John Travolta gets his own Taken with I Am Wrath. Chuck Russell’s film is a hard-edged action thriller that keeps things simple over the course of its lean 90 minute running time.
Travolta is Stanley Hill, a family man with a dark past who springs to action when his wife (Rebecca De Mornay) is murdered. Infuriated that the police appear to have no interest in solving the case, Hill goes on the warpath to bring the culprits to justice. I Am Wrath is a nuts and bolts action movie and Russell cuts to the chase from the get-go. He uses Travolta’s natural charm as the lynchpin for the story, knowing that he can deal with the emotional aspects of the role as well as the action.
Over the course of his career Travolta has managed to successfully traverse a variety of different genres from musical to comedy, drama and action. I Am Wrath shows that he’s still a powerful screen presence and Travolta is more than capable of kicking ass on screen. It’s Travolta’s star power that makes I Am Wrath an engaging film. Along for the ride is Christopher Meloni as Travolta’s right-hand man – they both make for a great pairing and it would be fun to see a few more adventures where the duo take-out a few more bad guys. The post-Taken action world is filled with a lot of older actors engaging in a variety of violent revenge tales. Travolta is a much better actor than the likes of the rather wooden Liam Neeson and that makes I Am Wrath a cut above the ‘geriaction’ rest.
Chuck Russell made a career by taking movies with ludicrous premises and turning them into entertaining hokum with movie star leads. Films like Eraser with Arnold Schwarzenegger and The Scorpion King with Dwayne Johnson prove he has the right action credentials and that he can tease charismatic turns from his actors.
Energetic, violent and fun, I Am Wrath ticks all the right boxes for a fun night in. You’ll know where Chuck Russell’s movie is going from the opening credits but that doesn’t stop it from being an enjoyable ride. John Travolta delivers the requisite tough guy heroics and shows Liam Neeson how things should be done in the process. If you’re in the mood for a straight-up four star action movie then I Am Wrath is the movie for you.
