So you’re a director, whose last three films did pretty well, earning nearly $4 billion in total at the box office – thanks Spidey – what do you do next?

Well if you’re Jon Watts, you decided to write and direct a far smaller, more intimate project, that doesn’t involve any superheroes whatsoever. Oh but just so happens to star George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

Unwinding in a luxurious hotel in the city is Margaret (Amy Ryan). She meets a young man there, a sweet attractive kid (Austin Abrams), who she decides to invite up to her room, and he eagerly says yes.

They’re about to have some fun when the kid gets a little too excitable and ends up having a fatal accident. Now Margaret, who is high up in government, finds herself in a room with a dead body and doesn’t know what to do.

She then remembers she has a number of a guy she can call, who has a reputation for taking care of situations like this. So she gives the guy (Clooney) a call, and he arrives shortly after. He’s briefing her on what needs to be done, when there’s a knock at the door, which neither is expecting.

Margaret answers it, and it’s another guy (Pitt), who does the same thing as the guy who’s already in her room, but he works for the hotel. So now Margaret finds herself in a room with one dead body and two fixers. Although you would think two heads are better than one, she quickly gets the distinct impression that these two individuals aren’t the type that work well with others.

After that particular CGI-tastic trilogy, this is probably the perfect antidote to the Marvel universe for Watts, who has written a hugely enjoyable crime drama.

It may well be smaller in scale, but certainly having close friends Clooney and Pitt involved comes with its own welcome baggage. It’s an anti-buddy crime caper, which has a quiet, unassuming pace about it, with an intriguing thread running through it.

You get exactly what you expect from the worlds most sought after leading men, going head to head, with some crisp dialogue exchanged between the two throughout.

There is a curve ball in the way of Abrams however, whose bold performance serves as a delicious catalyst to both Clooney and Pitt, as well as the story.

Watts is subtly flexing his talents throughout, to good effect it has to be said, in both the writing and directing departments, clearly enjoying a new sense of freedom with the Marvel shackles off. And it’s obvious the off screen pals are having a blast, making for not only a fine pair of performances, but a wholly enjoyable crime thriller to sink your teeth into.