He's laconic and maintains a mysterious distance from the other security guards. There are scattered references to him being “overqualified” for the job due to his past history. Add intrigue by teasing out your protagonist ’ s backstoryĮarly on we get the sense there’s something more to H’s character and that he’s no ordinary security guard.

But by entering the story in a unique way, we find ourselves more intrigued and its later conventions are placed into a fresh context.Ģ. Wrath of Man turns out to be a revenge crime thriller, following many of the subgenre’s familiar tropes and beats. This is a great technique for a screenwriter who is following the popular Hollywood adage: “The same but different”. Overall, it’s a familiar cinematic world, but we’re inhabiting a previously unexplored corner of it. Although we eventually discover there’s more to H and the story, the fact that the film’s first act takes us into this world of cash truck security is something that distinguishes it from past crime thrillers. In these types of films, it’s the criminals or the authorities hunting them down that are the focal characters. Generally, security guards and drivers of armored vehicles or cash trucks are peripheral characters in crime thrillers and action films. After this opening sequence, we’re introduced to our protagonist “H” (played by Jason Statham) as he goes through the application process for the security company in charge of transporting large sums of money throughout the city of Los Angeles: His initial interview, his training, and eventually his first day on the job. However, it’s not long before their truck is targeted by armed criminals and it’s made clear that this is indeed a crime thriller. They’re talking about what kind of coffee they like in the morning and it feels authentic a convincing little slice of life.

In Wrath of Man, we’re introduced to two security guards transporting money in a cash truck.

Use a different angle, POV or entry point to a familiar story In addition, Ritchie has also helmed Hollywood tentpoles such as Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Aladdin (2019).īelow are five things screenwriters can learn from this screenwriting veteran on the genre.ġ. Since then, Ritchie and Statham have both carved out a niche for themselves with hardboiled crime and action films. Wrath of Man is Guy Ritchie's latest film, co-written with Ivan Atkison and Marn Davies and based on the 2004 French film Cash Truck by Nicolas Boukhrief and Éric Besnard, it also sees Ritchie collaborating again with action star Jason Statham who came to international attention with Ritchie’s debut feature film: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998).

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