Released back during the long global pandemic in 2021, Those Who Wish Me Dead is an action thriller starring Angelina Jolie and directed by popular filmmaker Taylor Sheridan. Jolie is a well-proven Hollywood star, while Sheridan has spent the last decade on the rise through projects like Sicario and its sequel, Hell or High Water, Wind River, and the television hit Yellowstone. Why, then, is this particular collaboration so crushingly ordinary?

Jolie plays Hannah Faber, a career smokejumper haunted by the death of three young campers during a forest fire. When posted to a remote watch tower in Montana, she encounters runaway youth Connor Cassidy (Finn Little). Hot on Connor’s trail are two anonymous operatives (Aiden Gillen And Nicholas Hoult) that have already murdered his father, and are now intent to killing him as well.

On paper, and indeed through much of the film’s second and third acts, Those Who Wish Me Dead resembles a generic but effective 1990s action-thriller; the kind typified by the likes of Cliffhanger (1993). Sheridan’s direction is tight and effective, the action is well-staged and reasonably realistic, and the pace generally keeps up rather well. A subplot involving a sheriff’s pregnant wife (Medina Senghore) is particularly strong. Sadly this back-end to the film, which is at least competently unambitious, is framed by a particularly poor opening act.

Those Who Wish Me Dead goes to great pains to set up its mysterious villains Jack and Patrick, the conspiracy to kill Connor and his father, and Hannah’s tragic backstory. None of these scenes are necessary to the ensuing action film that follows, and progressively feel like a chore to watch. There is also an odd amount of time spent introducing Hannah’s fellow smokejumpers – they only turn up again during the film’s denouement – and her own profession of jumping out of aeroplanes into forest fires – which she never does. Viewers used to the foreshadowing-to-action structure of a Hollywood narrative will likely feel the faint sense of betrayal when elements that are set up simply never eventuate.

Thankfully some of the more egregious faults are papered over by the supporting cast’s solid work. Both Aiden Gillen and Nicholas Hoult are dependable, talented actors. John Bernthal is enjoyable to watch as a straight-forward local sheriff, while as mentioned above Medina Senghore seems a particular highlight. Finn Little is great as Connor, managing a blend of comic moments and tragic drama. He is nicely emotive throughout.

The lingering mystery is over what attracted Angelina Jolie to her role. She is a busy artist, having started directing films as well as acting them, and dividing her time with international humanitarian work. With a limited schedule for performing and an Academy Award under her belt, one would think there would be worthier and more interesting work available than this.

Get through the unnecessary set-up and there is a watchable movie here. The problem with these sorts of films, however, is ultimately always the same one: why bother with it? Close to everyone involved has made better things. Mediocre cinema helps pass the time, but so does gardening or going for a walk. How much is that 100 minutes worth to you?