I Am Wrath

I Am Wrath
Directed by	Chuck Russell
Produced by	Rob Carliner Michael Mendelsohn Richard Salvatore Nick Vallelonga
Written by	Yvan Gauthier Paul Sloan
Starring	John Travolta Christopher Meloni Sam Trammell Amanda Schull Patrick St. Esprit Rebecca De Mornay Luis Da Silva
Music by	Haim Mazar
Cinematography	Andrzej Sekuła
Production companies	Hannibal Classics March On Productions Patriot Pictures Vallelonga Productions
Distributed by	Saban Films[1] 101 Films Limited[2]
Release dates	May 16, 2016 (2016-05-16) [2]
Running time	92 minutes[1][2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$18 million[3]

I Am Wrath is a 2016 American action thriller film directed by Chuck Russell and written by Yvan Gauthier and Paul Sloan. The film stars John Travolta, Christopher Meloni, Sam Trammell, Amanda Schull, Rebecca De Mornay, Melissa Bolona and Luis Da Silva. Principal photography on the film began on March 9, 2015, in Columbus, Ohio. The film was released direct to video.^[3] Its title quotes Jeremiah 6:11 and the protagonist reads this verse in the Bible opened after he has thrown it on the floor.

Plot

The film opens with a montage of news reporting on gun violence around the country, and particularly in Columbus, Ohio. Governor John Meserve (Patrick St. Esprit) gives a press conference about his crime reduction efforts. Some protesters ask about a proposed pipeline. Meserve promises that he has commissioned an independent study of the pipeline. Abbie Hill (Amanda Schull) and her family are watching the press conference, and they are thrilled that the Governor has referenced the work her mother Vivian (Rebecca De Mornay) is doing.

Vivian heads to the airport to pick up her husband Stanley (John Travolta), who has returned from a job interview to manage a factory in Orlando, Florida. When they arrive at their car, they notice one of the tires is flat. Before Stanley can fix it, a man approaches and asks them for money. Stanley politely refuses, but another man sneaks up on Stanley and stuns him with a blow to the head. The first man stabs Vivian and takes her wallet. Stanley watches the men flee.

The police use Stanley's descriptions to quickly capture the man who killed Vivian. However, they let him go after Stanley positively identifies him. This enrages Stanley, and now that he knows the man's name is Charley, he starts to stalk him. When he sees a carefree Charley on the street, Stanley goes home and retrieves a case from behind a wall. The case has several passports, foreign currencies, and several weapons. He calls Dennis (Christopher Meloni), his friend from the Special Forces, and asks him for information about Charley and his crew. Dennis runs black operations from beneath a barbershop.

Stanley uses Dennis intelligence to track down one of the men who attacked him at a local bar. As the man lies dying, he hints that Vivian's murder was more than just a robbery. Stanley and Dennis are photographed as they dispose of the body. Local crime lord Lemi K (Sloan) is furious when he sees the photograph, and he orders hits on the men who killed one of his crew.

Stanley tracks down another man who was involved in the attack. He confronts him at a tattoo parlor, after getting the words "I Am Wrath" tattooed on his back. After killing the man, Stanley makes off with a bag full of drugs and money. Stanley and Dennis use the bag as bait to lure Charley to the VIP room at a Korean nightclub. Before being killed, Charley tells Stanley that Vivian's murder was ordered by Lemi because she was too nosy.

Lemi has tracked down Abbie and is holding her hostage. Stanley and Dennis arrive and kill Lemi. When two corrupt cops arrive, Stanley realizes the entire plot was organized by Governor Meserve. He infiltrates the Governor's mansion and murders him. When the police arrive, Stanley raises a weapon, prompting them to shoot him in his bulletproof vest. While he recovers in the hospital, one of the corrupt cops tries to assassinate Stanley, but Stanley shoots him with a hidden gun. Dennis spirits Stanley away from the hospital, and the film ends with Abbie reading a postcard from Stanley that he sent from Sao Paulo.

Cast

• John Travolta as Stanley Hill^[4]
• Christopher Meloni as Dennis ^[5]
• Amanda Schull as Abbie Hill^[6]
• Rebecca De Mornay as Vivian Hill^[7]
• Sam Trammell as Detective Gilmore^[7]
• Luis Da Silva as Charley^[7]
• Paul Sloan as Lemi K
• Patrick St. Esprit as John Meserve^[8]
• James Logan as Lars (Tattoo Artist)^[9]
• Thomas Newhard as Bar Patron/ Drunk
• Melissa Bolona as Reporter #1

Production

Initially announced in September 2012, the film initially was set to star Nicolas Cage and be directed by William Friedkin.^[10] However this version did not come to pass, and instead a new version starring John Travolta and directed by Chuck Russel was announced in February 2015.^[4]

Principal photography on the film began on March 9, 2015^[11] in Columbus, Ohio. On March 18, 2015, filming was underway on the steps of Ohio Statehouse, and at a private home in Bexley, Ohio.^[12] Film was also shot in Cleveland and Alabama.^[7]

Critical reception

The film-critics aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a rating of 11% based on 9 reviews, with a weighted average score of 3/10.^[13]

References

External links

• I Am Wrath at the Internet Movie Database
• Synopsis at Hannibal Classics
• I Am Wrath on Facebook
• I Am Wrath at Metacritic
• I Am Wrath at Rotten Tomatoes
• I Am Wrath at AllMovie