Monday, May 10, 2021

'Wrath of Man' explodes on the screen




Dear Carla,

A movie for Thor! But, maybe not for you.

Sigh: It's hard to please everyone all of the time.

Because the Wrath of Man had a Rotten Tomatoes audience rating of 91% and a critics' rating of 67%, I knew it was likely to be good since the critics get them wrong about 98% of the time.

It was either this or Billy Crystal's new film, Here Today (audience rating, 93%; critics, 46%) which looked so predictable (old man meets younger woman, you know the score, ho hum, yawn) so I opted for Wrath and I am glad I did!
Jason Statham (left) and Josh Hartnett in Guy Ritchie's Wrath of Man

Yowsers, Christine!  (You won't like it; stay home)

When I entered the theatre, I wondered if I would have to leave midway through the show since the future is not known, I'm not a big fan of violence, but I do like the motion more than what you get from rocking chairs, especially after wasting time and money on the dull and lifeless (no puns intended) No Man's Land and Holy Moly.

 
I was the only woman in the moviehouse.  Which turned out to be OK. 

Ladies, this is not for the squeamish. This is a guy flick; not chick lit.

From the get-go, it was heave ho! And away we go. No time to catch a breath or doze a spell (see above). It was great to see a 21st century flick, guns ablazing, without... (hold your breath)female nudity. 

Thank you, producers and director!

And no sex (to speak of). Not, the porno kind.  Which just goes to show you, gratuitous sex is unnecessary for a really good show!

Plenty of bad words though, not sprinkled in the show, but flooding throughout, natch, which I was able to quickly ignore once I set my gears on "speed."

A "taut thriller" whose rage is transferred to the moviegoer.  You can almost feel the walls vibrate with his anger.  Something's up. 

It takes eight minutes for the SWAT team to arrive?

The time sequences go back and forth a bit too much, out of order, but that doesn't slow things down. Who needs time when your heart is beating nonstop?

The music by Christopher Benstead was initially terrific before it quickly became monotonous, the same repetitive sequences with the boom! boom! boom of the bass and drums. (No need to take your hearing aids. Matter of fact, you may need some after the show.)

The Washington Post reviewer suggested Ritchie and the star, Jason Statham
(shades of Bruce Willis) were a mite too old, almost "has-beens," to be bringing all this mad action to the screen, to which I retort: Bring it on, fellows! I'll have some more of that (this).

Although the acting by most of the cast was not as sharp as I think it could have been, who cares when the story line was far better than most of the ones I've seen this year?


You don't need a description, do you? Let's just say, I'll never glance at money trucks the same way again.

This was my first Ritchie/Statham  film, and should I be embarrassed that I liked it? Violence and all? Moviegoers, it is solid entertainment! That's all we want at the movie house, right?

Now, who is the bad guy(s)? Give 'em H!
Some of the guys in Guy Ritchie's Wrath of Man





patricialesli@gmail.com





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