‘Wrath of Man’ Review: Short Bursts of Action that Quickly Fade

Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels will forever and always be the epitome of Guy Ritchie filmmaking with colorful cast of characters, sharp and witty dialogue, and high-impact action. They’re the films I always hope to see as inspiration whenever Guy Ritchie directs another film. While he started to make a comeback with 2019’s The Gentleman, his latest film has all of the action but none of the character. Like a shot of adrenaline, Wrath of Man delivers short bursts of intense action that quickly fade leaving you with a lackluster story that’s largely forgettable when all is said and done.

H (Jason Statham) is just starting his new job working as a handler for a cash truck company that moves millions of dollars on a daily basis. Naturally that attracts some of the worst criminals looking for a quick payday, and it isn’t long before H experiences it firsthand. H is no stranger to danger, however, and he is quickly able to take control of the situation, much to the surprise of his fellow coworkers. You see, H has ulterior motives for joining this particular company as months ago he and his son were bystanders to a similar robbery that left him in the hospital and his son dead. Now out for revenge, H will do whatever it takes to find the ones responsible for his son’s death, and nothing is going to get in his way.

Jason Statham perfected the whole calm and collected action hero who looks cool while doing practically anything, and he delivers plenty of badass moments in Wrath of Man. In fact, he’s the one doing all the heavy lifting throughout the film, delivering one of the only performances that’s worth watching. What surprised me the most was just how boring and uninspired the dialogue and all the other characters are. Typically with Guy Richie films that’s not a problem, but Wrath of Man absolutely fails to deliver.

Almost everyone aside from Statham is practically the same character only with a different look. All of the cash truck handlers act alike with their jockey personas and meathead commentary, even the single woman handler, played by Niamh Algar. The same can be said of all the robbers. Everyone feels so generic and just going through the motions. I also don’t need to see the robbery that triggered the events of the film three times from the perspectives of the cash truck drivers, then H, and then finally the robbers themselves. Wrath of Man’s story isn’t that complex. In fact, it’s rather predictable in its delivery. It’s no surprise when the man on the inside turns out to be the person you suspected the whole time.

Generic plot aside, the action is halfway decent. Jason Statham still has that swagger and calm intensity that he brings to most of his roles. Good or bad, he’s the guy you always tend to root for and Wrath of Man is no exception. He can be absolutely brutal in disposing of somebody in the way and he does it so effortlessly it’s terrifyingly impressive and fun to watch. His presence alone is enough to strike fear in others, and the anticipation of knowing what is about to go down is half the fun of the film as well.

I can’t help but be disappointed with Wrath of Man because it’s clearly not Guy Ritchie at his best. It’s nowhere near that to be honest. The action is there, and Jason Statham still has those qualities that command any scene he is in, but there’s no heart to the story, resulting in an action film that’s as generic as they come. After The Gentlemen I thought we were going to see bigger and better things from Guy Ritchie. Now, I’m not so sure.