Johnny Depp is a man of many faces, costumes, hairdos and appearances, obviously. His visages basically fall into two camps 1) looking like Johnny Depp’s “movie guy lead character” (i.e. that sort of generic look from “Transcendence” with those same round glasses he uses in so many of his “normal” roles) and 2) his wild and wacky transformations. But in this first look from his upcoming action comedy “Mortdecai,” well, maybe that appearance splits the difference.
Sporting blonde slicked back hair, a suit and even a handle bar moustache, in “Mortdecai,” Depp plays international terrorist, debonair art dealer and part-time rogue Charlie Mortdecai (well that explains the look doesn’t it?). According to the synopsis, juggling angry Russians, the British MI5, and more, Mortdecai 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.
Hmmm, if you’re looking a little sideways at that, we can’t blame you. For an action-comedy, that all sounds a little bit silly and possibly too frothy, then again it’s based on a successful trilogy of books, so you know Lionsgate is hoping for a franchise.
The movie also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Paul Bettany, and Olivia Munn. The real worry frankly is director David Koepp. He’s one of the biggest and most successful screenwriters for hire in the world (“Jurassic Park,” “Carlito’s Way,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Panic Room,” “Spider-Man”) and it’s likely that if all of us had 10 more lives to live, we’d never be as successful as he has been in Hollywood. That doesn’t negate the fact that the last time Depp and Koepp teamed up, we got the disastrous “Secret Window” (2004) which today still stands as one of the worst movies Johnny Depp has ever been in. So proceed with caution and keep your enthusiasm in check. “Mortdecai” opens February 6, 2015 via Lionsgate.