A Working Man
We all know the drill by now. Jason Statham lives a quiet life somewhere, it gets disrupted by something, so he must go and savagely destroy everyone who gets in the way to restore normality. A heavily tried and tested structure for the actor, but one that continues to pump in cash at the box office.
This time, working with director David Ayer again, it is Jason Statham versus the Russian mafia. Levon Cade (Statham) works construction after a successful career as a special op in the military. After the passing of his wife, his daughter Merry (Isla Gie) has gone to live with her grandfather, as Levon is considered too aggressive and causes trouble wherever he goes. When human traffickers kidnap his boss’s daughter (Arianna Rivas), Levon is hired to bring her home and eliminate all of those who wish to do her harm.
No one watches Jason Statham movies for an emotional rollercoaster with epic monologues and complex plots. It is for one reason and one reason only: to watch the British actor crush skulls. Statham is in his mid-50s now, and he still doesn’t look a day older than when he appeared as Turkish in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch 25 years ago. The only difference now is he has grown from a rough and ready romantic lead to father figure, willing to do anything he can to rescue and protect his younger cast members, and boy can he still kick ass.
The action is well choreographed, as always, by stunt coordinator Eddie Fernandez, but when working with Statham and his experience, this must come as the easiest job in the world. The film is incredibly self-aware, knowing when the dialogue is exceedingly cheesy and even leaving pauses in the knowledge that the audience will be laughing or cheering. All of the characters are complete caricatures, with all of the Russian villains looking vampiric, Jason Flemyng’s gangster appearing cartoonishly evil and David Harbour’s blind military veteran Gunny Lefferty presenting himself as a rugged all American redneck hero.
You never fear for Levon as you always know how the movie will pan out, but this does mean there is a serious lack of tension in the drama. This lack of peril also makes the almost two-hour duration drag heavily as you yearn for more fight sequences like a starving animal. While this latest edition is a mindless good time, unlike The Beekeeper, there are not enough fights and jaw-dropping moments for you to whoop and cheer at, and when they do finally arrive, the editing is so choppy that the combat isn’t given a chance to breathe.
No matter how corny or simplistic these films are, there is always one resounding feeling that no one else could pull these performances off other than Statham. Like Sylvester Stallone, who is a producer on A Working Man, he is steadily building a legacy for himself as an all-out action hero and proves to be a real hit at the box office, so these sorts of adventures will continue to come our way.
Guy Lambert
A Working Man is released nationwide on 28th March 2025.
Watch the trailer for A Working Man here:
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