Those Who Wish Me Dead wasn’t a game changing movie. That doesn’t mean the movie was bad. It’s just not going to win any awards. What it is going to do is entertain you for it’s 100 minute run time while reminding you that firefighters are badasses who protect our forests and people because they care. That’s the part that stuck with me after the movie was long and over with. Also the fact that Angelina Jolie can do anything that she sets her mind to.
But first about those firefighters. I learned a lot about them from this movie. I learned about the lengths they’re willing to go to protect their own and people around them. I learned that fire is an unforgiving bastard who tears through everything, not caring whether you’re a child or not. And I learned the how and why as to why these fires take so long to put out. Because it isn’t an easy job but these women and men have trained to protect and serve just like any other enforcement officer.
Talking about fire, the crew behind the fire that was created in Those Who Wish Me Dead did an extraordinary job. I remember the days when fake fire was so obvious and lame. There was no depth to it and it was so easily computer generated that I thought who were they trying to fool with that nonsense. Those Who Wish Me Dead went, “Hold my beer” and gave me some of the most realistic fire I’ve ever seen. 10/10.
As for Angelina Jolie and her everything. She legit conquered another character I’ve never her in. She was an asshole at first, blatantly doing whatever she wanted when she wanted. But it didn’t take long to discover that everything was a facade for her. She’s witnessed horrible things and blames herself for it all. That guilt has been eating up at her thing entire time and it takes a mystery boy to shake up her world.
In a way, I think meeting this kid that was in danger, shook up her life and reminded her to breathe. Because Angelina’s character Hannah had been on pause for such a long time without realizing it or without even caring. Connor, the kid she was helping, reminded her of what she’d missing and the things that she was denying herself: happiness, hope, and healing from something horrifying.
That’s why I’m in awe of Angelina and why this review is titled as “Is There Anything Angelina Can’t Do? Because she’s conquered so many genres and she can add this to her filmography and be proud of the character she brought to life. Sure, the movie was ehhh and a tiny bit forgettable in the grand scheme of things. But she did it and she kicked ass while doing so.
You know who else kicked ass? Allison aka Medina Senghore. As soon as she popped up, I loved her. She was funny, calm, collected, straight forward, and had this loving relationship with her husband that made me want to see more of them in comparison to everyone else. And when the bad guys showed up, pregnant or not, I thought she wasn’t going to survive and would just perpetuate more POC dying and being used as window dressing for the white characters that survived.
Those Who Wish Me Dead did none of that. Allison was just as badass or maybe even more badass than Angelina Jolie’s character. From the very first moment she saw the bad guys, she knew something was wrong. And she fought, not only for her child, but for herself because she is more than a pregnant character. She’s a woman who knows what survival looks like and how to get there. And I loved how she went after her quarry no matter what challenges she faced.
Her story combined with that of Hannah’s is what made the movie for me. So, is it worth watching? Yeah. If you’ve got time, need a little bit of action, this is the movie for you!
Those Who Wish Me Dead is available on HBO Max.
