Wrath of Man (2021) - This Guy's Is Awesome!

 

★★★★★

Director Guy Ritchie is known to me only for his magic of turning the old and faded 'Sherlock Holmes' into something new and modern, not perfect obviously but good enough to be remembered. I haven't got to check out any other film of his ever since, but I always appreciate his unique and innovative approach to some classic, ancient stories.

'Wrath of Man', Ritchie's latest, featuring action star Jason Statham, I don't know how many times they've worked together before but Statham seems to be a regular in Ritchie's films. Whatever, this is the best crime thriller I've ever seen in years, hands down. It's nerve-wracking, heart-pounding, and no bullshitting right from start to finish! There's no so called break-time in between. Not a single shot or sequence is purposeless. Every conversation makes you frown and agitate. Every kill and move brings about more puzzles. Every twist and turn makes you want to dig in more. It keeps you seated still and focused all the way till the end credits start to roll. This is an incredible demonstration of intriguing storytelling, slick editing, stylish camerawork and eerie score. Ritchie's direction here is absolutely of genius.

'Wrath of Man' is a crime thriller to me rather than a pure action flick like 'John Wick' or 'Nobody' and stuff. The action scenes are, as a matter of fact, few and not as explosive and fancy at all! if you see Statham as an action hero here and take it an action-packed 'Fast and Furious' sort of, you'll be definitely disappointed. The real backbone of the film is not the action but the story that is told non-linearly in several chapters if you wonder. You'll be rather curious about Statham's H in the first 50 minutes of. But even after you're already told his back story and what he's actually up to, the film doesn't seem to be losing its grip and momentum at all as you're yet to find out who exactly he is up against. And you'll have to stick around till the last 10 minutes to see how his wrath is finally eased.

'Wrath of Man' belongs to the Neo-noir genre, which means a dark film, but it appears to be not so, especially when you see that H manages to keep his cool and clear-headed no matter how wrathful he really is inside, and finally gets to finish what needs to be finished. Of course in a film like that, dark side of humanity and certain brutality are always present, and there's no such a thing as good vs. evil. Good or evil is not what you see but just how and when you see it! 'Wrath of Man' is a very satisfying, stylish crime thriller not to be missed. It's one of the best in years, and easily the best of the year so far.