Wrath of Man

Ever since "The Godfather" came to the theaters back in 1972, we have seen a plethora of these types of films repeatedly. We've seen "The Godfather II", "Casino", "The Departed", "Goodfellas", "Killing Them Softly" to mention just a handful, so when Guy Ritchie starting coming into his own as a filmmaker, he had produced a number of these kinds of films, i.e. "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", "Snatch", "The Gentlemen", and now we have "Wrath of Man".

Mysterious and wild-eyed, a new security guard, Patrick Hill, or H (Jason Statham), as he's called is hired for a cash truck company which transfers large sums of money across the LA area. As he goes out with co-guards, Bullet (Holt McCallany) and Boy Sweat Dave (Josh Hartnett), he surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he really is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman's ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score. What is this score to settle, and will he succeed?

Others to round out the cast are Rocci Williams as Hollow Bob, Jeffrey Donovan as Jackson, Scott Eastwood as Jan, Andy Garcia as Agent King, Deobia Oparei as Brad, Niamh Algar as Dana, Laz Alonso as Carlos, Raul Castillo as Sam, Chris Reilly as Tom, Eddie Marsan as Terry and Tadhg Murphy as Shirley. 

This was grittily directed by Guy Ritchie ("Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" '98, "Snatch" 2000, "Swept Away" '02, "Revolver" '05, "Suspect" (TV movie) '07, "RocknRolla" '08, "Sherlock Holmes" '09, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" '11, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." '15, "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" '17, "Aladdin" '19, "The Gentlemen" '19) plus shorts and video shorts. As with this filmmaker's resume, he definitely has a distinct style with the way his films are shot--they're slick, and with quick editing to emphasize the frenzy of the scenes. This style definitely helps to create the suspense and the full impact of the fact as it's a thriller--this is truly a director that showcases each film he has his hands on. It was well thought out by writers Ritchie ("Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" '98, "Snatch" 2000, "Swept Away" '02, "Revolver" '05, "RocknRolla" '08, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." '15, "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" '17, "Aladdin" '19, "The Gentlemen" '19) plus TV and shorts, Ivan Atkinson ("The Gentlemen" (story) '19) and Marn Davies ("The Gentlemen" (story) '19), based on the film, "Le Convoyeur" by Nicolas Boukhrief and Eric Besnard. Unlike most mob type films, Ritchie usually puts a whole new spin on the story bringing the audience to a point where they start questioning where this story is heading. It comes to a point where the script looks like it's totally convoluted, but this is clearly the genius of a Ritchie film--keep the audience in the dark, but only to a point, lest they start getting disinterested. He writes from one point in the story, then he shoots back in time a bit, then goes ahead a bit more all leading up to the final climax of the story. Since the other two writers collaborated with him on "The Gentlemen", I suspect it was his idea to gain their insight on the story of this film with their writing. His approach to screenwriting isn't necessarily unique, but the way he implements this style makes it unique in and of itself. Other than a couple of very few inconsistencies in script, this storyline kept me riveted. 

This is not your typical heist film where the armour truck is stopped, robbed and that's it. Oh no. This goes way beyond that premise. So when you see the trailer to this, believe me, there is so much more to it than meets the eye. Ritchie clearly has cornered the market in how he presents his films unlike a lot of other filmmakers. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                        Rated: R                                                 119mins.