Johnny Depp evidently does what he pleases in between “Pirates Of The Caribbean” movies and installments of his newly-minted “Alice In Wonderland” franchise. So no matter how many chinks in his armor he’s sustained via flops like “Transcendence,” “Dark Shadows," "The Rum Diary" and the now infamous “The Lone Ranger,” he always has his fallback cash-cows. One gets the impression that he considers poorly performing films as someone else’s problem: Depp appears in films that interest him and that’s that. His latest whimsy? Depp will star in “Mortdecai,” a James Bond-esque spy comedy revolving around a dapper idiot.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Juggling some angry Russians, the British MI5, his impossibly leggy wife and an international terrorist, debonair art dealer and part time rogue Charlie Mortdecai (Depp) must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.
Directed by David Koepp (who directed Depp in “Secret Window”), the movie co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany, Oliver Platt, Aubrey Plaza, Ewan McGregor, Paul Bettany, and Olivia Munn. The film is adapted from the anthology The Mortdecai Trilogy written by Kyril Bonfiglioli, which suggests that all involved are shooting for a franchise, if along goofy lines. A similar formula was employed for “Pirates Of The Caribbean” series, so no one should scoff.
Thoughts? Are you all in for this action spy comedy? We’ll find out next year. Lionsgate opens “Mortdecai” February 6, 2015
