Based on the 2004 French Film Le Convoyeur (Cash Truck), Wrath of Man is an action-thriller film directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Jason Statham. It is the fourth collaboration between the duo having first worked together on Revolver in 2005.
H (Jason Statham) is a quiet person who is mysterious about his past, he is hired by Fortico Securities, a cash truck company that transports money across Los Angeles. While on the job, H and two of his colleagues Bullet (Holt McCallany) and Boy Sweat Dave (Josh Hartnett) get caught up in an attempted robbery but rather than lose his cool, H shows that he is extremely calm under pressure as he is no stranger at shooting a gun and is an expert at hand-to-hand combat. It is soon revealed that H is looking to get revenge for something that happened to him in his past.
As a fan of the previous films made by this duo, I went in with somewhat high expectations, but I have to say that the film left me feeling underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, Wrath of Man is by no means a bad film but I felt like it was lacking the personality that you have come to expect from a Guy Ritchie film. Sure, Wrath of Man is still violent and full of unpredictable twist and turns, however, I felt that the film needed some more lighthearted moments to take the edge off from its dark, serious tone. Jason Statham does have a few funny one-liners that only he can deliver in his instantly recognisable British accent but it didn’t feel like enough to break up the seriousness of the film. I think that Josh Hartnett’s character Boy Sweat Dave was supposed to offer some comic relief. Unfortunately, he comes across as annoying and obnoxious most of the time.
The actions scenes are highly entertaining, but that shouldn’t come across as too much of a surprise when you have Jason Statham as your leading man, and even though H is a very intense character, I would have liked to have seen a little bit more of Statham’s charisma shine. The film is shot and edited in an atmospheric way, which helps to emphasise the darkness of Wrath of Man – completely expected from Guy Ritchie. This was done by using basic colour schemes, so colours such as black and white are used a lot for filming locations, on set and even with the characters’ outfits. The film’s score composed by Christopher Benstead, suits Statham’s character H, and only enhances the overall dark mood of the film.
Wrath of Man is a film that is worth watching if you enjoy your action-thrillers. But if you are a Guy Ritchie fan and are expecting the film to be similar in style to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch than you may just be setting yourself up for disappointment.
Wrath of Man is in cinemas now.
Ah-mazing review, got me intrigued about the film, will still watch 🙂