REVIEW

‘WRATH OF MAN’ A Vengeful Layer Cake of Crime

Name: Wrath of Man review
Item: Wrath of Man
Rating: 3.3
Author: Matt Oakes

By Matt Oakes · May 6, 2021

‘WRATH OF MAN’ A Vengeful Layer Cake of Crime

Where to watch: Streaming on Prime Video, or rent or buy on digital (updated October 2026)Watch on Prime Video · Rent or buy on Amazon · Buy on Blu-ray/4KAs an Amazon Associate, Silver Screen Riot earns from qualifying purchases.

With a dozen films under his belt, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie has dedicated his career to the criminal ensemble. From his roots directing blue-collar Cockney capers (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) to his more mainstream tentpole films (The Man for U.N.C.L.E., King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and – to a degree – even Aladdin), Ritchies film involve crews of small-time thieves stylishly trying to land the big score. In what is both a natural evolution of his thread of storytelling and perhaps even a maturation of his themes, Wrath of Man wonders what happens after the heist has been committed.

Blood-stained asphalt has fallout and that fallout’s name is H (Jason Statham), a recent security hire for a cash truck depot. There’s no coincidence that that same depot was recently robbed, with two of their own – and an unnamed civilian – killed in a standoff with armed thieves. The script from Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, and Marn Davies plops H in the hermetic maw of this cold hard cash transport business, where he and his peers move millions of dollars around the greater Los Angeles area. Being trained in the ways of Ritchie’s antics, we know instinctually to wait for the criminal underbelly to pop its ugly head up and Statham to kick ass and take names.

Wrath of Man movie still

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Under the eye of watchdog and company leader Bullet (Mindhunter’s Holt McCallany), H proves more skilled than his training assessments suggests when he handily disposes of a crew of would-be-thieves during a routine pickup. His amateur status thrown into question, a cat and mouse tail-chasing ensues as the true identity of the mysterious H and suspicions of an inside job bloom.

Even at the best of times, Ritchie’s movies have a tendency to be convoluted and overwritten; full of double crosses, fake outs, backup plans for backup plans, false identifies, and so on and so on. Although Wrath of Man employs a layer cake approach to its criminal saga, it all mostly holds up upon inspection and doesn’t get too unnecessarily twisty, a cheat to ape a level of complexity that sometimes simply isn’t there. There’s no wealth of richly developed characters to speak of -and most end up being little more than crime story tropes wound up and firing rounds at one another – but the script’s straightforward, no-frills approach allows for events to unfold like a pop-up book, each chapter bursting with new intel and getting audiences closer to the mysteries at the center of the action.

Time jumping is a familiar hat trick within Guy Ritchie’s wheelhouse and Wrath of Man does a good amount of skipping between timelines and across different crews but in doing so, gives us enough insight into the inciting events to keep us thoroughly engaged and actively invested in the carnage. Tight and tactical, the action sequences are unblinking maelstroms of gun violence with enough lead flying around to power an entire city’s arsenal of cash vans. Cinematographer Alan Stewart (Band of Brothers) drapes sequences in dark shadow and the spray of muzzle flashes, making for electrifying, if at times hazy, explosions of violence.

The beefy, monstrous score from Christopher Benstead (The Gentleman) seems like it escaped from hell itself, underscoring the titular wrath of the film; a daunting low-note orchestral piece that keeps the viewer’s heart rate elevated throughout as if threatening to club them with a bassoon. For his part, James Herbert skillfully edits the swirling collection of pieces into a cohesive whole, maintaining the sense of mystery for as long as possible without stifling the forward momentum. It all drives towards a somewhat inevitable conclusion but one where the margins are filled in enough to enjoy the unapologetically brutal joyride of it all.

Accompanying Statham and McCallany, Wrath of Man boasts a testosterone-dominated cast that includes Josh Harnett as the anxious Boy Sweat Dave, Scott Eastwood as a convincing menace, and Andy Garcia as a government insider whose connection to the larger story is likely the movie’s most egregious example of slathered-on narrative over-complication (it seems like some of his material was left on the cutting room floor). There’s hardly a female character of interest in the piece and perhaps it’s best they are spared the feral carnage that is this movie’s murder-heavy showdown. It’s a very Male-driven movie with Male sensibilities, Male-oriented action beats, and even a good spread of dated misogynist insults (as written here, the blue-collars still love to crack their “you’re gay, lol” jokes). That’s not to say that Wrath of Man lacks all appeal across gender lines but for those left uncharmed by hyper-masculine actions and language of aggression, it’s likely best to leave the wife at home for this one. This wrath is likely reserved strictly for the men.

CONCLUSION: As its title suggests, ‘Wrath of Man’ is a hyper-violent, hyper-masculine Guy Ritchie crime caper that follows the fallout of a heist gone wrong. With engaging action, crack editing, and a merry male band of bad-doers, the action-thriller delivers pulpy violence and rousingly calculated, if at times circuitous, plotting.