Wrath of Man Explained: What’s Up With the Ending?

Collector company Fortico, Los Angeles. During the next transportation of a large amount, unknown people in masks attack the cash-in-transit car. They cut out the car door with an autogen, pull out the collectors from there, one of the attackers kills them, after which they take the money and hide.

Two months after this story, a certain Patrick Hill (Jason Statham) comes to Fortico to get a job, who is nicknamed H (from the first letter of his last name) in the company. H used to work for a large European company and has an excellent track record. Nevertheless, H passed the tests only for the necessary minimum, but this was enough for him to be hired.

Among Fortico’s collectors, it is customary to tease each other and make all sorts of dirty jokes about each other: H, as a beginner, also constantly let all sorts of hairpins, and Dave, nicknamed Sweaty Guy (Josh Hartnett), is especially zealous in this. However, H does not react to jokes at all, and something in the behavior of this guy shows that if it is quite difficult to offend him, then he himself can seriously offend anyone.

Literally on the second exit of H, on which he was with his main partner, nicknamed Bullet (Holt McCallany) and the Sweaty Guy, an attack was made on the cash machine. The attackers disarmed the bullet, Sweaty Guy went into hysterics, and H, completely dispassionately, accurately and methodically, shot all six attackers.

After that, Fortico realized that H was very, very difficult. And that he obviously came to the company not just to work. But who he is and what he needs – this remains to be seen.

***

Interestingly, this is a remake, which is directly written in the opening credits of the film. A remake of the not-so-famous 2004 French crime thriller The Collector starring Albert Dupontel. I saw this movie and wrote a review of it. A good film shot in the old realistic style.

But Guy Ritchie, of course, did not do the usual remake of a French film. In fact, from the “Collector” he took only a story about how some mysterious person comes to work in a cash collection company, in which attacks on employees are periodically made, that the company itself has a “mole” gunner and that, in the end, criminals they attack the firm itself, – that’s it, nothing more has been taken from there. The motivation of the main characters here and here is completely different, and the plot in the original is completely different.

However, Richie turned out not quite a “Guy Ritchie film”, by which we mean his author’s films like the recent chic “Gentlemen”. (Commercial projects where he worked as a hired director, like Sherlock Holmes, The Agents of A.N.C.L., and other Aladdins are quite different.)

“The Wrath of Man” is more similar in style to an American old-school action movie: the action takes place in the States, in Los Angeles, and the film features mostly American actors. However, the main role is played by Briton Jason Statham, whose film career Guy Ritchie launched twenty-three years ago with the film “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.” Then there was “Snatch”, and after a while – a very strange and frankly unsuccessful film “Revolver”, after which Richie and Statham broke up for fifteen years. And now Statham is the protagonist of the new film of this director.

However, despite the American style, and despite the fact that Richie somehow managed to do without his favorite London gopniks in the film this time, some of the director’s signature tricks are present here. Firstly, the action is divided into three chapters and each chapter has its own title. Secondly, there are a lot of flashbacks in the film and the action in it develops non-linearly. We are first shown how H gets a job at Fortico, and only then they explain who he is and what he does there.

However, I note that in fact, for some reason, all the main spoilers were shown in the trailer – apparently, believing that the point here is not in the plot. And it really is – the point here is not in the plot, but in how it’s all staged and played.

Here, as I said, there is such an old-school action movie, and in the most positive sense of the term. Brightly masculine, and within reasonable limits, not steamed by all this “new ethics”, where a white guy is not recommended to be the main character, and filmed very, very cool.

Statham seems to always play the same character – a laconic, unemotional and very distrustful British unshaven strong man, but, firstly, as a rule, he does it quite well, and secondly, Richie actually brought Statham to the cinema and Statham, Perhaps nowhere did he look more classy than in this movie.

He is still taciturn and unemotional, however, as d’Artagnan said in Twenty Years Later: “Oh, why is Grimaud not here, silent Grimaud! I would understand a lot from his silence. Grimaud was silent so eloquently!” So Statham is silent here extremely eloquently, the role is very, very powerful. And his character turned out to be realistic: you really believe that this person is incredibly dangerous and it’s better for no one to stand in his way. And there is a very well done episode, when H just comes to Fortico, and his collectors – themselves, it must be said, quite capable men – traditionally begin to tease, but somehow their jokes quickly subside. They feel that it’s better not to tease this person. Well, to what it is, you will be more whole.

In addition to Jason Statham, there are enough good actors here. I really liked Holt McCallany, who played partner H. Bullet (in the United Statesn translation, as I understand it, they called him Machine Gun, but he is Bullet, a bullet). Holt McCallany did an excellent job in Mindhunter, and here he probably has the second most important role in the film. The bullet turned out to be very textured: powerful, self-confident, quite ironic. I really liked him.

Josh Hartnett, who for more than fifteen years – since “Lucky Number Slevin” – has not appeared in notable film projects, here played a rather typical, but nevertheless interesting character: his Dave plays a tough guy, and as soon as some problems begin begins to panic and hysteria. And Hartnett played great here, I liked it.

Among the male team of collectors there is one woman – Dana. She is not inferior to men in terms of coolness, and this character is noticeable and bright. Danu was played by a very interesting actress of Irish origin, Niv Alga – I noticed her in the series “Raised by Wolves”, where she had a great role, and here she also played very well.

Well, the main villain, Jena, who H is hunting for (this is shown in the trailer, so not a spoiler) was played by Scott Eastwood, strikingly similar to the young Clint Eastwood (unbelievable, but true). Jen is from the series “a specific asshole, because of which everyone will definitely get in trouble”, but the character is nevertheless quite vital, and such people are often found. And no mask can hide the signature Eastwood look, which is cool.

With the setting, too, everything is interesting. Guy Ritchie continues to experiment with the format, so this is such a crime noir filmed with great skill, accompanied by a very effective and impressive soundtrack (composer – Christopher Benstead). Richie had never filmed like this before, but, unlike the experimental “Revolver”, here, as they say, the experiment was a complete success – because it is really very coolly done.

The reliability of what is happening Guy Ritchie is not too interested in, therefore, about Hitch’s terminator survival after the first execution, which in particular after the second execution made from a submachine gun, we’d better keep silent, well, against this background, the claim to how the bad guys took away $ 180 million on two ATVs, when such an amount should weigh under two tons – it is completely superfluous.

Done great? Great! Played great? Excellent! Liked? Yes! Well, figly you then find fault?

And we don’t quibble. Well done Richie, GO ISCHOO!

By the way, write, write. Work is already underway on the action thriller “Five Eyes”. Cast – Jason Statham, Josh Hartnett (Ritchie apparently liked it), Aubrey Plaza, Hugh Grant, Evgenia Kuzmina (aka Parker Block). Well, let’s see, it’s interesting.

Wrath of Man movie review

Director: Guy Ritchie Cast: Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Hartnett, Laz Alonso, Alex Furns, Raul Castillo, Deobia Oparei, Scott Eastwood, Niv Alga

Crime thriller, UK-USA, 2021, 119 min.

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