Chuck Russell might seem to be the very model of a Hollywood director for hire, but that's not to say his movies are washouts. His 80s remake of The Blob is much more interesting than the original, and The Mask proved to be one of the best Jim Carrey vehicles in decades of work. Indeed, he's actually only directed a handful of pictures, and there's something appealing about almost all of them. By which I mean "apart from The Scorpion King." Russell's next picture is likely to be the vigilante action film I am Wrath, and it looks like he might be getting John Travolta as his star. That doesn't sound like a bad way to spend a few months. According to The Wrap, Travolta will play "a man out for vigilante justice after a group of corrupt cops are unable to catch his wifes killer." They make the Taken comparison that I ripped off in my headline. Of course, dedicated Travolta followers will recall that he actually starred in From Paris With Love, the film that Pierre Morel directed right after Taken and that hardly set him off on a Neeson-like new career of busting heads. I doubt the bald head and goatee look helped; that's how boring and predictable audiences can be. Or, you know, maybe it was that From Paris With Love just wasn't up to snuff. I am Wrath is expected to get rolling in March, presuming Travolta and Russell's deals go through.
Brendon Connelly has been a film writer since the early 90s, with time on the staff of Orbit Magazine, Slashfilm, Bleeding Cool, Den of Geek and many more. He's a long time teacher of film studies and practical filmmaking classes, and has directed music videos, commercials, short films and more. His favourite film is Terry Gilliam's Brazil, his favourite food is pancakes or crepes, and he tries to live his life by the teachings of Kermit the Frog.
