Statham began to work increasingly on American genre movies over the years that followed, eventually joining franchises like The Expendables and Fast & Furious. The pair earned largely positive reviews for their snappy gangster-crime flicks, allowing Ritchie to stand out alongside the many other Tarantino imitators that emerged in the late '90s (post- Pulp Fiction), and sending Statham on his way to becoming the bonafide action star he is today.Īfter re-teaming on the far less successful 2005 crime-thriller Revolver (which was heavily influenced by Ritchie's interest in Kabbalah at the time), the pair went their separate ways. Statham made his screen debut in Ritchie's very first feature-length effort, 1998's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and would go on to work with him again on his second, Snatch, two years later.
The filmmaker and actor go back a long ways.
But Ritchie also allows the actor to mature a bit, to grow from a cocky young buck into a man carrying an unspoken burden that motivates his every move.Director Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham's untitled new movie is already done shooting. Statham has cornered the market on performances that are stoic and lethal, and that’s all Ritchie asks of him in “Wrath of Man,” surrounding him with a murderers’ row of beguiling character actors, allowing Statham to be the chillingly still eye of the storm. “Unflappable” doesn’t even begin to describe his ability to stay cool, calm and collected in the face of mayhem, inspiring some to describe him as a “dark spirit.” The quiet H stands out among the jocular and colorfully nicknamed drivers, who taunt and talk smack to one another.
Statham plays H, the new guy at a Los Angeles-based armored-truck company, Fortico, where the drivers have come to see themselves as prey for increasingly brazen predators, bands of highly trained thieves dressed like construction bandits or motorcycle gangs who rob the trucks in broad daylight and have no qualms about murder. (Christopher Raphael / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures) Utilizing the core creative team of his past few films, including cinematographer Alan Stewart, editor James Herbert, and composer Christopher Benstead, every element works splendidly in concert. With Statham in the lead, playing one of his classically taciturn and tactically lethal action heroes, Ritchie is as restrained and controlled as he’s been in years. So “Wrath of Man” feels like a homecoming for director and star, and an evolution, too.
One could say that the two made each other stars. When Ritchie burst onto the scene with 1998’s “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” and 2000’s “Snatch,” Statham was integral to Ritchie’s tough, sneering style. “Wrath of Man” also reunites Ritchie with star Jason Statham for the first time in 16 years (since 2005’s “ Revolver”). Set in the world of Los Angeles armored-truck robberies, “Wrath of Man” feels a lot like Guy Ritchie’s version of “ Heat,” or, more precisely, his take on the juiced-up “Heat” riff “ Den of Thieves.” It’s a remake of director Nicolas Boukhrief’s 2004 French film “Le Convoyeur” (Cash Truck), which Ritchie adapted with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. It’s time for some heavy-duty masculine myth-making melodrama, a fable of men, guns, tragedy and revenge a burly, entertaining entry into the “dudes rock” cinematic canon, as imagined by Ritchie in rare form. Guy Ritchie’s “Wrath of Man” has a proper opening credits sequence, with classical illustrations of angels, lions and other dramatic biblical scenes juxtaposed over slow-motion images of anguished men, bass strings groaning relentlessly. Because moviegoing carries risks during this time, we remind readers to follow health and safety guidelines as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials. The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic.