The Wages of Fear (2024) Ending Explained – Why does the American oil company hire Clara and her team?

The Wages of Fear Plot Summary

In The Wages of Fear, a 2024 remake of the 1953 classic, we’re taken to a makeshift, war-torn country somewhere in the Middle East. The film stars Frank Gastambide as Fred, Alban Lenoir as Alex, and Ana Girardot as Clara.

The story kicks off with Clara and Djibril driving, desperately needing medical supplies for their village’s refugee camp. As they approach the camp’s gates, they come under attack, only to be rescued by Fred. This opening scene sets the stage, showing us that Clara and Fred are living in a refugee camp near an oil well, struggling to survive amidst the turmoil of war.

Why does the American oil Company hire Clara and her team?

An oil well gets hit by a bullet during a chase, causing a fire that could burn down a whole refugee camp. So, the oil company decides they need to blow up the well to stop the fire from spreading, but they need to get some highly dangerous explosive called Nitro-glycerine from a facility that’s 500 miles away.

To do this, they assemble a team: Clara and Djibril from an NGO to guide them; Fred and Alex, who are mercenaries, with Alex being the explosives expert, Gauthier from the company; and Alka, who’s Alex’s colleague. Alex even got bailed out of jail just for this mission. They’re all chosen by Anne Marchand, who’s leading the mission for the oil company. 

Why is Alex upset with Fred?

About 9 months ago, Fred was hired to protect a couple and get them out of the city safely, but when he got to their place, he found out Alex and Alka were already there. Turns out, the couple was involved in some shady dealings, and the police raided the place, shooting the couple dead.

After all that chaos, Fred suggests to Alex that they should grab the money he saw in the couple’s house earlier. The money’s in a locker, but they need to blow it up to get it open since they don’t have the code. Thus, Fred and Alex go back to the house for the robbery. However, while they’re trying to get the money, the police show up.

Suddenly, a huge explosion occurs, and it ends up killing multiple police officers. Fred manages to get away, but Alex gets caught and blamed for the cops’ deaths. Therefore, Alex blames Fred for landing him in prison and for having to leave his wife and daughter behind.

What happens in the end?

The mission is to bring 200 kilos of Nitro-glycerine from a facility 500 miles away to the oil well. The team only needs 100 kilos to blow it up, but they’re bringing the extra 100 as a backup. Nitro-glycerine is highly explosive, and even a tiny drop can cause a major explosion, so the team needs Alex to guide them on how to handle it safely.

Fred and Alex are in charge of driving the truck, with the others as their convoy. They face myriad dangers on the way, like terrorists, landmines, and the military. Eventually, they reach a point where they have to split up: Gauthier and Fred go one way, while Alex and Clara go the other. By this point, everyone else in the convoy is dead.

Gauthier decides to betray Fred, shooting him to take his share of the money, but as Gauthier drives towards the oil well, his truck falls off a cliff and catches fire. So, in the end, it’s just Alex and Clara left to complete the mission.

When Alex and Clara find Fred still alive, they take him along to the oil well, but when they get there, Anna, the leader, holds Alex’s family at gunpoint and forces Alex to drive the Nitro-glycerine truck to the well.

During the tense standoff, Fred shoots Anna and her partner from the truck. Then, he drives the truck straight into the oil well, causing a huge explosion. The movie ends with the refugees being moved to a safer place.


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