By doudou6 
Recently, I had a conversation with a friend about Hollywood action movies. We talked about the 007 series, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. We discussed the influence of Japanese judo on American films and Jackie Chan’s journey in Hollywood…
Suddenly, he said, “It seems like we haven’t seen a big Hollywood action movie in a long time.”
When my friend said that, I was taken aback for a moment. Thinking carefully, in my impression, the last one should have been “The Fate of the Furious” in 2017.
I first encountered him as Jason Statham in Sylvester Stallone’s “The Expendables.” Later I saw him alongside Shu Qi in “The Transporter,” which came out earlier than I realized.
From then on, he became known as Guo Dasen—a staple in major action films.
Life’s greatest joys include timely rain after droughts, meeting old friends far from home, wedding night bliss, and acing important exams.
An equally great joy comes when you need an exciting movie most—and an action blockbuster arrives just in time.
—Enter “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre,” starring Guo Dasen.
In this film, Guo plays an agent assigned by a British agency to investigate a deal involving a world-threatening secret weapon.
Initially reluctant because he’s on vacation—foreigners clearly separate work from leisure—he eventually succumbs to repeated pleas invoking national security and world peace concerns. Thus compelled back into action early by his boss’s appeals,
His boss thoughtfully assigns him two assistants: one fair-skinned beauty with long legs; another sharp-shooting black guy providing strong backup support,
The plot unfolds simply across three key scenes:
Scene One: The Airport
During their mission execution at airport; things seemed under control until unexpected arrival ex-colleague turned independent contractor Lao Mai armed heavily even wielding chainsaw cutting car doors open forcing everyone surrender item—a hard drive—but not before copying data inside,
Scene Two: Luxury Yacht
With copied data coupled thorough investigation they confirmed involvement wealthy man hence ‘friendly’ kidnapping superstar Xiao Qiao currently hottest actor whose ‘fanboy’ happens be said wealthy man enabling team infiltrate Cannes coast charity dinner hosted by same rich individual revealed old acquaintance British actor Hugh Grant aka Lao Xiu posing manager while fair-skinned assistant played girlfriend using fists charms respectively uncovering buyer preparing next move naturally Lao Mai contributed lively atmosphere,
Scene Three: Buyer’s Home
Due star-chasing tendencies combined soft-hard tactics deployed by team led defection of Lao Xiu abandoning evil joining forces bringing along Xiao Qiao leveraging family information turning buyer against Lao Mai ensuing fierce battle leaving both sides devastated allowing team achieve objective seamlessly concluding film harmoniously,
Surprised? Expect epic showdown between good vs evil?
Typical commercial fare absent here given director Guy Ritchie known for unconventional narratives seen previously directing “Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels”, “Sherlock Holmes” eschewing predictable tropes delivering dark humor reflective real-world unpredictability where plans falter unexpectedly rather than premeditated schemes,
Critics note villains within Ritchie’s oeuvre possess gentlemanly demeanor exemplified through characters like Lao Xiu profit-driven arms dealer transforming adoring fanboy upon meeting idol showering gifts proving star-chasing transcends age mature men can exhibit intense fandom too,
Ambiguous relationship between Lao Xiu/Xiao Qiao ostensibly interested fake girlfriend perhaps masking deeper affection towards actual person,
Noteworthy trio actors reuniting under Ritchie’s direction includes Jason Statham (Guo Dasen), Hugh Grant (Lao Xiu) Josh Hartnett portraying Xiao Qiao spanning collaborations since 1998 debut through various projects culminating latest offering blending humor/action seamlessly enhancing overall appeal emphasizing signature physicality integral drawing audiences repeatedly revisiting meticulously choreographed sequences contrasting superficial counterparts like Luc Besson-directed “Anna” over-stylized kung fu flicks missing core essence focusing substance over style ensuring authenticity within genre,
Inside, there are Fan Laoda, Dwayne Johnson, and Guo Dasen, the trio. Among them, Guo Dasen left the deepest impression on me, a character who is both righteous and evil.
When I first knew him, he was still Jason Statham in Sylvester Stallone’s “The Expendables”. Later, I watched “The Transporter” starring him and Shu Qi. Clearly, this movie came out earlier.
Afterwards, he became Guo Dasen, a frequent guest in major action movies.
There are four great joys in life: timely rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, wedding night bliss, and achieving high scores in exams.
When you most need an exciting movie, it’s also a great joy when an action blockbuster comes along.
— “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” starring Guo Dasen is here.
In this film, Guo Dasen is still an agent assigned by a British department to investigate a deal involving the sale of a world-disrupting secret weapon.
At first, he was reluctant because he was on vacation. After all, foreigners clearly distinguish between work and leisure and don’t have to keep their phones on after work hours.
