Summary
A successful action-comedy that sees the power of sisterhood made stronger with car chases and shootouts.
Mélanie Laurent, who broke through in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, has made a name for herself as a filmmaker and is back in the director’s chair with Netflix for the feminist action film Wingwomen.
Laurent stars alongside Adèle Exarchopoulos, Manon Bresch, and Isabelle Adjani and follows the story of two expert best-friend thieves who are tired of life on the run and recruit feisty Sam to assist them with one last job, unlike any they’ve done before. It’s one final heist, to end all heists.
Wingwomen review and plot summary
This film is a rare successful blend of action-comedy led by female characters. There are similarities with the film Charlie’s Angels, and Laurent’s previous film The Mad Women’s Ball, as Wingwomen has strong themes of female empowerment, sisterhood, and challenging typical female stereotypes.
I enjoyed and welcomed the characters being strong women who can be laid-back and funny, rather than hard and intimidating, which is what we usually see in this genre. Laurent’s female lens does very well in breaking down typical tropes and stereotypes. Whilst the plot is predictable as it follows a “one last job” arc, the acting is very compelling — I mean, after all, we’re rooting for thieves!
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Mélanie Laurent, Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Manon Bresch have excellent chemistry and play their roles effortlessly. As two best friends, this is what I’d like to think my friends and I would be like as professional thieves. Alex’s character (Adèle) is my favorite — she’s quirky. With a cigarette in one hand and her pet rabbit in the other, she’s cool, confident, and unapologetically herself.
Like most action films there is a mixture of car chases, fights, and shoot-outs, and the action sequences are exciting but do feel over-edited at times. However, it’s not ridiculous enough to make you disconnect from the film. There are some attempts at comedy — those that work are random, which is brilliant, but the efforts fall flat and feel a little cringe-worthy elsewhere. There are nods to other films, such as the leader being called the Godmother, wanting revenge after their pet was killed like John Wick, and Carole does remind me of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.
Is Wingwomen worth streaming?
The ending was surprising for me — in a good way. More dramatic and suspenseful than anticipated, it drew me in more and had me on my toes. It takes an unexpected twist which is incredibly emotional. Overall the film has a beautiful balance between action and emotion, and this encapsulates what it’s like to be a woman.
As there are so many action films to choose from Wingwomen might fall to the back of the Netflix library. However, with its strong cast and effortless pace, I hope this isn’t the case. It is definitely worth watching at least once, especially if you enjoy kick-ass strong female characters.
What did you think of Wingwomen? Comment below.
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