Saturday 1 May 2021

Film Review: "Wrath of Man" (2021).


From the director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and The Gentlemen comes Wrath of Man. This action thriller film directed by Guy Ritchie, written by Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, and based on the 2004 French film Cash Truck by Nicolas Boukhrief. A mysterious and wild-eyed new cash truck security guard surprises his coworkers during a heist in which he unexpectedly unleashes precision skills. The crew is left wondering who he 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.

In October 2019, it was announced that Ritchie was writing and directing an English language remake of Boukhrief's 2004 French Thriller Cash Truck, with Jason Statham set to star. By November, Holt McCallany, Josh Hartnett, Eddie Marsan, Jeffrey Donovan, Laz Alonso, Scott Eastwood, DeObia Oparei, Josh Cowdery, Andy García and Rob Delaney rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and took place in Los Angeles, California and London, England. The film was originally set for a January 15, 2021 release date, but was pulled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later rescheduled for April 23, before being pushed to May 7.

The film stars Statham, McCallany, Hartnett, Marsan, Donovan, Alonso, Eastwood, Oparei, Cowdery, García and Delaney. It's the actors' conviction, no matter how bloody or ridiculous the plot turns, that gives the movie much of its loony premise.

Its central chess-game conceit is over-convoluted and infuriating, finally sliding into risible silliness in the third act. An unwieldy, short-circuiting film, packing "more tricks than a clown's pocket" yet imbued with brute spiritual force. Given Ritchie's penchant for flashy, in-your-face twists, we trust all will be revealed in good time. But as the film rolls on -- and on and on and on -- it becomes painfully apparent that Ritchie's firing blanks. Ritchie has packed the film with so much 'substance' that it completely overwhelms his still somewhat charming style. And I mean it when I say the rest of this thing is a nonsensical mess. An absurd combination of Stanley Kubrick, Robert Siodmak and Roger Corman, this film can't decide what it is or what it wants to be. The problem with the film is that it is Ritchie's first attempt at a 'serious' look at the American police world, but the result is so ridiculous and muddled it's almost a little embarrassing. Under all the stylistic flash and dash, his movie is barely comprehensible; its big surprise ending is no surprise at all; and its coda almost seems like an insult. Ritchie remains hopelessly inept at delivering a caper flick that's as fun as it is flashy, but now he looks like a one trick pony too. Ritchie returns to his crime-pulp roots, only this time he gets all ridiculous, too. It's a deadly combination. The film can come off like Death Wish crossed with a police procedural. But I suspect that not many other people will agree.

Simon says Wrath of Man receives:



Also, see my review for The Gentlemen.

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