VENICE LIDO, Italy – With “Wolfs,” George Clooney and Brad Pitt drive a custom-built action comedy that lets them banter and bounce insults.

Written and directed by Jon Watts (three Spider-Man hits), “Wolfs” gives these pros a reason to reunite.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, separately and together,” Clooney, 63, said. “Part of what was fun about this was, there’s a rhythm to talking over, on top of one another, right? There really is. You have to be able to hear one thing to be able to answer it and not step all over each other.

“Over a period of time, we just had a rhythm. We just felt like, It’s easy. It just felt like that, the minute I read the script, the way we kind of blast through.”

Watts had the notion that the guys are “cleaners,” highly secret pros who make problems disappear – for a sky-high fee. From removing a body to sanitizing a crime scene.

The joke is both Pitt and Clooney are summoned to a luxe Manhattan hotel where the city’s District Attorney (Amy Ryan) needs a body removed.

“Both think they’re the best,” Clooney said, as they’re soon speeding – and running – all over lower Manhattan and Chinatown in pursuit of the drug-fueled Kid (newcomer Austin Abrams).

“Besides being in New York, shooting nights in winter, he,” Pitt, 60, noted of Abrams, “had to spend most of the time in his underwear. I mean, it was daunting, the whole thing.”

As a buddy movie, “Wolfs” cherishes being a throwback to the ’70s and classics like “The Sting.”

“We hold the ‘70s as the greatest. I don’t think it’s something that we set out to do as far as a flavor here,” Pitt said.  “But it’s in our DNA. So anytime we get we can bump up, get close to those films that we hold in such high regards, is a real thrill for us.”

Both stars produce and act (and Clooney directs).  What’s most important?

“Tell a story,” Clooney said. “Whether it’s from behind the camera, or from across town, it’s about getting a story to speak to our time.

“Part of the reason we produce is because you want to be able to continue working in this industry that we love. I hadn’t acted very much in recent years, so I’ve been moving back to that a little bit. And it’s fun. I’m 63 years old and get to still do what I love and enjoy.

“I grew up cutting tobacco leaves on a tobacco farm for $3.30 an hour. So this is all just icing on the cake.”

“Wolfs” streams on Apple TV+ Sept. 27