Bonus – Those Who Wish Me Dead
Angelina Jolie marks her return to action hero status in the multilayered adaptation Those Who Wish Me Dead. The actress plays Hannah, a smokejumper and survivalist desperate to right the wrongs of her past and save a young murder witness (played by Australian Finn Little) from the assassins hunting him – while a raging forest fire threatens them all. Leigh and Tim discuss the thriller in a bonus new episode of Popcorn Podcast.
Find an edited extract of this episode below. You can listen to the full episode above and follow Popcorn Podcast on your preferred podcast platform for more
THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD MOVIE REVIEW
Tim: How did you think Angelina Jolie stacked up in here?
Leigh: I loved it. She's a natural at bringing depth to a role like this and also the physicality of an action role. It’s fantastic.
Tim: I'm on the other side here, interestingly. I loved seeing Jolie back in this genre. But I just can't get out of my head that it feels like it was the wrong film for her.
Leigh: Really?
Tim: Yeah, she seemed a little out of place for some reason. I didn't quite connect with her character.
Leigh: Is that because she is so Angelina Jolie? You know how some actors get to that stage in their career when they're just so well known, and they are just themselves?
Tim: Yes, and I hate having that preconceived notion about someone. I hate going in and saying: ‘But it's Angelina Jolie, why is she in this movie?’ They’re actors, they should be able to push themselves creatively.
Leigh: I think she did. I don't feel that at all. I'm completely on the opposite side of the fence to you.
Tim: Well, maybe it had to do with at the beginning, her character made some pretty dumb decisions that, for me, held no real weight behind them in the film. Like with that stunt that she did off the back of the truck. I’m like, ‘What the f**k?’ That was just a really strange moment in the film for me.
Leigh: I think that's to establish that she's really reckless and she's reeling from this tragedy, and being self-destructive, I guess.
Tim: I mean, when you put it that way, that's true. I didn't connect with that.
Leigh: This movie is very reminiscent of Cliffhanger. Wouldn’t you say? You know that Sly Stallone film where he doesn't save someone from falling down a big crevasse and he lives with it forever and they have to come bring him back because he's the only one that can save these other people that need saving.
Tim: Yeah, and it's like a redemption tale at the same time.
Leigh: But then there's also these criminals that are thrown into the mix. It's very similar.
Tim: Is this technically a remake then? [laughs]
Leigh: No!
Tim: It sounds like they took the piss a little bit.
Leigh: It’s based on a book! And it's a very good book. But I liked that this film jumped straight out of the gate with the tension. You know the threat. You know the lay of the land immediately. Do you think it was effective in building the tension?
Tim: Hmm, no. I don't think I really liked this movie.
Leigh: Timothy!
