Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023) review

A mysterious device referred to as "The Handle" gets swiped and the British government needs it, so they ask Nathan Jasmine (Cary Elwes) to put together a covert team - consisting of Orson (Jason Statham), American Sarah (Aubrey Plaza) and J.J. (Bugzy Malone), among others - and retrieve the item ... which leads them to arms dealer (and celebrity fetishist) Greg (Hugh Grant).  It's become quite clear that director Ritchie only really wants to (or knows how to) make one kind of movie: some sort of comedy/action hybrid that isn't skilled at either, and then there's plenty of globetrotting, expensive cars and explosions ... in other words, an English Michael Bay without the stylistic flourishes (and robots).  Altogether, it is a waste of a solid cast, although Grant seems to delight in playing the villain (with a nod to Michael Caine): after years of being typecast as the romantic lead, it's a change of pace for him.