Wrath of Man (2021)
Wrath of Man is a 2021 heist action thriller film directed by Guy Ritchie, from a script he co-wrote with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, and is loosely based on 2004 French film Cash Truck written by Nicolas Boukhrief and Éric Besnard, and directed by 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 whose thwarting of a robbery leads to his skillset with guns and mysterious past being questioned. Holt McCallany, Jeffrey Donovan, Chris Reilly, Josh Hartnett, Laz Alonso, Raúl Castillo, DeObia Oparei, Eddie Marsan and Scott Eastwood also star.Plot.
In Los Angeles, an armored truck robbery leaves two guards and a bystander dead. This sets off a chain reaction of events, told in four parts. Five months after the robbery, Patrick Hill joins Fortico Security as an armored truck guard. His manager Terry commends his references, and company trainer “Bullet” nicknames him “H”. Hill barely passes his training, and gets off to a rocky start with his colleagues, including “Boy Sweat” Dave and Dana Curtis. During a pickup of over $2 million in cash, Bullet is taken hostage. Hill convinces a panicked Dave to comply with the robbers’ demands, before disposing of the entire crew with expert marksmanship. Questioned by FBI agents investigating the first robbery, Hill is assigned to desk duty as a precaution, but Fortico’s CEO returns him to working in the field. The investigators identify him to their superior, Agent King, as someone the FBI has been hunting for 25 years, but King tells them to leave Hill alone.
Bullet and Dave share their suspicions about Hill, who sleeps with Dana and questions her at gunpoint about her stash of $125,000. She claims to have stolen the cash from a liquor store pickup, and Hill shows her photos of her parents, threatening them if she is withholding information.
Five months before joining Fortico, on the day of the first robbery, Hill is with his son Dougie. Revealed to be working with the robbery crew, Hill grudgingly agrees to monitor the armored truck’s route, leaving Dougie in the car. The robbers hijack the truck, and spot Dougie nearby. Racing back to his son, Hill watches as Dougie is executed, and is shot himself and left for dead. Three weeks later, Hill wakes up in the hospital. Blaming him for Dougie’s death, his wife leaves him. He meets with King, who gives him a list of possible suspects and agrees to temporarily turn a blind eye.
Hill is actually Mason Hargreaves, a notorious crime lord; determined to find Dougie’s killer, Hargreaves and his men — led by Mike, Brendan, and Moggy — kill nearly everyone on King’s list, without results.
Mike voices his concerns about retaliation, and Hargreaves agrees to lay low in London, but instead assumes the identity of Patrick Hill and joins Fortico to continue the hunt himself. It was Hargreaves’ own crew who attempted the Chinatown robbery, until Mike recognized him. Sometime before the first robbery, a group of disgruntled veterans — Carlos, Sam, Brad, Tom, Jan, and their former sergeant, Jackson — decide to become thieves. They rob Carlos’ wealthy client, resulting in only a few hundred thousand dollars. With help from an unidentified guard who served under Jackson, they pull off a more ambitious heist of an armored truck. Later, Hargreaves and his men help them arrange the Fortico heist; unaware of Hargreaves’ identity, Jan needlessly shoots the guards, Dougie, and Hargreaves, who sees Jan’s face.
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Development.
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.
The film was released internationally in several countries, beginning on April 22, 2021, including Russia and Australia. It was later released in the United States on May 7, 2021. The film was originally set for release in the United States on January 15, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later rescheduled for April 23, before being delayed two weeks later. The film was released in China on May 10. In the United Kingdom, the film was originally going to be released by the British arm of Lionsgate. However, the film was ultimately released straight to streaming as an Amazon Original on Prime Video on 10 December, 2021. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on July 13, 2021, by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment/Studio Distribution Services and MGM Home Entertainment. The film was added to Paramount+ on March 23, 2022.Box office.
As of July 20, 2021, Wrath of Man has grossed $27.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $76.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $104 million. In the U.S., the film was released alongside Here Today and 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.RELATED:
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Critical response.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 66% of 237 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 36 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.Cast:
- Jason Statham as Patrick “H”
- Holt McCallany as Haiden “Bullet” Blaire
- Josh Hartnett as “Boy Sweat” Dave Hancock
- Jeffrey Donovan as Jackson Ainsley
- Scott Eastwood as Jan, former military
- Andy García as FBI Agent King
- DeObia Oparei as Brad, former military
- Laz Alonso as Carlos
- Raúl Castillo as Sam
- Chris Reilly as Tom
- Eddie Marsan as Terry Rossi
- Niamh Algar as Dana Curtis
- Darrell D’Silva as Mike
- Babs Olusanmokun as Moggy
- Rob Delaney as Blake Halls, Fortico boss
- Eli Brown as Dougie
- Lyne Renée as Kirsty
- Post Malone as a robber
- Alex Ferns as John (Sticky John)