Johnny Depp was once labeled the greatest actor of his generation and, like many greatest actors of their generations, he’s gone through a bit of a rough patch, role-wise. Where he was once known for his versatility and indie choices, he’s now become a caricature of his former self, appearing in too many Disney movies and blasé thrillers where he basically plays the same quirky character over and over again. Maybe this will all change with the upcoming comic thriller Mortdecai though, in which Depp plays a charming international spy/terrorist/art dealer/all around rogue who also sports one remarkable mustache.
The plot of Mortdecai seems like a good one: Depp is Charlie Mortdecai, the aforementioned rogue, who races to recover a stolen painting that supposedly contains a code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold. The film is based on the book trilogy by Kyril Bonfiglioli and is set up as a sort of comic take on the spy thriller genre. We can expect this to be strictly in the comic vein, although hopefully not quite as silly as The Tourist, Depp’s last foray into the comic thriller genre.
The real concern in the midst of all of this is director David Koepp, the man responsible for Secret Window and the screenplay for Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. That does not fill me with optimism for Mortdecai, despite a cast that boasts Depp, Ewan MacGregor, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Paul Bettany. However, Koepp has had some hits in the past, including the enjoyable Premium Rush, so perhaps this will be more than a little diverting. I certainly hope so, if only because I want to like Johnny Depp again.
Mortdecai will hit theaters on February 6, 2015, so we have a little while to wait.