“Wrath of Man” is not your typical Jason Statham movie. It has none of the familiar narrative beats that usually come in an actioneer starring the cockney-accented British musclehead.
Split into three chapters (“A Dark Spirit”, “Scorched Earth”, “Bad Animals, Bad”), the film zeroes in on Statham’s Patrick Hill, a one-man killing machine who infiltrates armored truck company, Fortico Security, to find the psychopath (Scott Eastwood) who killed his son. He’s tapped to partner on assignments with Bullet (Holt McCallany) and hot-headed Dave (Josh Hartnett). Both quickly learn how lethal the new guy they call “H” is when he singlehandedly manhandles seven men in a kidnap-robbery attempt on their truck.
Where did this guy come from?
Director Guy Ritchie makes sure we know by rewinding the narrative to events that transpired five months earlier and better explain H’s state of mind. It all leads to an overshot finale that, despite not exceeding expectations, engrosses the viewer in testosterone-fueled shoot ’em ups.
Ritchie, known for his darkly comic gangster movies, has dramatically reinvented his style here with a hybrid mix of influences, two in particular: S. Craig Zahler and Christopher Nolan.
The Nolan influence stems from the film’s Zimmer-esque score, the time-shifting narrative and the panorama-infused heist sequences. The Zahler nods come in the form of the film’s pulp-infused nihilistic attitude. In fact, you almost wish Zahler had taken a crack at directing this one. Alas, Ritchie is more interested in tackling action rather than the prime revenge narrative at his disposal. Zahler would have done the opposite. Remember kids, character comes before action. As the FBI agent tailing “H” says, “you gotta let the painter paint.” Ritchie doesn’t do that with Statham, and instead throws him into an onslaught of bullets.
SCORE: B-