The revenge

The movie begins with news montages about the unprecedented crime wave in Columbus, Ohio. Contrarily, Governor John Meserve (Patrick St. Esprit) gives a press conference and says the opposite: crime is down. When questioned by protestors about a proposed pipeline, Meserve promises that he has commissioned an independent study of the pipeline.

Vivian (Rebecca De Mornay), who has something to say about the proposed pipeline, picks up her unemployed husband Stanley (John Travolta), who has returned from a positive job interview to manage a factory in California. At the diffusely lit and practically unoccupied airport parking garage, a man with a fly tattoo on his face (Charley = Luis Da Silva Jr.) approaches and asks them for money. Stanley politely refuses, but two other men mysteriously sneak up on Stanley and stun him with a blow to the head. The first man fatally stabs Vivian and takes her wallet. Although dazed, Stanley watches the men flee.

With Stanley's description of Charley, the police are able to apprehend him. But even though Stanley picks him out the lineup, the police detectives (Gibson = Sam Trammell / Walker = Asante Jones) let him go. They say that his descriptions changed too much (they didn't). Stanley, despondent and enraged, yearns for revenge. While tracking down the men, Stanley realizes that the fatal mugging was no random attack. There were political forces behind his wife's murder. Now he has bigger fish to fry.

Stanley, with his mercenary past, is well-equipped to get his revenge. He also has an ally in a barber, Dennis (Christopher Meloni). Together these guys are dynamite. But you've seen it all before. The flic borrows from other films, such as "Goldfinger" (car-crush scene) and "Taken" (hostage part). The ending with the last shootout doesn't ring true. And there are questions: for instance, why is Stanley's life spared as he is the only witness to the crime in the garage (and the bad guys lack empathy)? But some may like the fact that the film does not require much brainpower to figure out. Also, both Travolta and Meloni are good and rise above their material, which is not strong despite the plot twists. Christopher Meloni at age 55 is in excellent physical condition; Travolta's hair (including the hairline) is peculiar. The movie was filmed on location in Columbus, Ohio.

"I Am Wrath" feels familiar. There is a trope called "mugging the monster," in which villains mistakenly target somebody with a particular skill set and receive their comeuppances in spades. Usually, the individual is reluctant to rely upon those skills or wants to suppress that part of their life. It was used to introduce Frank's martial arts talents in both "The Transporter" and "The Transporter Refueled." It may be a scene played for comic effect or to round out a character in movies like "Crocodile Dundee," an unexpected wrinkle in movies like "Air Force One," and occasionally the premise of the movie, as in "First Blood," "John Wick" or "A History of Violence." It is perhaps a sort of fantasy fulfillment for anybody who has been victimized. Wouldn't we all like to have the powers and abilities of a superhero, crime lord or kung fu master to turn life's misfortunes to our advantage and simultaneously discourage the criminals and jerks of the world from repeating or continuing their repugnant behavior?

IAW is not terribly original; however, it is competently executed. The villains are suitably sleazy, violent and remorseless. They aren't the vilest lot of malcontents by a long shot, but they provide a suitable level of threat. The plot is familiar, but is only an excuse for the action scenes. There are no car chases, pyrotechnics or extended scenes of unarmed combat, although there are a few brief fights. It's mostly threats followed by gunplay without any elaborate choreography. Production values are adequate, although Travolta's wig is noticeable and distracting.

Travolta has done much better work as a tough guy, notably in Luc Besson's "From Paris with Love." Here he is not given a multi-layered, finely nuanced character and makes little effort to bring new dimensions to a sparsely developed script.

The movie is boosted considerably by a couple of the supporting roles. Christopher Meloni steals his scenes as the sidekick/guardian. Sam Trammell's look of boyish innocence cloaks a dark side to his character.

The script was written by Paul Sloan, who also plays the villain Lemi K, and was originally in development with Nicolas Cage set to star and William Friedkin directing, but somehow that fell through. The script seems a couple drafts short of complete. It feels as if it was written with franchise ambitions. The title, Stanley's tattoo and the buddy relationship with Dennis all scream comic hero series. However, it fails to develop Stanley as a continuing character or to leave him in a situation to continue his vigilantism.

The result is a film that is an entertaining diversion but largely forgettable.

"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.

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.