Wrath of Man

Wrath of Man is a 2021 American action thriller film directed by Guy Ritchie, from a script he co-wrote with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, and is based on the 2004 French film "Cash Truck" by Nicolas Boukhrief. It is Ritchie's fourth directorial collaboration with lead actor Jason Statham, and first since "Revolver" (2005). Statham stars as H, a new cash truck driver in Los Angeles who thwarts a robbery only to have his mysterious past begin to get questioned. Holt McCallany, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Hartnett, Laz Alonso, Chris Reilly, Raúl Castillo, DeObia Oparei, Eddie Marsan, and Scott Eastwood also star.
"Wrath of Man" was released in several countries on April 22, 2021, and in the United States on May 7, and is scheduled to be in the United Kingdom on July 23. It has grossed $56.9 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot.
Patrick Hill begins work at Fortico Security, an armored truck company. After being commended by the superior Terry for his references, he is introduced to Bullet, who nicknames him "H" and oversees his training. H gets off to a rocky start with his colleagues, particularly Boy Sweat Dave, over his mysterious nature. One day, Bullet is taken hostage during a drop and the kidnappers demand the $2 million in their truck. When H and Dave meet the kidnappers, H easily dispatches them with expert marksmanship. During a later attack on H's truck, he steps out when the truck is flooded with tear gas, at which point the robbers retreat on seeing him. H later sleeps with co-worker Dana Curtis and holds her at gunpoint to interrogate her about a private cash stash he finds. She claims she stole money once from a liquor store for retirement savings, but insists it was the only time. H spares her life, but threatens further repercussions if he learns she is withholding further information.
Five months earlier, H is out with his son Dougie when he gets a call asking him to help with the recon of an armored truck for a robbery and reluctantly agrees. H stops on the other side of the bridge from the armored truck depot, and asks Dougie to wait in the car while he goes to a food truck by the depot. He calls to reveal the location of the truck as he gets food, but as the truck goes under the bridge, it is attacked by a different group of thieves dressed as construction workers, who kill the guards as well as Dougie for being a witness. When H runs toward them, he is gunned down as well, but survives. H is then revealed to be Heargraves, the boss of a crime syndicate; the syndicate's members were the men who made the second attack on H's truck. After Dougie's mother holds H responsible for Dougie's death and leaves, H demands to find the men responsible. After exhausting a list of suspects, and coming up with no possible leads, Heargraves' associate suggests that the robbery was an inside job. H says he will fly back to London to clear his mind, but actually arranges a contact to provide him with the forged identity of Patrick Hill, as well as the autopsy report of Dougie's death.
The thieves of the construction job are a former military platoon, commanded by Jackson, and the man who killed the guards and Dougie is revealed as Jan. Struggling to make ends meet, the group decides to start stealing money in increasingly ambitious heists planned in great detail by Jackson and Tom, while maintaining the façade of normal lives with families, except for Jan. They first attempt to steal from a wealthy man for whom their fellow ex-soldier Carlos works as security, but come up with only a few hundred thousand dollars. They then resolve to utilize contacts in armored truck companies to steal millions of dollars. When they are given the Fortico heist, Jan kills the guards and Dougie against the wishes of the rest of the team.
Some months later, 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 when Bullet reveals he is the thieves' insider, and asks H to cooperate to avoid death. The thieves, dressed in full body armor, hide in the truck to gain access into the depot and begin taking hostages, including Terry and Dave. One worker triggers the alarm and the workers behind the weapons desk begin shooting at the thieves, but are easily dispatched. H chokes Carlos and takes his body armor to fight back, inspiring Dave to do the same while Terry hides. Realizing they may not make it out, Bullet breaks his cover and kills Dave, Dana, and the remaining guards and shoots H. Bullet, Jackson, and Jan are the only ones to make it out of the depot, though Jackson is critically wounded. They evade police and make it to a garage where they have access to underground tunnels. Believing Jan will try to kill them, Jackson takes out a pistol, but Jan stops him and slits his throat. When Jan and Bullet make it to the end of the tunnel, Bullet takes out a gun to try to kill Jan, but Jan kills him first. Jan successfully makes away with all the money before the police can deduce what happened. At Jan's apartment, he finds a phone ringing in one of the money bags, which was planted there by H to track his location. H confronts Jan with Dougie's autopsy before shooting him in the same places Dougie was shot, killing him. H turns in the money to his FBI contact and drives off with one of his associates.
Production.
It was announced in October 2019 that Guy Ritchie was writing and directing an English language remake of the 2004 film "Cash Truck", with Jason Statham set to star. Holt McCallany joined later in the month. Filming began in November between Los Angeles and London, with Scott Eastwood, Jeffrey Donovan, Laz Alonso, Josh Hartnett and Niamh Algar added to the cast, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer taking on U.S. domestic distribution for the film. In January 2020, Raúl Castillo was added to the cast.
Christopher Benstead, who previously worked with the director on "The Gentlemen", composed the film score. Sony Classical released the soundtrack on May 7, 2021, coinciding with the film's release.
Release.
Theatrical.
The film was released internationally in several countries, beginning on April 22, 2021, including Russia, New Zealand, Australia, and Germany. It was later released in the United States on May 7, 2021.
It is set to be released in China on May 10. The film was originally set for release in the United States on January 15, but was pulled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later rescheduled for April 23, before being pushed to May 7.
Reception.
Box office.
, "Wrath of Man" has grossed $15.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $41.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $56.9 million.
In the U.S., the film made $3 million from 2,875 theaters on its first day of release, including $500,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $8.1 million, topping the box office. Men made up 60% of the overall audience, with 72% being over the age of 25. In its second weekend the film dropped 55% to $3.7 million, finishing second behind newcomer "Spiral".
In the film's opening weekend in Australia, it has grossed $1.34 million. It also made $201,000 in New Zealand and $3.79 million in Russia. In its third weekend of international release the film made $13.5 million, as well as $18.5 million in its Chinese opening weekend.
Critical response.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 203 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Wrestling just enough stakes out of its thin plot, "Wrath of Man" sees Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham reunite for a fun, action-packed ride." According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 57 out of 100 based on 34 critics, the film received "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 77% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 57% saying they would definitely recommend it.
Alonso Duralde of the "TheWrap" wrote: "Ritchie's reunion with leading man Jason Statham delivers the scheming, the shooting, and the swearing that the director's fans have come to expect, by the bucketload." Mae Abdulbaki of "Screen Rant" gave the film a 3.5 out of 5 stars rating, stating that "the film balances multiple storylines with intense action sequences and, despite pacing issues, packs a major punch that will keep audiences riveted."
Writing for "Variety", Peter Debruge said: "A few years ago, when Sam Mendes left the Bond franchise, Ritchie's name was floated as a possible replacement. He didn't take the gig, but "Wrath of Man" shows that he certainly could have, classing up his signature technique while never quite abandoning the cockney swagger." Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing: "Tired, uninspired and meandering, "Wrath of Man" is a step backward for Ritchie, a step sideways for the stoic-for-life Jason Statham (reteaming with Ritchie for the first time in 16 years) and a misstep for anyone who invests their time and money on 118 minutes of such convoluted and forgettable nonsense."
Taekwondo Life Magazine's Editor wrote, "This is a unique and well-made film. "Wrath of Man" is revenge film, wrapped in an action film, set in the backdrop of a crime drama."