But he couldn’t resist his boss’s repeated pleas and the invocation of national security and world peace. Thus, Guo Dasen had no choice but to return to work early.
His boss thoughtfully assigned him two assistants: one with fair skin and long legs and another who is a sharpshooting black guy providing strong support.
The plot of the movie is actually very simple and can be summarized in three scenes.
The first scene takes place at the airport.
While carrying out their mission, the beautiful assistant thought everything was under control until an unexpected figure showed up – their former colleague turned independent contractor Lao Mai. Lao Mai appeared armed with guns and even used a chainsaw to cut open the car door. Everyone sensibly handed over the item – a hard drive – but not before copying its data.
The second scene takes place on a wealthy man’s luxury yacht.
With the data from the hard drive and some careful investigation, they determined that the deal involved a wealthy man. They then “friendly” kidnapped superstar Xiao Qiao. Xiao Qiao is currently the hottest movie star, and the wealthy man involved in the deal is his “little fanboy.” They successfully infiltrated a charity dinner hosted by the wealthy man on the Cannes coast. The wealthy man is an old acquaintance, British handsome Hugh Grant (referred to as Lao Xiu). Guo Dasen posed as Xiao Qiao’s manager while the beautiful assistant acted as his girlfriend. Using their fists and charms respectively, they found out who was buying the weapon and prepared for action. Of course, Lao Mai also played his part by livening up the atmosphere.
The third scene takes place at the buyer’s home.
Due to his star-chasing tendencies and Guo Dasen’s combined soft-hard tactics with his beautiful assistant, Lao Xiu decided to abandon evil for good and defected willingly. He took Xiao Qiao to the buyer’s home and used information about the buyer’s family to successfully turn them against Lao Mai. Both sides fought fiercely resulting in mutual destruction. Guo Dasen then took advantage of this situation to gain what he wanted. The movie ended on a harmonious note.
Isn’t it surprising? Shouldn’t there have been an epic showdown between good and evil?
This is typical commercial movie fare that won’t appear in this film because its director is Guy Ritchie—the genius behind “Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels” and “Sherlock Holmes”. Being such a maverick director means not following conventional patterns.
Although its ending isn’t as impressive as “Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels”, it still features that familiar dark humor reflecting our real world where plans often fail due to unexpected events rather than premeditated schemes.
Some say that bad guys in Guy Ritchie’s movies always have a gentlemanly touch—just like Lao Xiu who despite being a profit-driven arms dealer turns into an adoring fanboy when meeting his idol showering him with jewels & flowers showing that star-chasing isn’t just for youngsters but can be even more intense for mature men.
Lao Xiu’s relationship with Xiao Qiao remains ambiguous; ostensibly interested more in Xiao Qiao’s “fake girlfriend” but perhaps actually more fond of Xiao Qiao himself.
Three actors in this film have previously collaborated with Guy Ritchie: Jason Statham (Guo Dasen), Hugh Grant (Lao Xiu), & Josh Hartnett (Xiao Qiao).
Especially notable is Jason Statham whose collaborations span from 1998’s “Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels” through 2000’s “Snatch”, 2005’s “Revolver”, 2021’s “Wrath Of Man” up till now with “Operation Fortune”.
In Guy Ritchie’s films Jason Statham often appears more comedic (like in “Lock Stock”) differing from his usual tough-guy image but “Operation Fortune” combines humor & action creating synergy greater than sum-of-parts effect.
Of course main attraction remains Jason Statham’s action scenes featuring multiple cool moves including memorable moments like using newspaper shield followed by punch—all designed meticulously for repeat viewing unlike some fake-looking action scenes such as Luc Besson-directed “Anna” or certain overly flashy kung fu films from mainland China which miss essence focusing instead on style over substance ignoring true meaning behind ‘action’.
Action primarily relies on strength—Dwayne Johnson’s punch isn’t same as average person no matter how much dodging involved similarly Jason Statham despite being short has muscular build making his punches convincingly powerful combining realism with artistic flair borrowing elements from Chinese kung fu delivering graceful yet forceful moves.
Returning full circle discussing evolution/history/action films today seem stuck rut older generation actors retiring transitioning mid-generation only ‘two Sens’ left—Jason Statham/Dwayne Johnson alongside creative factors compared sci-fi films’ grandiose battles mere street fights pale comparison appealing grounded audience preferring realistic brawls amidst plethora Ma Baoguo-like figures prevalent today yet shouldn’t discard entirely remembering childhood love-action films wasn’t solely due limited entertainment options back then.
So this weekend relax unwind open iQiyi gather friends/family watch “Operation Fortune” together—I guarantee you’ll thoroughly enjoy it!