Guy Ritchie’s darkest and most violent film to date, Wrath of Man expertly utilises the skills of action man Jason Statham in a heist film where revenge bloody and brutal is the main focus.

The films of Guy Ritchie often have a cheeky side to them. The only film in Ritchie’s universe of lads and gangsters in London’s crime underworld that did not tickle that funny bone was the 2005 misfire Revolver, a movie that drowned itself in Ritchie’s pretentious philosophising. It was also the last Ritchie movie to star Jason Statham, that is until Wrath of Man. Thankfully, this time the results are very different.

Statham stars as H, a mysterious recruit at Fortico Security, a prestigious armoured truck company. The criteria to get in is extensive and for good reason; the job of armoured truck guard is high risk especially of late, after a robbery resulted in a loss of life, not to mention the substantial amount of money stolen. Taken under the wing of veteran Bullet (Holt McCallany), H navigates the egos of his new workplace while investigating who is targeting Fortico’s trucks.

A remake of the 2004 French film Cash Truck, the aptly titled Wrath of Man see’s the revenge film given the Guy Ritchie treatment, with twist filled storytelling, memorable characters, and visually energetic filmmaking creating an action thriller that is always engaging, never dull, and featuring strong performances.

Split into chapters, Wrath of Man is constantly moving, constantly evolving, adding more twists, more characters, while stripping away the façade of Statham’s H character to reveal motivations that, while basic in premise, is given an injection of emotion and stakes thanks to Ritchie’s handling of the material and Statham’s on-key performance.

Statham utilises his strengths as H, providing a strong, silent performance of pent up, dark rage that reveals itself in spectacular bouts of violence. Cold as a snake and just as lethal, H slithers his way though his new “workplace” in search of those who wronged him. It is by far Statham’s darkest character, yet in an odd way his most human as well.

Ritchie’s handling of action sequences is on point, with thundering gun battles and bloody double-crosses highlighting what can be an intense watch, one that delivers on its promise of a gritty action thriller directed by one of the best genre filmmakers working today.