Liver, lung, spleen, heart …

By Sebastian Purcell

Wrath of Man, directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Jason Statham (both the Fast and Furious and the Transporter franchises), is a pulsating thriller that oozes influences of James Bond, the Joker’s bank heist (The Dark Knight) and Sherlock Holmes.

‘H’ a quiet and mysterious new security guard for Fortico, a private armoured cash truck company, shocks co-workers as he saves his crew during a heist. With a score to settle and a personal hunt for those who took the most valuable thing from him, revenge and greed promise to lead to irreconcilable and devastating outcomes.  

Wrath of Man is a remake of the French film Le Convoyeur (Cash Truck). Ritchie directs with film noir references, dark, low lit scenes, often composed through doorways, offering partial views to the audience, obscuring the totality of the scene playing out, adding to the sense of anticipation. The score composed by Christopher Benstead compliments this, heavy and largely unrelenting, moving between resemblances of a beating heart or punctuated throughout like the heavy gun fire unloaded throughout the film.

The film certainly commands attention, and is split into four acts, each titled and while not necessarily in order, the film is cohesive and coherent, and is well paced as edited by James Herbert. The narrative is logical, but neither emotional nor unique, trading on the Oceans 11 / Sherlock Holmes style; describe a mission in the planning phase as it’s being carried out, which ultimately does the work for its audience rather than being clever or innovative. 

While the action scenes, of which consume almost the entire runtime, are captivating and the performances of a relatively large ensemble cast are serviceable, they are almost entirely lifeless. Statham is stoic, inhuman like in the face of grief and gives an action man performance making it a rather two-dimensional performance. The most tragic of events are given little more than an afterthought. They serve as a plot point and motivation for Statham rather than anchoring the narrative or performances in any emotional strength. Additionally there’s no light and shade, the minimal attempt at humour is confined to locker room banter. 

Man of Wrath is a polished Hollywood, action-packed thriller, with twists and turns aplenty. It’s suitable for mature audiences (MA15+), especially those who are fond of Ritchie’s cinematic style.

In cinemas from April 29, 2021.