Jason Statham is an actor with a certain look and a certain set of skills. There are a lot of parts he can play, but there is one kind of role where he excels. He’s great in the everyman action film. And in director David Ayer, he’s found a great collaborative partner.
Last year, they teamed for The Beekeeper. It was a straight-forward action film that was a fun ride for those looking for that kind of film. Now, they’re back this year with a new film, A Working Man, that was co-written by Sylvester Stallone. It’s another average joe with a special set of skills on a mission film, and it’s just as satisfying.
In this case, Statham plays Levon Case, a British Army veteran who has some unique skills that is trying to live a quiet life. Now, he’s working as a construction foreman in Chicago. His wife passed, and he’s trying to do well enough to stay in his daughter’s (Isla Gie) life. But it isn’t easy. He has a past that he’s still working through.
The family that runs his construction business has become part of his support system. Joe (Michael Pena) and Carla (Noemi Gonzalez) are like his family, as is their 19-year-old daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas). There is nothing he wouldn’t do for them, which is put to the test when Jenny goes missing.
Joe presses Levon to help find her. That forces him to reach into skills from his past. With the help of his old colleague, Gunny (David Harbour), he finds the tools to help dig into the mystery. He puts his old army skills to the test as he learns that Jenny is being held by a group working for the Russian mob. That forces him to spring into action to get her back.
We’ve seen Statham play plenty of action-oriented roles. Typically, his characters are quiet men that are pulled out of a simple life to apply a certain set of skills. That’s the case here, too. This story is based on a novel, but it follows the same kind of premise.
And usually, these kind of films don’t go well for those that stand in Statham’s way. That’s the case with A Working Man, too. And it’s right in the wheelhouse for Ayer, who has been making these kind of gritty action films for years.
This film is about what you’d expect. The story is fine, the performances work well enough, and the action is plentiful. This is an R-rated adventure with a LOT of violence. If that’s the kind of escapist journey you’re looking for, then this will work well. In fact, I could see Ayer and Statham teaming for these kind of movies once a year for the next decade.
This film is straightforward and gives you what you expect. I liked Rivas quite a bit, while the villains were just two-dimensional enough to work for the story. It’s not incredible but it is a wild ride.
A Working Man is now playing int theaters nationwide.