A Working Man

A Working Man
Starring Jason Statham, David Harbour, Michael Pena, Jason Flemyng
Directed by David Ayers

There's actors that stay within their wheelhouse and hardly ever stray from it. Jason Statham is one such actor, a man known as much for his British accent and bald head as he is for starring in films where he's kicking butt and not caring about names. To see him act in a romantic comedy or a musical biopic would be akin to finding a sober Irishman on St. Patrick's Day, and that's not what audiences want - they want him doing what he does best. This elevates even the most subpar films (like last year's "The Beekeeper") to films that are enjoyable to watch not for any sense of realism or plot, but to see how many different ways Statham dispatches bad guys, and "A Working Man" is no different.

After serving in the Royal Marines, Levon Cade (Jason Statham) is a simple working man who works at a construction site under the leadership of kindly Joe Garcia (Michael Pena) and his family. He's close with them, especially their nineteen-year-old daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas), who wants to learn fighting like Levon does, and who exhibits her own spunk. One night while out with her friends, she's abducted and sold into the sex trade, and Joe and his wife plead for Levon to find her.

Levon sets out to investigate the disappearance and finds that the sex trade ring Jenny was abducted by is run by a wealthy, powerful Russian organization that has its hands in many different pots, including the Chicago Police Department, and relies on his former Marine buddy Gunny Lefferty (David Harbour) to track them down. He doesn't want to save Jenny because of the money, but because he's a father himself, and after losing his wife he has been embattled with her father for custody of his daughter, which fuels his desire. As he delves deeper into the organization, he inadvertently puts his own family at risk, amping up the timeline to find Jenny and rescue her before she's gone forever.

"A Working Man" is a film directed by David Ayers (who also directed "The Beekeeper") and is based off a script written by him and Statham's BFF Sylvester Stallone based on a book series by Chuck Dixon, and is one of those films that many will say "they don't make anymore," even though Statham churns out at least one of these a year. It's a movie that centers on the Midwest, on the "average" working man, and while not political, you can sense what type of people this film was made for - but thankfully, as I said earlier, it doesn't flow into political ideology. It's a one-man mission against countless enemies in which you already know the pre-determined outcome, but the journey is enjoyable, bloody, violent, and backed by an actual plot, thin as it might be.

Jason Statham shines as always, the action is intense and violent, and the camera angles make it all the more exciting. Yet the plot behind it is surprisingly well-done, centering on a ring of sex traffickers run by the Russian mafia (because, of course they would be), and includes an exciting side plot involving Levon's daughter and the issue of putting her life in danger due to his quest. Again, there's no deep twists or hidden meanings in the plot, but it allows itself to do more than just be a totally mindless actioneer. If anything, the film is a bit too long and could've been cut in the middle, but apart from that, it's your run-of-the-mill Statham movie through and through.

The Score: B+