A mindless, Friday night action flick – put it on in the background, have some beers, pay attention to just the action sequences… And watch with some amusement as John Travolta teams up with that guy from Law and Order and wreaks some nineties-style vengeance on some thugs. It’s quite nostalgic, the use of waaaaay too much slow-mo, like it’s the first time we’ve seen 360 bullet-time, combined with jerky point-of-view angles reminiscent of Time Crisis, and of course, the Action Hero of our millennial childhood, John Travolta.

So apparently Columbus, Ohio is a terrible place, crawling with drugs, crime, and industry works of dubious political motivation. This much is obvious from the first minute of the movie – the opening sequence is a montage that cries “It’s drugs! It’s crime!” in plenty of depressing news stories, cut to exciting music.

Some two bit hoodlums murder a civil servant in front of her ex-black-ops/car factory manager husband, breaking up what I can only imagine to be the marriage of the century from the one scene they had together, a syrupy, uninteresting interaction that they cut back to like four times in the movie? Between that, the highlighting of the titular phrase in a Bible, and a criminal acting his hardest to emote to a series of text messages they receive, and the echoey voiceovers/overexposed flashbacks, expect some pretty heavy cheese on this action flick.

But John Travolta doesn’t do grief, he does revenge! He calls up Christopher Melloni/Law and Order dude, a friend from his violent past, to exact some Old Testament judgment on his assailants after the cops fail too purposely at their detecting. Every time he assaults/questions someone, they give a bit too much away before they’re incapacitated/snuffed out – it looks like John Travolta’s random romantic tragedy might not be so random after all.

The other thing that John Travolta doesn’t do is develop as a character at all. Sure, there’s the tragic inciting incident of him witnessing the death of his wife, but there really isn’t any struggle in him. He doesn’t think very hard before returning to his old ways, and heck, he seems to be nursing the same glass of whiskey throughout his decision-making process. I would have liked to see a clear moment of decision prior to impending blood bath, but perhaps John Travolta’s emotional range isn’t what it used to be when, you know, he had full use of his facial muscles.

Expect: one sweet ass tattoo, a couple of gut-wrenching blows, and minimal emotional involvement.

What you get: one serving of action, extra cheese, with a large side of John Travolta (as slimming as his all-black ensemble is, it isn’t quite enough).

Accompanying rec: I think it’s time to re-watch Face/Off. I’m itching for a Nicolas Cage movie right about now, every film he does becomes a serious film by virtue of him being in it, no matter how terrible it is. We can thank his shamanistic method acting for that.

Where to continue your kick/what to binge on next: A Netflix accompaniment, bringing in some old school recommendation type shit that I want to craft Popcorn to go towards. Or watch Bruce Willis in Looper – my favourite 90s action man, I think, and you know what, he’s still great in the 2010s!

Don’t listen to us, watch I Am Wrath for yourself in cinemas, and let us know what you think. Get your tickets on Popcorn!