Wrath of Man

Glad to see a movie that isn't constantly rubbing some sort of political garbage in your face every two minutes! This movie proves you can successfully have a diverse cast that doesn't seem forced. The dialogue is a little contrived at times, which took me out of it, but for a couple hours of shoot em up fun with a semi-clever story (and Statham is pretty bad ass) it's worth the price of admission.

In L. A., an armored truck is robbed and the two drivers are killed. Patrick Hill (Jason Statham) barely passes the tests to be the new hire at the company. When his truck gets hit, he turns into the Terminator.

This is a Guy Ritchie film. It's a mid-level action thriller. It mostly works although it insists on following the story from all sides which leaves the film at almost two hours. By grouping the different sides separately, they do feel a bit split especially the story of the robbers. I do wonder if the search for the inside man would be a more compelling path. Ritchie is trying for a tighter thriller than his usual. It's him slimmed down. He uses his action skills but this is not going to be considered one of his best or most inventive.

This film from director Guy Richie opens with an armoured truck carrying a significant amount of cash being ambushed in Los Angeles. By the time the attack is over the guards and one bystander are dead and the crooks have vanished with the money. Five months later Patrick 'H' Hill applies for a job at the armoured truck company; he just passes the entrance test and is hired. Soon afterwards a truck he is aboard is attacked. Instead of just handing over the money he fights back, shooting the attackers with military precision. It is obvious that Hill is more than the average person he initially appeared to be. Without giving any details; he is a man on a mission and he is going to end up head to head with his target when a team of thieves plan a robbery that could net then over one hundred and fifty million dollars!

I found this film to be a lot of fun. There is the sort of action one would expect from a crime thriller directed by Guy Richie or one starring Jason Statham... having both virtually guarantees it. While we can guess how things will ultimately work out there are some surprises along the way. The action scenes are exciting, and quite bloody, with frequent shots to the head. The cast is solid with Statham of fine form as Hill. The action is impressively handled with plenty of shooting and a good sense of tension. The story is told in a way that involves quite a few flashbacks; during these we learn more about key characters in a way that avoids revealing too much too early in the film as would have happened with a more linear narrative. Overall it is a solid crime thriller; definitely worth watching if you are a fan of the genre; even more so if you are a fan of Jason Statham and/or Guy Richie.

Sticking to the lower budget roots that got him a start in a big way thanks to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, Guy Ritchie has followed up his minor but well-received The Gentleman with Wrath of Man, a crime thriller that sees the divisive but entertaining director get his favorite lad Jason Statham back on leading man duties.

The last time these two long term friends teamed up was for the near forgotten about Revolver, a film that is actually a lot better than you may remember it being, and Wrath of Man is far more straight forward than that affair, with Ritchie remaking European film Cash Truck to deliver a hard-boiled and gritty 90's like action/thriller that gives Statham some of his best material in years.

It may surprise many that this reforming of Ritchie and Statham see's the usually flamboyant director dial things back a notch or two with his hyperkinetic visuals and edits few and far between here and his cockney tinged humor reigned right in as we instead get a mostly humorous free affair following Statham's mysterious H in a new job for a cash truck company that has recently been hit by a deadly heist and seems destined to be targeted once more by a group of elite robbers looking to make a quick buck.

With some bleak but atmospheric cinematography from Alan Stewart, some moody and effective scoring from composer Christopher Benstead and some grizzled performances from co-stars Holt McCallany, Jeffrey Donovan, Scott Eastwood and for what feels like the first appearance in eons from Josh Hartnett, Wrath of Man is a solid all round package that benefits from Ritchie's experience hands as he delivers a non-linear examination of what lead H down this new employment path and who exactly is behind a string of well-oiled robberies taking place across Los Angeles.

There's certainly nothing new or unique about Wrath of Man's central plot or the moments that litter its runtime, in many ways this the definition of a vengeance/crime thriller rulebook in action but there's a sheen and professionalism on display throughout the film and with Statham having an absolute blast (figuratively and at times literally) being back with one of his longest serving collaborators and with some genuinely great set-pieces that ramp up to a pulse-pounding finale, Wrath of Man may not be top-shelf Ritchie, but its top-class crime thriller fare that will please all genre diehards.

Final Say -

Refrained Ritchie with just enough pizazz and flair to make you remember whose behind the camera, Wrath of Man is a throwback crime thriller with a killer lead character and some great set-ups, making this a consistently fun and impressively filmed watch without ever doing anything of a true noteworthy nature.

3 1/2 burritos out of 5.

I am surprised of some reviews that are saying about frustration from this movie. What did you expect from the Ritchie's film with Statham in 2021? Sophisticated drama with Oscar winning plot?

In fact I got from "Wrath of Man" exactly what I expected - charismatic and not very complicated action movie of a good quality. The only surprising moment for me is a gloomy atmosphere of the whole story. But Jason 100% fits this dark drama.