Written by: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, Marn Davies
Starring: Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Hartnett, Laz Alonso
Rating: [3/5]
Nothing can quite carry as much fear as a parent seeking revenge for the damage done to their children. An emotion built on the foundation of parenthood that many films have shown can lead those who carry a particular set of skills to cause some damage. Wrath of Man joins this category of vengeful parents making for something allowing its lead actor to flex his muscles in a straightforward and mildly entertaining movie.
Signing up to work for an armored truck company, Patrick Hill (Jason Statham) presents a competent but unremarkable employee. When their armored truck faces the threat of robbery, he displays some exceptional skill. This raises some questions about his true identity as this armored truck business contains more deception than initially meets the eye.
Told in multiple parts from different perspectives to display the full story, Wrath of Man seeks to tell quite the story of revenge here with a truly mysterious character. This lack of clarity exists for the other characters and the audience as well as we try to comprehend what Hill wants to achieve and the lengths he would go to attain it. This leaves a fairly entertaining feature with plenty of deception and action to satisfy anyone in the mood for it.
If anything this feature highlights the danger that obviously exists when working for an armored truck company. As you can imagine when the job involves operating an armored vehicle and holding a handgun, some danger will exist and this film seeks to display exactly how drastic things can get. This inherently builds some paranoia for anyone taking on this job with the amount of money they hold and these employees standing as the only thing between a robber and a hefty sum of funds. Certainly not a job most people would take because of this danger, but Hill’s apparent skill makes him perfect for the gig and provides him the avenue he needs in order to carry out the revenge he seeks.
As the intentions and motivations of the characters become more apparent, the danger of the circumstances continues to build, which Guy Ritchie seeks to craft through his feature. Following a slew of tongue-in-cheek films he crafts something bereft of humor for the most part and very much wants to play things very seriously. Certainly when involving a serious topic like revenge for the death of their child, the mood and tone of the feature match it for the most part. This has Ritchie playing in a different sandbox, which is certainly refreshing in its own way. Compared to recent works like Aladdin and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, which utilize a much more light-hearted and comedic approach to their stories.
Then looking at Jason Statham delivers a typical Statham performance in exuding his rogue and rough British persona in these circumstances. Because of his history of portraying these assassins throughout his career, it almost feels a bit silly watching him pretend his character will actually just portray some normal guy as the first portion of the film insinuates. As audience members, we do not fall for this act at all, but it’s quite funny to see Statham try and portray just some average guy for a few minutes until he inevitably begins to kick butt and kill these bad guys with fine precision.
Ultimately enjoyable if not remarkably original, The Wrath of Man enters as a welcomed addition to Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham’s filmographies. It provides just enough intrigue in its story in the reveals it sets to make as Hill seeks revenge for the death of his son. We go on this journey with him and take on all of the surprises with him. The shootout and action sequences do deliver a decent amount of exhilaration for the most part as it all culminates into a competent and enjoyable movie anyone can throw on if they seek something to provide some mild entertainment but nothing needing much thought or analysis.
Films with Josh 