Guy Ritchie is a writer/director who
can run hot and cold. Last year, he stumbled a bit with the uninspiring The
Gentlemen. However, he's back on track with the entertaining heist thriller
Wrath of Man.
The movie (now in theaters), based on
the 2004 French film Cash Truck, opens with an armored truck robbery
that goes horribly wrong. A few months later, a mysterious man (Jason Statham)
gets a job working as a driver for that armored car company, transporting
millions of dollars at a time across Los Angeles. Soon, it becomes clear to
Statham's co-workers and local crooks that the new guy is both not what he
seems and not someone to be trifled with.
To reveal more about the plot would
spoil the fun. The script jumps back and forth in time, but it never feels like
a gimmick. It actually serves the story to tell it in that manner. Neither
Statham nor Ritchie are breaking any new ground here, but they both deliver the
goods.
After a pandemic year where not many
new films were released in theaters, and the ones that were tended to be of the
very serious variety, hopefully Wrath of Man will be the start of a
summer full of fun genre fare on the big screen. Wrath of Man is currently
playing at the AMC Elmwood Palace 20, the AMC Clearview Palace 12, and the AMC
Westbank Palace 16.