Justicia Implacable

Guy Ritchie is after Quentin Tarantino and The Coen Brothers one of my favorite directors. With sublime movies like Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and The Gentlemen, he's one of those directors you follow and are curious and excited about when a new movie comes out. But not all his movies are of the same quality. Like Sherlock Holmes for example (which I found mediocre) Wrath of Man is just passable. It's all well directed but the quality is just not there. And it's a movie with Jason Statham, so it speaks for itself what you will get. Statham never laughs, Statham can't be beaten, Statham wants revenge, in short Statham plays the same character every time. A bit like Liam Neeson. I don't say those are bad actors, certainly not, but it's just always the same. Wrath of Man is full of mindless action, a lot of dead people, a lot of questionable scenes (like the heist for example that looked like doomed to fail). I watched the movie trying not to yawn, I was hoping to get those great dialogues Guy Ritchie is known for, but that just never happened. Wrath of Man is just okay to watch once, but that's it, certainly not at the same level as the other movies from Guy Ritchie.

This film from director Guy Richie opens with an armoured truck carrying a significant amount of cash being ambushed in Los Angeles. By the time the attack is over the guards and one bystander are dead and the crooks have vanished with the money. Five months later Patrick 'H' Hill applies for a job at the armoured truck company; he just passes the entrance test and is hired. Soon afterwards a truck he is aboard is attacked. Instead of just handing over the money he fights back, shooting the attackers with military precision. It is obvious that Hill is more than the average person he initially appeared to be. Without giving any details; he is a man on a mission and he is going to end up head to head with his target when a team of thieves plan a robbery that could net then over one hundred and fifty million dollars!

I found this film to be a lot of fun. There is the sort of action one would expect from a crime thriller directed by Guy Richie or one starring Jason Statham... having both virtually guarantees it. While we can guess how things will ultimately work out there are some surprises along the way. The action scenes are exciting, and quite bloody, with frequent shots to the head. The cast is solid with Statham of fine form as Hill. The action is impressively handled with plenty of shooting and a good sense of tension. The story is told in a way that involves quite a few flashbacks; during these we learn more about key characters in a way that avoids revealing too much too early in the film as would have happened with a more linear narrative. Overall it is a solid crime thriller; definitely worth watching if you are a fan of the genre; even more so if you are a fan of Jason Statham and/or Guy Richie.

Good movie. Some reviews say the story is predictable but I disagree.

In L. A., an armored truck is robbed and the two drivers are killed. Patrick Hill (Jason Statham) barely passes the tests to be the new hire at the company. When his truck gets hit, he turns into the Terminator.

This is a Guy Ritchie film. It's a mid-level action thriller. It mostly works although it insists on following the story from all sides which leaves the film at almost two hours. By grouping the different sides separately, they do feel a bit split especially the story of the robbers. I do wonder if the search for the inside man would be a more compelling path. Ritchie is trying for a tighter thriller than his usual. It's him slimmed down. He uses his action skills but this is not going to be considered one of his best or most inventive.

Glad to see a movie that isn't constantly rubbing some sort of political garbage in your face every two minutes! This movie proves you can successfully have a diverse cast that doesn't seem forced. The dialogue is a little contrived at times, which took me out of it, but for a couple hours of shoot em up fun with a semi-clever story (and Statham is pretty bad ass) it's worth the price of admission.