Wrath of Man (2021) Review

Wrath of Man (2021)

Wrath of Man follows H, who, after starting as a security guard for a cash truck, surprises his co-workers with deadly accuracy during a heist, causing them to become suspicious as his ultimate motive is slowly revealed, taking dramatic and irrevocable steps to get revenge against the men who killed his son. 

You’d be forgiven if you walked into Wrath of Man expecting a snappy, violent, crime caper, what with Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham teaming up for their 4th outing together. The opposite is the case though. While still quite violent, this is Ritchie’s attempt at a quiet, restrained revenge saga, and although a big fan of his style, I admire the change of pace to show that he can do more, even something as serious and convoluted as this. Obviously, this is the same tried and true revenge story that’s been told a million times, with nothing real new added, minus a deeper than originally believed backstory that adds a few layers to the story. 

The draw here really comes from H. Statham brings a subtle hatred about him that, while never fully sure where the film will end up, you just know he is only here to fuck some people up and will stop at nothing to do so. Looping the third gang into the act, and ultimately our real protagonists, adds a certain level of humanity and backstory that makes the third act heist a major payoff, laying the action and violence down heavy, killing just about everyone in the process to make H’s revenge all the more sweeter after Jan betrays his team. 

We get a pretty effective cast too, starring Andy Garcia, Babs Olusanmokun, Alex Ferns, Eddie Marsan, Darrell D’Silva, Niamh Algar, Josh Hartnett, Jeffrey Donovan, Holt McCallany, Scott Eastwood, and Jason Statham. Though Statham plays nearly every single role the exact same, I gotta say, if it fits the story, why mess with perfection, playing H to an emotionally tortured perfection, with some nice villainous turns from Donovan, McCallany, and Eastwood to make it juuust a touch easier to root for H. 

Wrath of Man, directed by Guy Ritchie, is Ritchie as his most serious, substituting his trademark style for a quite, effective film that while certainly no masterpiece, is another fun and exciting entry into his no-nonsense repertoire. 

8.3/10