Three years ago, Becky, then 13, single-handedly defeated a group of loose neo-Nazi prisoners who had come to terrorize her father and stepmother during a weekend in the countryside. . The assailants were crushed by the teenager—sometimes literally. Three years later, while she has rebuilt an anonymous life with an old lady as misanthropic as she is, Becky sees a new cohort of wicked gentlemen emerge who, badly enough, do not know who they are dealing with. . In The Wrath of BeckyLulu Wilson resumes with an obvious and contagious pleasure, her role as modern nemesis.
Because, like the Greek goddess of divine vengeance, Becky brings her wrath to bear on enemies betrayed as much by their recklessness as by their impudence.
The latter, like those who came before them, belong to a fascist group called the Noble Men (a thinly disguised version of the infamously real Proud Boys). Three of them, on their way to the isolated property of their cell leader, stop at the snack bar where Becky is a waitress…
They are misogynistic, racist, homophobic and very, very arrogant. The film thus establishes, illico, that the fate which awaits these guys, however horrible, will have been deserved. The sequel is undoubtedly morally questionable, but enjoyable nonetheless (and for an informed public).
Especially since the three lads will have the bad idea of kidnapping Becky’s beloved dog, who will stop at nothing to get it back. On the way, she will discover the vile designs of the leader of the band (Seann William Scott), who foments a concerted action echoing the insurrection of the Capitol. Obviously, the Noble Men cannot conceive that a girl has the upper hand on them.
On this subject, while we talk everywhere about the series The Idolby Sam Levinson and Abel Tesfaye, with its protagonist who submits to the sexual goodwill of a licensed guru, The Wrath of Becky, along with his proud macho grind, makes for an interesting counter-proposal. Fiction for fiction’s sake, of course.
Either way, by his choice of antagonists and the motivations and flaws imparted to them, The Wrath of Becky does not give in the sociopolitical subtext, but in the supertext.
Joyfully outrageous
It is assumed in this case: the film does not want to be subtle in the least. On the contrary, The Wrath of Beckyeven more than its predecessor, plays the card of dark humor to the fullest while favoring the logic and aesthetics of comics.
Everything is deliberately amplified, even outraged, like the killings orchestrated with treasures of resourcefulness and imagination by a Becky who has risen to prominence since her first vengeful escapades. Caltrops, machete, bear traps, grenade in the mouth for an exploding head: here is a young girl who is not afraid to get dirty.
In the realization, very ingenious moreover, Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, who also script, say they were inspired by the saga Kill Bill and of Kick-Ass : these influences are tangible, but in a more broke context, more trash.
The story, above all a pretext for the sequence of punishments gory hatched by the heroine, would have benefited from further development — the film hardly lasts an hour and twenty, that’s not for nothing. On the other hand, an ingenious revelation occurs as the denouement approaches.
By bringing back this curious key which the brigands of the original film were trying to seize, The Wrath of Becky additionally sets the stage for a third film. In view of the results so far, we are delighted.