed none too gently into Jack’s trunk. Thus begins a journey through the streets of New York “all in one night”, in which Jack and Nick must use the tricks of the trade to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the alleged crime in which they were involved, discovering that they are more similar than they could have ever imagined.
In fact, if the “action” aspects of the film are compelling, including crazy car chases, acrobatic firefights, night clubs of dubious taste and textbook bad guys, what is most exciting, in the unfolding of the plot, is precisely the evolution of the relationship between Jack and Nick, in which competition is soon replaced by sharing: not only of survival techniques, but also of life experiences and practical difficulties, starting with galloping presbyopia.
In short, Jack and Nick are no longer very young, like the actors who play them, and in the dual role of director and screenwriter Watts was able to ironically recount the birth of their unlikely friendship, which reflects the charm of two of the most beloved stars of contemporary Hollywood: add New York in the snow, the voice of Frank Sinatra and a burning criminal case and you will understand why the hypothesis of a sequel to the two irresistible “Wolfs”, Clooney & Pitt, has already been formulated.