Wrath of Man

With how long various overused genres are in modern cinema such as thriller and heist flicks, it's very easy to predict plenty of their outcomes. Because of that, it suddenly becomes an important factor of having the right director at the helm to see if they can attempt to shakeup something that could be throwaway forgettable into something competent and watchable. It doesn't even matter who's the main lead in a formulaic film if they aren't directed well. This brings us to another entry to this field, Wrath of Man, which was directed by Guy Ritchie and is based on the French film Cash Truck. I'm not very familiar with Ritchies earlier works that made him well-known such as Snatch but I have seen his recent work such as The Gentlemen (which I enjoyed) and Aladdin Disney remake (which he was the wrong director for). Knowing him and Statham tend to be a winning duo, I decided to make this film my first theatrical visit ever since my full vaccination. I entered the auditorium not expecting anything special and left it having liked it enough but not as much as The Gentlemen. 

What's it about? The story follows crime boss on a revenge mission following a loved ones demise caused by a nearby armor truck robbery. This premise has an interesting approach with its narrative that helps it out a bit. It shows two different perspectives on the events that take place: the main protagonist and the group he encounters. There's a cool eerie violin music bit that plays through that's kinda neat with the suspense leading towards the chaotic climax. The directing of its action is handled well-enough for a cool sequence in the final third.

For all that it does well, there are elements that feel lacking that all lie in the screenplay. The characters don't have that much going for them to latch onto as they are just playing into their given archetypes, so it's impossible to have a connection to them when something bad happens. The predictable format of the premise is easy to figure out throughout the film too, esp. the outcome of the finale. The first act is also the weakest just by moving a bit too slow for its own good before it actually picks up momentum towards it main goal.  

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, and Scott Eastwood. Jason does a solid portrayal into leaning towards an intimidating side of his lead role here, though it's nothing different from what some have seen from him. Holt does a nice job in his scenes working well with Statham and doing enough with limited screen time. Scott gives a competent performance as that arrogant jerk you like to hate just with his mannerisms. Honorable mention goes to Jeffrey Donovan for being an intriguing strategist and was able to standout from the supporting cast. 

 

Overall Consensus: Wrath of Man is a competent heist thriller with solid directing, good suspense, intriguing narrative format, and a cool third act action climax, despite the predictable plot and character archetypes. ⭑⭑⭑1/2 Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes R

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Guy Ritchie. You are in the mood for a basic heist revenge thriller. You want to see how it compares to Ritchie's recent works.

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or filmmaker Guy Ritchie. You aren't in the mood for a basic heist revenge thriller. You want to have investment in the lead protagonist. You are bored with predictable scripts and standard character archetypes.