Venice, Italy - For George Clooney, it felt like second nature making wisecracks and sparring with Brad Pitt in their new action comedy Wolfs about two professional fixers begrudgingly forced to work together.

The high-profile production starring Hollywood's two top leading men is one of the highlights of the 10-day Venice Film Festival, where it has its out-of-competition premiere on the glamorous Lido Sunday night.

"It just felt from the minute I read the script, from the minute we got on the set, that sort of banter, the way we blast over each other every time, it just felt easy," Clooney told a press conference ahead of the premiere.

The 63-year-star kept the wisecracks coming, telling reporters of his sidekick: "I'm much younger. I know I don’t look it, but I'm much younger."

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"He's 74, and he's lucky at this age to be still working," Clooney joked of 60-year-old Pitt, grinning at his side.

The 81st edition of the world's oldest film festival has been awash with stars this year, with the highly anticipated appearance of Clooney and Pitt preceded by the likes of Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett to Angelina Jolie – Pitt's ex-wife.

In the Apple Studios production from director Jon Watts – director of the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy – Clooney and Pitt are both called in to clean up after a crime but soon find themselves in over their heads as the situation spirals out of control.

Together, Clooney and Pitt have a palpable on-screen energy and easy rapport that the Coen brothers tapped in 2008's Burn After Reading, and that was evident in the trilogy of heist films Ocean's Eleven (2001-2007).

"In Burn After Reading, I had the supreme pleasure of shooting him (Pitt) in the face, and so I thought we'd try again," joked Clooney.

Pitt was more diplomatic: "I've got to say as I get older, just working with the people that I really enjoy spending time with has really become important to me."

The film – whose title references the fixer played by Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction – gets only a limited theatrical release before going to streaming around the world on Apple TV+ September 27.