Before I start talking about the film at hand, I feel like I should bring up that this marks my first time going to a theater since March of 2020, well over a year ago. So, as theaters start to open up, I urge anyone who may be thinking about the theaters to do so responsibly. I had both my vaccinations already, and I went double masked, better to be safe than sorry. Had the theater been packed, I maybe would have considered going at another time. Just be sure to follow the recommended guidelines. And don’t worry, I won’t wax poetic about the joys of returning to the communal experience of the cinema, I’m sure we’ll be getting plenty of that nonsense for months to come.
Wrath Of Man is the latest film from Guy Ritchie, remaking the 2004 French film, Cash Truck, by Nicolas Boukhrief (which I have not seen, though I did try, it’s surprisingly hard to find) with the help of co-writers, Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. It follows Patrick Hill (Jason Statham), later nicknamed “H,” who takes up a job at a cash truck company. However, one day when he is out on the job with a co-workers, Bullet (Holt McCallany), and Boy Sweat Dave (Josh Hartnett), they come face to face with robbers. Unfortunately for them, H takes them out with a fierce and deadly precision, puzzling his crew. There is more to H than meets the eye.
It’s interesting seeing Wrath Of Man as a follow up to Guy Ritchie’s previous film, The Gentlemen. I liked that film fine enough, but I had mixed feelings on certain elements, and it just seemed like Ritchie trying to prove to himself that he’s still got it. In a sense, he does still got it, but his age is showing, and his art is refusing to grow up with him. Wrath Of Man feels like a true evolution of Ritchie’s style and sensibility, one that still contains a number of his quirks, but with a patient and more methodical implementation. Think of it like the difference between Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction versus something more recent like Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Wrath Of Man is a mean film, it’s Ritchie at his most ruthless and dark. It isn’t without its moments of humor, which is stemmed more from banter than it does from the situations at play. The pacing isn’t as relentless as his previous films, and while the storytelling is filled with flashbacks, flashforwards, extended flashbacks with a whole set of new characters, it’s really not that complicated or hard to follow. Instead of an eclectic array of pop and classic rock songs, the film makes great use of Christopher Benstead’s brooding score, which sets an ominous and menacing tone that feels like something you’d listen to in anticipation for the end times.
The film also marks the returning collaboration between Statham and Ritchie, both of whom practically set their careers going together with their one-two punch of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, though they didn’t work together since 2005’s Revolver. Ritchie knows how to utilize Statham, he knows how to channel his sneering look and distinctive voice to great effect. H is a mystery, but Statham has the kind of presence to keep a character like that engaging, having become one of the best western action starts in recent memory, and Ritchie takes advantage of that because whenever H is let loose on some bad guys, it’s like watching a full on slasher film.
It helps that he is surrounded by a number of capable character actors who bring a lot to the table, even if it might not seem like it on paper, like one of my recent faves, Holt McCallany, as well as the likes of Jeffrey Donovan, Darrel D’Silva, Eddie Marsan, Niamh Algar (who I’ve recently come to admire due to her strong work in the excellent HBO Max series, Raised By Wolves), Andy Garcia, Rob Delaney, Babs Olusanmokun, and Josh Hartnett, (I’m just delighted in seeing him on the big screen again), among others. I also can’t forget to mention Scott Eastwood, who finally delivers a genuinely great performance as a nasty and violent criminal, who proves more important to the picture than one would initially expect. He’d fit right in as the big bad in one of his dad’s old westerns.
If The Gentlemen was meant to be a return to form for Guy Ritchie, Wrath Of Man is a signal that he has plenty more to offer under his sleeve. While the trailer might sell this like a fairly generic Jason Statham vehicle, which honestly would have been fine by me, the film itself offers something very unexpected, something much more visceral and more primal. The title “Wrath Of Man,” is very appropriate since this is a film driven by wrath, and it does not hold back. It’s a classic down and dirty crime flick, the best of its kind since 2018’s Den Of Thieves. It’s not a story of heroes and villains, just villains and the even-more-villainous. While the film keeps you in anticipation, it holds tension really well, and when the action does hit, it’s brutal and loud and really satisfying. There’s all around quality work from Ritchie’s recent collaborators like composer, Christopher Benstead, as well as editor, James Herbert, and cinematographer, Alan Stewart. It’s not as flashy as one would expect for a Guy Ritchie crime flick, but it’s still slick and contains some inventive and impressive shots that really draw you into the experience. I really dug the hell out of this film, it’s A+ cinematic savagery, easily among Guy Ritchie’s very best work, and if this is any indication of where he is going as a filmmaker, consider me fully on board.
Wrath Of Man is now out in theaters.