Wrath of Man

The fourth collaboration between director Guy Ritchie and actor Jason Statham, and the first time in 16 years, Wrath of Man is an action thriller that is reminiscent of Ritchie's past crime films but having a much darker and serious tone and with no big comedic moments and dialogue. Initially told in a linear style, there are moments wherein it goes into a past event before then going back to the present so as to better explain the story and the characters. Statham plays Hargreaves, the head of a crime syndicate whose son gets killed by armored truck thieves due to being a witness. After he's unable to find the thieves involved through attacking other crime organizations, Hargreaves realizes that the attack on the armored truck was an inside job. Thus he changes his identity so as to get hired at the same armored truck company from which he suspects someone may be in league with the criminals that killed his son. All the while, we see what the armored truck thieves' lives are like, all of them from the same military platoon and discontent over their lives after the fighting, eventually getting into robbing armored trucks. Jeffrey Donovan plays the leader of the thieves, while Scott Eastwood is the hotheaded Jan and Holt McCallany is the mole in the company. After months of Hargreaves on the job, which includes an attempt to rob a truck by another group of thieves that he took down by himself, and the platoon planning to steal from the truck facility itself, it all culminates in a violent and bloody shootout. While the story itself isn't entirely new, being a remake of a 2004 French, it does tell its story really well and Ritchie's use of flashbacks does make it stand out from many crime films. There are moments in the beginning that you start to question but are answered clearly through the flashbacks. They never feel forced and come in during a scene that is much slower then what came just before and then coming back just at the right moment. The performances from Statham, Donovan, Eastwood, McCallany and everyone else are all well done and strong. One issue being how composed Hargreaves is when on the armored truck job even when they're being hijacked. Sure, he took down thieves with ease and some backed away when they saw his face, but most of his coworkers should be more weary of him but act like its completely normal. Statham is great and his motivations are understandable, but when he gets the truck job he should have given him more personality so as to avoid suspicion. The score from Christopher Benstead and Alan Stewart's cinematography aren't anything too exciting but they're perfect for such a gritty and violent movie. By and by, Wrath of Man is a standard crime film but is a lot more thanks to Ritchie's direction, the performances, and how it tells its story. Over all: 92%

2021 top list so far:

1. Nobody

2. Raya and the Last Dragon

3. Wrath of Man