Review—Wrath of Man (MGM/Warner Bros.)
Author: Palo Sionoplia
Wrath of Man is not your dad’s Guy Ritchie.

Roughly two decades ago, Ritchie and I parted ways. While I could see the talent in idiosyncratic crime comedies like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, I thought the Coen brothers and Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) made better use of the style. I looked elsewhere for high stakes crime capers, and Ritchie’s more recent efforts (Sherlock Holmes, Aladdin, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) did not exactly encourage a reevaluation of the director’s oeuvre.

But now that Wrath of Man has landed on this reviewer’s desk, a time for reconsideration has arrived. Featuring Jason Statham as a metaphorical Angel of Death made flesh, this film is approvingly absent of crooks with quirks, cops with catchphrases, and action rendered as hijinks. Instead, we are treated to a film with darker intentions, and the payoff, while less than perfect, is considerable.

Wrath of Man is a story of consequences, and its narrative focuses on a truck robbery that descends into mayhem. The initial premise is simple and straightforward, though it’s not long before the film adds layers of complexity. Unfolding in a non-linear fashion and from multiple points of view, Wrath of Man’s resembles Rashomon in structure. The film’s narrative depth induces tension-raising questions regarding characters’ motivations, as nobody is exactly as they seem to be. This duplicity is especially true of “H” (Statham’s character), and the cocktail of complex characterization and bone-crunching action makes for an enticing brew.

Despite hitting a number of high marks, Wrath of Man suffers from a bit of bloat. Clocking in at nearly two hours, a more ruthless editor would slice at least twenty minutes out of the picture and craft a leaner, tighter narrative. In an effort to misdirect the viewer, several supporting characters are given too much screentime, and, because these moments are red herrings, they do not pay off in the ways they should. Simply put, when Statham is onscreen, the film crackles. When secondary characters take the spotlight, the lightbulbs go dim.

Technical merits are impressive, and the presentation boasts big-budget picture and audio quality. Facial details are particularly striking; one can practically read the thoughts represented in Statham’s furrowed brow. Curiously, the film has only been released on blu-ray; no UHD is available, even though it seems an obvious choice for a 4k release, given its high-profile director and star and the film’s propensity for action sequences.
As for supplements, those are easily covered: there are none. Absolutely nothing is available other than the film itself, not even a trailer. It’s another choice that boggles the mind and makes this reviewer wonder whether a “collector’s edition” will ultimately manifest.

If, like me, you haven’t paid attention to Ritchie for a while, Wrath of Man merits a look. Ritchie has crafted a memorable film with an incredible performance from Statham, and I am hopeful that we will see more work from the duo in this vein. While the blu-ray release does a disservice to the film, robbing the viewer of the best possible picture quality as well as any supplements, fans of take-no-prisoners crime cinema will nevertheless enjoy the ride.