Angelina Jolie was a rising action star after the success of films like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Wanted. Then she went behind the scenes and flexed her directorial muscles till she had to return to her action roots on-screen amid her divorce proceedings and custody battle with her ex.
The Jolie-led action thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead made its mark on Netflix’s top ten films list worldwide this week, three years after its theatrical release.
Directed by Taylor Sheridan, known for his work on gritty and intense films such as Wind River and Hell or High Water, Those Who Wish Me Dead has Jolie taking on the lead role as Hannah Faber, a smokejumper haunted by a tragic mistake in her past. The film’s screenplay, co-written by Michael Koryta, Charles Leavitt, and Sheridan himself, is based on Koryta’s novel of the same name.
Those Who Wish Me Dead follows the story of Hannah Faber, who finds herself in a race against time to save a young boy, Connor, played by Finn Little, from relentless assassins. As wildfires rage through the Montana wilderness, the characters are thrust into a high-stakes game of survival, where danger lurks not only from the flames but also from those who wish to silence the boy forever.
Those Who Wish Me Dead has garnered 8.6m hours viewed within just one week. The global audience’s response indicates the film’s widespread appeal, as viewers from different corners of the world are drawn to it.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Jolie cited the reason she went back to acting, “I love directing, but I had a change in my family situation that’s not made it possible for me to direct for a few years. I needed to just do shorter jobs and be home more, so I kind of went back to doing a few acting jobs. That’s really the truth of it.”
As Those Who Wish Me Dead continues to climb the Netflix charts, it stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of Angelina Jolie’s star power and engaging action thrillers.
You can watch Those Who Wish Me Dead on Netflix and catch the trailer here:
