Wrath of Man [Blu-ray + Digital]
(Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, Josh Hartnett, et al / Blu-ray+Digital / R / 2021 / Warner Bros.)
Overview: Mysterious and wild-eyed, a new security guard for a cash truck surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist.
The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman’s ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score.
Blu-ray Verdict: I remember thinking during watching Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen that I wished he would only make this type of movie from there on out.
He is usually pretty good at whatever he does, but when he tackles the crime/action genre it is something few filmmakers can match.
Not only has he continued to make that style of movie, he has taken a step better than the brilliant film that was The Gentlemen. This time around it is a remake of a French film - and all that says to me is that I need to see that French film now. This was a brilliant ride.
The film opens with a very strange opening scene. We only get one camera view of what is going on which seems very strange at the time (all is revealed later on), but even with the little that we get to see Ritchie’s style shines through and we immediately know we are in for a treat.
We then meet Jason Statham’s character. I have seen a lot of Statham movies over the years and I think this might just be both his best work yet, and also his most badass role. He was unreal in this film!
As for the inner plot, well, Statham does a really good job of portraying a grief stricken father who uses patience to get his revenge against the thugs who destroyed a part of his life.
Hence, the small amount of back story we are given, the gun battles and even the propelling soundtrack are all spectacularly well executed by the director, the main actors, and even the secondary characters.
I also liked Jeffery Donovan as the leader of the heist crew as he continues to get better in every film he is in (but Burn Notice was excellent from start to finish, am I right!)
If I had to play Devils Advocate here, the only thing it appeared to be missing was the characters profound intentions and history, as we never get to know about some of the characters true role in the film; hence, there are a lot of missed opportunities.
In closing, the pacing of this movie is incredible. Nearly two hours and I guarantee you wont check your watch once! So, if you need to pass two hours as quickly as humanly possible, then put on this film now! This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.39:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
Wrath of Man will be available on Digital June 29th, 2021 and on Blu-ray and DVD on July 13th, 2021. The Blu-ray disc features the film in hi-definition and the DVD features the film in standard definition.
Official Trailer