We all have what I would call party tricks. I can’t take credit for that term, I’ve used it ever since my first viewing of The Avengers, in which Dr. Banner (Mark Ruffalo) refers to his transformation as a party trick - but I digress. I’ve been told that I look like a guy who listens to heavy music and watches horror movies, which is true, but not the sole reason for my existence. If you’ve read some of my reviews, or even heard me on the podcast, you know that I am very passionate about horror movies. It’s almost exclusively what I write about on this website, as our editor-in-chief can attest. However one of my favorite movies is Mean Girls. It is one of the only movies that I can quote practically every word, front to back.

I call it my party trick because it’s the furthest thing from horror. Usually people are fairly surprised to hear me do the “Kevin G.” rap in full. For his new movie, Jason Statham got to bring out a few party tricks of his own. Statham reteams with The Gentlemen director, Guy Ritchie, for an adaptation of the French novel Cash Truck in Wrath of Man. Statham plays “H”, a gentleman who ends up working at a company that moves around significant amounts of money. When H’s truck gets robbed, he is able to pull off a few of his party tricks and place the robbers in their place. No surprise that his co-workers are a little taken by surprise. 

As the film progresses we also learn that H has a secret agenda of his own. Who doesn’t like a man with some mystery? Everyone has their own secrets along with their party tricks. It helps to ground Statham’s approach to the character more in realism than anything else. Statham excels in roles like Wrath. The English charm that can be found in other movies like Spy or The Expendables isn’t really here outside of a few scenes. His brooding approach to the role makes his performance extraordinarily effective. Statham is capable of conveying a fair deal of emotion without ever having to open his mouth.

As I previously mentioned, audiences get to experience more of the mystery of who H is as the film progresses. Unfortunately, the way in which they approach this portion of his character feels out of place. Wrath almost feels better suited for a limited Netflix series than film. The structure of the film is more in line with The Witcher than traditional heist films, which is both good and bad. It’s good in the sense that as a member of the audience you didn’t know what was going to happen next. I love that feeling of the unexpected. However it also came with its own negative consequences: Wrath feels like it spends a bit too much time on these sequences. The film begins to take on the persona of a collection of short films, a la V/H/S or Creepshow, rather than a film.

I respect the fact that Ritchie took his time to flesh out both his antagonist and protagonist. Rather than a two hour movie, Wrath might have been better suited for a four to six episode season. While it can feel like we spent a lot of time with these backstories in the middle of the movie, Ritchie never missed a beat. The film is consistently entertaining and paced marvelously. While Wrath could have felt more at home in another medium, Ritchie used every second of the screen time to tell a story that never feels rushed, consistently has you entertained, and draws you to the edge of your seat, all while tugging on the heart strings.  

Jason Statham has garnered a reputation by now for being an action star. Wrath doesn’t fail to deliver the goods on the action. Incredible fight choreography is littered throughout this film that all lead to an extremely satisfying climax where Statham reminds you why we love him. This film feels like a throwback to the action movies of the 1980s, not just with its action but also its score. The compositions of Christopher Benstead’s soundtrack are an enormous standout for this movie. His use of strings is impeccable. Benstead is able to elevate scenes to new emotional heights. Several times throughout the film he proves himself to be a master of his craft. 

This cast is fairly vast. By now, I guess it’s worth mentioning that Ritchie typically uses ensembles to tell his stories. Wrath is no different. While there are definitely memorable performances, Josh Harnett is a standout. The actor doesn’t have that much screen time, but he goes above and beyond to make the character fully three dimensional. His character has tremendous growth throughout the film. His final moments are among some of the film’s highlights. That is just a testament to how good of a job Ritchie did on the script. I wish the same could be said for other characters. In the beginning we met two cop characters who seem to be dirty. It’s a plot line that seems like it’s going to unravel, but nothing ever came of it. Same with Andy Garcia’s role. Garcia has a few scenes and gives the impression he could be an important character, but the film did anything with him - a huge loss for Wrath, given the talent of Garcia. 

Overall, Wrath of Man is an edge of your seat thriller that manages to establish great characters among some bumpy terrain. Jason Statham is simply incredible in this movie, bringing some of his signature English charm but mostly delivering a brooding emotional core that works wonders for the movie. The pacing is incredible, the fight choreography is top notch, and the score is spectacular. The film’s structure can be an issue from time to time, adapting a collection of short films over to the more traditional long form format. Guy Ritchie does it again with Wrath of Man; it is excellent in nearly every way.

RORSCHACH RATING:

Mental Health Moment: Without ruining the mystery to Statham’s character, he does endure some fairly traumatic experiences throughout the film. It is what really makes him function for the majority of the movie. There is one scene in particular where Statham is telling his boss that he’s fine. To which his boss responds “these things can take time to manifest”. A couple of years ago, we did an episode on trauma and learning to heal from it. I’m not an expert or professional in this field, by any means. I sat down with a trauma specialist with over 20 years experience. To best recognize how to process trauma, I would recommend her episode and also our resources.

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Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Wrath of Man is property of MGM and Miramax. We do not own nor claim any rights.

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