The Wrath of Man
Director: Guy Ritchie
Writer: Nicolas Boukhrief, Eric Besnard, Guy Ritchie, Marn Davies, Ivan Atkinson
Starring: Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, Rocci Williams, Josh Hartnett, Jeffrey Donovan, Scott Eastwood (the living reminder that at one point Clint Eastwood didn’t look like leather), Andy Garcia (for all of two minutes), Eddie Marsan
Reason for watching: New release
Number of times I’ve watched it: first time viewing
***
Listen. I don’t know who keeps killing or maiming Jason Statham’s relatives, but ya’ll need to leave this guy alone. He clearly has anger problems will mess up anyone, even The Rock, to get some of the sweet sweet vengeance. (Yes, Fast and Furious fans. Jason Statham won that fight. The rock ended up on the top of a car three stories below where most of the fight took place. That’s an L.
Oh yeah! I watched Statham in a movie that Guy Ritchie made that came out this weekend. It’s not bad! H (Statham) joins an armored truck business after said business gets hit by a crew and H’s son gets killed. There’s a lot of twists and turns and style for miles. Along the way, there are plenty of shootouts and heated moments of criminal violence to keep us interested. And eventually, there is a big heist that goes terribly wrong for the thieves and the armored truck employees. I won’t spoil the plot so you can go watch it yourselves. Trust me, the theaters need it.
If there is one thing Guy Ritchie does well, it’s stamping his signature style onto a movie. The story and setting really feel lived in. I suppose a movie does have something to gain by not being able to go into the backstory of every character or place that appears on the screen. Just establish a tone, and the audience can fill in the blanks. Guy Ritchie gets that. There’s plenty of tracking shots here that make good use for letting our character live in this rich gangster atmosphere that just oozes swagger. Statham’s entire demeanor in this movie communicates just how dangerous and capable he is. He gest to be the right amount of over the top as well without veering into Crank territory (I could insert a very graphic scene here that would send the message, but you could also just take my word for it and understand that those movies are INSANE). And at the same time, the final action scene at the end is so bombastic that you can’t help but enjoy every second of it.
Of course, there have to be drawbacks with a story like this where it’s your generic heist and revenge plot. Nothing you see here hasn’t already been done by another British actor who also gets plenty of roles where he kills people. Also for a Guy Ritchie movie, it lacks in the comedy department. I don’t like promoting movies where Matthew McConaughey isn’t trying very hard, but at least The Gentleman had some comedy to it. A little bit more comedic timing would’ve kept me interested during the scenes where characters are expulsing dialogue.
It’s a shame that as the movie business is trying to come back to the big screen that we aren’t getting the biggest and best entries yet. I know the studios are trying to delay those movies as much as possible so they have a bigger audience to bring in more dollars. I’m not rooting for these studios to go out of business, but I hope they know they’re playing a game of chicken with an audience that has no incentive to get off the tracks.
6/10
Until I see another one