About the film (courtesy of MGM):
This contemporary movie tells the story of the cold and mysterious ‘H’ as he goes to work at a cash truck company that moves hundreds of millions of dollars around Los Angeles every week. H’s objective is unique and unanticipated, but is only revealed incrementally, utilizing a suspenseful and carefully constructed nonlinear narrative to lay bare his true intentions. Shifting across timelines and various character’s perspectives, Wrath of Man builds to a thrilling, tragic, and inevitably bloody catharsis.
Filmmaker Guy Ritchie has a knack of keeping viewers guessing. While that can be a good thing, sometimes it works against the unconventional maestro of mystery. It’s like this – you’ll either love or hate his works, there’s rarely a middle ground. Sometimes he rubs audiences the wrong way with needless complexity and other times he awes them with brilliantly crafted simplicity. Once, Wrath of Man makes its rounds, I’m thinking that we’re going to have yet another divided film of his to add to the list.
Ritchie goes back to his earlier days of casting in bringing in Jason Statham to star in this feature. This is the second time that the duo has collaborated on a feature, with Snatch (2000) being the first. Personally speaking, Snatch is easily my favorite of Ritchie’s ten films, prior to Wrath of Man. So needless to say, I’ve been pretty jazzed since learning of their big screen reunion.
What we were going to get with Statham’s performance and how Ritchie would use him were pretty much givens. And, as expected, there are no disappoints or surprises on that front. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The wildcards, as with any Guy Ritchie feature, would be the plot and how the cast of talented actors would be used.
On the plot front, Wrath of Man is pretty much exact what you’d probably expect. The complete picture is just out of focus and only comes together as the story is told. The key is to stay focused and wait for the entire meal to be served. With that being said, once again, delivery of these pieces are wildly uneven at times. Portions are truly engaging and make you want to learn more, while others seemingly act as time fillers. And I’m not pining for a “Ritchie Cut” or anything like that, but it does feel as though some valuable content might have been left on the cutting room floor.
As for cast, in addition to Statham, Holt McCallany, Josh Hartnett, Eddie Marsan, Jeffrey Donovan, Scott Eastwood, Laz Alonso and Andy Garcia are just some of the talented folks that help bring this story together. There’s no shortage of star power in this action heist flick. Unfortunately, some of the characters are victims of shallow development and it makes you either not really care about them or feeling irritated that we aren’t given more.
The action thriller overreaches slightly thusly giving the film delusions of grandeur (Den of Thieves (2018) accomplished everything that this one does, and more). Being a day removed and having viewed this film twice, I’ve had time to digest and reflect upon my feeling of the likeability of this one. As a two hour feature, I feel like not enough was done to paint the full picture of all that transpires. There’s no shortage of violence or quips throughout (some border on the cheesy side). For those reasons, along with a serviceable plot and slightly better than pedestrian performances, Wrath of Man is worth checking out…as long as you’re not looking for anything close to perfection. Catch it only in theaters now.
