Movie Reviews

‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ Blu-Ray Review – Survival Crime Thriller Does Not Reach Its Full Potential

By Dillon Gonzales
September 7, 2021
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Writer-Director Taylor Sheridan has shown several times in the past decade that he has a gift for layering complex character studies within breathlessly exciting thrillers such as in his scripts for Sicario or the Oscar-nominated Hell Or High Water. Even when he stepped behind the camera in 2017’s underrated Wind River, the results were largely exciting and free from the assertion that outside directors were greatly elevating his scripts. In his directorial follow-up Those Who Wish Me Dead, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Koryta, Sheridan once again tackles a high-anxiety scenario that aims to weave in contemplative character moments, but his desire for universal appeal leaves this one feeling a bit unfulfilled at the end of the day. The material is right in his wheelhouse and the incredible cast of performers assembled are more than up to the task of embodying these characters, but lax characterization and implausible scenarios only aim to dazzle in the moment and falter upon reflection.

Angelina Jolie has not been front and center in a grounded adult drama in some time, and she reminds us how captivating she can be as she takes on the lead role of Hannah Faber, a fun-loving, hard-living member of the elite smoke jumping crew in Montana. This group is who you call when you need a particularly fearless firefighter to parachute out of a helicopter right into the thick of a forest inferno. Hannah is haunted by memories of a deadly fire that left one of her crew dead along with three campers. She has always been known to be the “wild child” of the group, but flunking her psych evaluation was never in her plans. She has been demoted to a watchman of a fire tower in the middle of the forest where she has to keep an eye on weather and any signs of smoke that would indicate a fire has commenced. She wants back in the action, but her path to redemption is not going to be so easy.

Elsewhere in Florida, a forensic accountant named Owen (Jake Weber) flees with his young son Connor (Finn Little) after seeing that his boss died in a gas explosion, which he finds suspicious considering the sensitive incriminating evidence he recently unearthed. As we see in the scene prior, his suspicions are valid as Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Nicholas Hoult (The Favourite) are shown carrying out the hit as the psychopathic Blackwell brothers, Jack and Patrick. As we learn, they would have preferred to have two teams ready to carry out simultaneous hits to avoid their second target being tipped off, but everywhere is having cutbacks these days. Through dubious means they deduce the pair are heading to Montana to hide out with Owen’s brother-in-law Ethan (Jon Bernthal, The Punisher) and Ethan’s pregnant wife Allison (Medina Senghore). When the Blackwells intervene and young Connor finds himself separated from his father and alone in the woods with a paper full of incriminating evidence, he of course runs into Hannah and the journey for survival begins in earnest.

Even at a brisk 100 minute runtime, the film does not feel as if it has enough story to justify the runtime, or at least Sheridan has not put down enough on the page to make it worth your while. The biggest misstep this film takes is the lack of substantial depth to Hannah outside of her trauma and redemption. She is rarely seen to be as good at her job as she is supposed to be, and the movie devotes precious little time to what makes a smoke jumper such a rare breed psychologically. Most audiences are unfamiliar with this intense occupation, and exploring this culture outside of stock “masculine energy” moments of ball-busting might have helped us empathize more. Sheridan typically has a knack for dialogue, but this time out he seems to be going for the easiest jokes and appealing to the lowest-common-denominator. The outline for a great story is here, but he does not shade in the pieces that most desperately need it.

Admittedly, the movie is quite thrilling while you are in the midst of it. When the Blackwells intentionally start a fire that leads to a spectacularly scary forest blaze, your pulse starts pounding as the embers get hotter. The decision to execute most of the fire through practical burns rather than fully digital brings an immediacy to the scene that helps, but when scenarios do require technology to supplement the action it stands out in a disorienting manner. Gillen and Hoult bring more to these villainous roles than is on the page, keeping you appropriately on edge but wanting some form of motivation that would make them more well-rounded. Jolie is quite capable, as well, but it is actually Medina Senghore who steals the show as Allison, a surprisingly agile woman who runs a survival school. An entire movie devoted to her and Bernthal may have actually been more transfixing than what we got here. Sheridan hits the key points along the way that will make this a crowd pleaser for audiences wanting the type of old-school, mid-budget adult drama that we so rarely get these days. We want that, too, but there is also a need to make your environment and characters fully realized with little-to-no major plot holes. Those Who Wish Me Dead is a fine film, but it does not quite succeed in this regard.

Video Quality

Those Who Wish Me Dead arrives on Blu-Ray courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment with a stellar AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The film has a natural color palette that expertly showcases the beautiful forests that serve as the setting of the story. There are some impressive instances of vibrant colors popping off the screen, especially in the deep green leaves and the stark orange of the fire. Even a few instances of blood make quite the impression. Skin tones appear very natural across the entire cast with even the most minor facial details on display. The level of detail in this presentation remains as strong as ever, as all of the subtle aspects of the costumes and production design are razor sharp. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. The bright whites do not fall victim to any blooming in this presentation. There are no egregious instances of aliasing or compression artifacts detectable here. This Blu-Ray is simply gorgeous as Warner Bros. continues its steady work releasing quality transfers.

Audio Quality

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is extremely engaging, and it never fails to deliver something truly unbelievable. The soundscape on display here is very rich with a nuanced design from location to location. This film is an unexpected, full-throttle action-survival film with moments where certain kinetic sequences pack a bigger punch than one might expect. The instances of intense gunfire in the film packs a punch that will shake you to the core. The soundtrack and score hits really hard without being too overwhelming to the competing elements. Dialogue comes through crystal clear with none of the information feeling lost to the music in the film or the sound effects. All of the effects have a nice sense of direction within the mix with noises such as the burning forest really springing to life. The movie uses environmental sounds to great effect, and the track retains strong detail even in the more chaotic developments. The track is a powerhouse from start to finish.

Special Features

Making Those Who Wish Me Dead: A nearly 15-minute featurette which explores the story and themes of the film, the filmmaking of Taylor Sheridan, the blending of practical and digital effects, trying to substitute New Mexico for Montana, the practical challenges of the production and more. This has insights from all of the main performers and a good mixture of crew members.

Final Thoughts

Those Who Wish Me Dead is a tense and involving thriller that delivers with spectacle but falters in its characterization. The performers do everything they can to elevate their material which allows the feature to receive a passing grade. There is much to appreciate here, but given the pedigree of those involved it should be a bit stronger. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray featuring a really great A/V presentation and one surface-level featurette. If the premise intrigues you or you enjoy the performers, it should be a decent watch that will not stay with you long after it is done.

Those Who Wish Me Dead is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.