Jason Statham and David Ayer teamed up to great effect in one of last year’s most purely enjoyable movies, The Beekeeper, and they have immediately returned for this new release. Statham plays Levon Cade, an ex-Royal Marines commando, who now leads a peaceful life as a construction worker in Chicago. However, Levon is forced to use his old set of skills to find his boss’s teenaged daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas), when she is kidnapped by human traffickers.
Whilst A Working Man is not as good as The Beekeeper, and, as you can see from my plot description, it is hardly original, there is still a lot to like. Statham, of course, plays his usual character, but, unlike the muscle bound action stars of the 80’s and 90’s, he is convincing both as an ordinary working stiff and a lethal killer. It is a pleasure to see him mercilessly dispatching the bad guys and Ayer keeps the action coming at a rapid rate.
Having said that, the plot is very simple and most of the villains are too cartoonish to be threatening including Jason Flemyng with his ridiculous Russian accent and Maximilian Osinski as Dimi, who Levon spends much of the time hunting. The exception is the always watchable Emmett J. Scanlan as one of the people holding Jenny. David Harbour is also fun as an old friend of Levon.
Despite the flaws, Statham continues to be relied on to provide mindless thrills.
Rating: 7 out of 10