Those Who Wish Me Dead

Angelina Jolie brings grit, groundedness and mussed-up glamour to this otherwise routine tale of a firefighter with a haunted past. Although she confidently trades banter with her elite firefighting team, a mistake has left Jolie racked with guilt. When she comes across a boy (Finn Little) being pursued by assassins (a chilling Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult), she must draw on her survival skills to save him. Propulsive direction by Taylor Sheridan (Wind River), plus visceral bursts of violence and muscular storytelling, prove gripping in the moment, and almost distract from the hoariness of the film's disparate genre elements. Jolie isn't required to dig too deeply into her hackneyed redemption-seeking character, while a raging forest fire serves only to allow her to face her demons in the most predictable of ways. The film is undeniably well made, and features some eye-catching New Mexico scenery (standing in for Montana), but it is sadly minor, forgettable fare.