I Am Wrath

Yes here it is folks another in a long line of 'Death Wish' clones and one which quite frankly isn't much cop...

The story here sees Stanley Hill (John Travolta) hunting down the crew that killed his wife. Rather than being a one-man show Stanley gains assistance from his fellow ex-black ops pal Dennis (Christopher Meloni). In atypical fashion, Stanley and Dennis take out these punks one by one until they ultimately learn who is behind the death of Stanley's wife and why she was assassinated....

I really haven't got a problem with vigilante type films and have enjoyed other clones that have followed Death Wish (such as Death Sentence which I thought was excellent). For me, part of the problem with this film lay with its lead actor... Travolta has been excellent in the past and was great in films such as Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty and Face/Off, but something just wasn't right here. His performance here was wooden, stiff and generally uncomfortable to watch - it's hard to explain but I just never found him convincing at any point during the story. Many of the supporting performers don't fare much better and to be honest the only person who I thought made any kind of impact was Luis Da Silva Jr who was actually very good and he looked kind of menacing as well.

Of course, a weak and generic story doesn't always matters in films such as I am Wrath as long as it has some style and intensity, but the film falls flat in these respects too - there's no real imagination here, there is some style here (although I personally feel the John Woo style slow-mo stuff looks a bit lame now). You know that our 2 ex-black ops guys are going to kick everyone's ass and fight their way out of impossible situations so you're never going to fear for them. This all results in a film that passes the time, but that's all it does. I watched it, but the only feeling I had about it when the credits started rolling was indifference.

I Am Wrath isn't completely terrible, but it's the sort of film that's so generic and so safe you'll likely be predicting what's going to happen 5 minutes before it does. Like I said a generic story isn't a bad thing if you're made to care about what happens, but I just never got that feeling at any point during this film.

"How is him walking out of here going to help my case?" Stanley (Travolta) has just returned home from a long trip and is excited to see his wife again. While on his way home she is murdered. After doing everything by the book legally the killer is set free. Not willing to accept that Stanley takes matters into his own hands and the hunt begins. First of all, this is not a bad movie at all. On the other hand its a little too generic for it to be all that good. There are a few neat twists in this but for the most part you can predict everything that is going to happen pretty easy. Travolta isn't a bad choice for this but he seems a little flat in some parts. In terms of the little B action movies that have been coming out this is definitely one of the best ones, but again this movie has been done over and over and is just not all that exciting. Overall, good movie but too generic to watch over and over. I give this a B-.

When the manager of Honda vehicles Stanley Hill (John Travolta) returns to Columbus, Ohio, he is welcomed by his beloved wife Vivian (Rebecca De Mornay) at the airport. Vivian is an advisor of Governor Merserve (Patrick St. Esprit), who has reduced the crime rate in Ohio, and now she is analyzing the environmental effect of a duct of oil in Columbus. When they are at the parking lot, they are approached by three scumbags that kill Vivian. Stan identifies one of the thugs to Det. Gibson (Sam Trammell) and Det. Walker (Asante Jones), but they release the criminal telling that they do not have enough evidence to keep him locked up. But Stan is a former CIA operative and he seeks out his former partner Dennis (Christopher Melon) to find justice to Vivian. Soon they find a network of corruption in very high level and Stan decides to eliminate the problem.

"I Am Wrath" is a film of revenge in the style of the franchise "Death Wish", with John Travolta in the lead role with Christopher "SVU" Meloni as his partner. The result is a highly entertaining film that professional critics will certainly hate. But fans of a good action movie will enjoy and have a goodtime watching this film. Last but not the least, it is impressive how Rebecca De Mornay is still a very beautiful woman. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Eu Sou a Fúria" ("I Am the Wrath")

Note: On 02 July 2022, I saw this movie again.

Some of reviews about this movie is just as bad as they say this movie is. It's an action movie.! It's not supposed to be art. It's made to entertain and I was entertained. It's an ok movie and Travolta is great as a badass vigilante. So if you're in the moo for action, this is ok.

Stanley Hill (John Travolta) is getting picked up at the airport by his wife when they get attacked by men who are apparently violent robbers. His wife is killed. She was a close advisor to the Ohio Governor Merserve. Abbie (Amanda Schull) is their daughter. Stanley picks out the killer in a police lineup but the cops just let him go. He reconnects with Dennis (Christopher Meloni), a man from his secret past.

This is a fine example of the lower budget thriller. It has some interesting actors. It also has the pre-requisite former A-list actor to lead the project. The story is pretty standard although I would change a couple of points. While Travolta does his thing, I'm more surprised with the presence of Meloni. They are a good pairing and this would be a better buddy thriller. They should spend more time together. Otherwise, it's nothing special and nothing bad. It's fine.