Wrath of Man Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros/MGM)
Wrath of Man is a heist film co-written, produced, and directed by Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, The Gentleman, Revolver, & RocknRolla). It is a remake of 2004’s French crime thriller Cash Truck (aKa Le Convoyeur). It was produced by Bill Block (The Gentlemen, Halloween franchise, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, Haunt, Fury, and Vanilla Sky). This is the fourth collaboration between director Guy Ritchie and lead actor Jason Statham. .It grossed $100.5 million worldwide at the box office!!!!
Wrath of Man is separated into four parts, each chapter circling back to one main event that sets off a chain reaction. “A Dark Spirit,” an armoured truck is robbed by heavily armed individuals dressed as construction workers. Five months after the robbery, a mysterious Patrick Hill (played by: Jason Statham from The Meg, The Expendables franchise, Transporter franchise, Crank 1/2, and Hobbs & Shaw) applies to Fortico Security, an armoured truck company. In his interview, his superior, Terry (played by: Eddie Marsan from The Gentlemen, Ray Donovan, Deadpool 2, The World’s End, and Hobbs & Shaw) commends him for his references and then he is introduced to to the team lead Bullet (played by: Holt McCallany from Mindhunter, Greenland, Fight Club, The Losers, and Justice League). “H” gets off to a rocky start with his new colleagues especially “Boy Sweat” Dave (played by: Josh Hartnett from Most Wanted, Sin City, 30 Days of Night, Halloween H20, and The Faculty). During a training pickup, “Bullet” is taken hostage, and the kidnappers demand the $2 million in their truck. “H” quickly disposes of them with expert marksmanship. The police investigators assigned to the robbery question “H” about his true abilities against his training. The police investigators later identify “H” to their superior, FBI Agent King (played by: Andy Garcia from The Godfather: Part III, The Mule, Smokin’ Aces, and Ocean’s trilogy), as someone the Bureau had been looking for 25 years. “H” is visited by a woman who gives him Fortico employee files, photos of coworker Dana Curtis’ (played by: Niamh Algar from Raised by Wolves) family, and an autopsy report. “H” reviews a copy of the robbery footage shown to him by the police investigators. The second part, titled “Scorched Earth,” begins with a flashback five months earlier. “H” is out with his son Dougie (played by: Eli Brown from Gossip Girl) when he reluctantly agrees to a work call asking him to help with the recon of an armoured truck route. “H” makes an excuse to get some burritos at a food truck and stops on the other side of the bridge from the Fortico depot. Dougie stays in the car while he goes out. While waiting by the food truck, “H” calls his underling to confirm the truck’s route. As the armored truck goes under the bridge, it is attacked by the disguised and heavily armed construction workers, who kill the guards for trying to fight back as well as Dougie for witnessing one of their faces.
When “H” runs toward them, he is gunned down as well but survives. Three weeks later, “H” wakes up in a hospital after life-saving surgery and learns of his son’s death. He is in complete shock, showing little emotion, even when his wife claims their son’s death was his fault and leaves him. “H” meets up with FBI Agent King and requests intel. “H” is then revealed to be Mason Hargreaves, the boss of a crime syndicate. His syndicate’s direct underlings Mike (played by: Darrell D’Silva from Northmen – A Viking Saga), Brendan (played by: Cameron Jack from Death Race 4: Beyond Anarchy), and Moggy (played by: Babs Olusanmokun from Gotham) are the men who will make the second attack on “H’s” cash truck. It’s suggested that the robbery was an inside job. Local contact, Kirsty (played by: Lyne Renée from The Gentlemen) provides him with the forged identity of Patrick Hill. In the third part, “Bad Animals, Bad,” we meet a bored former military platoon consisting of Carlos (played by: Laz Alonso from The Boys), Sam (played by: Raúl Castillo from Army of the Dead), Brad (played by: Deobia Oparei from Game of Thrones), Tom (played by: Chris Reilly from Game of Thrones), and Jan (played by: Scott Eastwood from Suicide Squad, Pacific Rim: Uprising, The Fate of the Furious, Fury, and Texas Chainsaw), commanded by their platoon leader Jackson (played by: Jeffrey Donovan from Burn Notice, Honest Thief, Let Him Go, Fargo, and Villains). Struggling to make ends meet, most unemployed or working underpaid jobs, the group decides to start stealing money in increasingly ambitious heists. The heists are planned in great detail by Jackson and Tom, while maintaining the facade of ordinary lives with families except for Jan. Each heist comes with increasing wealth and costs. The last part, titled “Lungs, Liver, Spleen, Heart,” is set back in the present. Jackson and Tom bring the team together for a much larger but riskier final heist to steal over $150 million from the Fortico depot on Black Friday. “H” and “Bullet” are riding together for the drop. Four of the thieves, dressed in full body armour, hide in the truck to gain access into the depot. Their goal is to keep the scene drama-free, open the gate to let Jackson’s vehicle in, and empty the depot before SWAT arrives 8 minutes later. Once the hostage cash truck successfully enters the depot, they take hostages. It all comes together here & everything that’s happened before collides into this dangerous situation. Can “H” get his revenge & save the money????
Wrath of Man is something completely different from director Guy Ritchie. Usually, you can tell it is his film by his trademarks including visuals and dialogue but this one kinda feels more like a QT feature than anything which is rather interesting because both filmmakers are nothing alike for the most part. The script is creative and it keeps you on your toes with all the twists and reveals. I love how Wrath of Man is broken down into a few different segments and timelines here. When it all connects, it makes it so much better. It’s a nice little crime, revenge, and action cinematic puzzle. Jason Statham gives his best performance in a long time in this. His character does everything in his power to give himself a chance at revenge. Holt McCallany and Jeffrey Donovan were really good as the leaders on opposite sides in this heist flick. I really liked how the villains had a legit reason for this and they were just trying to provide for their families after serving their country. Scott Eastwood is the biggest surprise here. Honestly, I’ve always thought he was just okay in most things that I’ve seen him in the past but he stole the show here as the real baddie in the movie. He played a brutal mercenary that only looked out for himself and couldn’t be trusted. He made all the other villains here look like good guys compared to him. He looks exactly like his iconic father and I hope he continues to improve like this in future roles. Wrath of Man has a strong supporting cast that includes Laz Alonso, Josh Hartnett, Eddie Marsan, and Andy Garcia. This is more than your average heist film, it has some great characters and it really makes you think when viewing it. It’s loaded with action, violence, suspense, and twists until the very end. This is definitely one of the better films of this year so far and it would make my top 10 at the moment. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Warner Bros! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks stunning on blu ray! This gritty crime thriller really shines here. The atmosphere, production design, and locations look great in HD. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is better than expected considering what they could have went with for this home video release. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the heist action has a killer boost to it, and the music is elevated here. It has English SDH subtitles. This blu ray has no extras on it at all. It does come with a slipcover and a digital code. This belongs in your crime collection ASAP. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
