Akasombo
Jason Statham’s nearly 30-year movie star career can largely be explained by this credo: If something works fine, why alter it? “It” refers to his trademark formulaic approach to straightforward action thrillers that has made him an industry staple from his early days with Guy Ritchie stock company films to becoming the premier British martial artist on screen. There have certainly been exceptions; films like 2005’s “Revolver” and 2013’s “Hummingbird” tested his upper registers of his range to their full extent and highlighted subtlety that has rarely come his way since. But his bread and butter has long been portraying “highly skilled surly guys in need of a righteous cause to kick. His latest, “A Working Man,” follows this formula; indeed, its basic plot lines could even qualify as boring moviegoing experiences without breaking.
Last year, Statham joined filmmaker David Ayer for “The Beekeeper”, an enjoyable surprise amongst the poor Q1 release schedule at multiplexes. This film fits within the current trend of shoot-em-up films similar to “John Wick”, featuring franchisable mythologies for an added layer. Statham did his usual thing of delivering dropkicks and head shots equally effectively throughout this flick while its absurdist worldbuilding hinted at an exciting series with multiple sequels; unfortunately, instead of that happening, they have returned for something simpler yet still no less thrilling: an entertainment bomb of pure violence!
What’s Jason Statham gotten himself into this time?
Jason Statham stars as Levon Cade, a construction foreman who lives out of his truck and wears poorly fitting blue-collar attire, suggesting a dark and violent past. We get only brief glimpses of Levon’s combat prowess when he single-handedly fights off debtors trying to rough up one of his workers; therefore, something dramatic must happen within 20 minutes that triggers him to unleash the energy he has been suppressing!
What will Levon do about his daughter, who sees him for only two hours each week, when something bad occurs that requires bloodshed? Neither loan sharks nor collections agents come knocking; instead, something happens with Jenny (Arianna Rivas), Michael Pena’s beautiful college-age daughter, whom Levon abducts into an illegal trafficking scheme, forcing him to go against his moral code and take drastic measures to save her and bring her home safely.
Action thrillers utilizing this trope have long been staples, even outside Statham’s body of work. Today, they tend to excel by appeasing a reactionary audience: everyone fears for their children while the cops cannot stop it; thus, One Man steps in. Luckily for Statham (not being American himself, perhaps?), his protagonists do not easily embody stereotypical American patriotism; however, the set-up unfortunately lacks some of its predecessor’s brazen charm due to emotional and dramatic overreach in its first act—something easier to forgive once brutality takes center stage!
We never get tired of this same old song
“A Working Man” was adapted from a novel written by Chuck Dixon, an influential comics writer from the 1990s who spent significant time penning Batman comics. After understanding its source material, one can appreciate why “A Working Man” suffers an identity crisis from its first act to its second and third acts; David Ayer based his script off what used to be Sylvester Stallone’s television adaptation; once set-up is complete hews closer towards Chuck Dixon’s pulpier approach while Ayer opts more heavily on Chuck Dixon.
Instead of the more conventional villains typical in thrillers like this one, here we see more colorful, bizarre, quirky, and offbeat antagonists and their associates. Even Levon himself has some ridiculous supporting cast members like David Harbour’s blind archer war buddy or his eccentric psychologist father-in-law (who blames Levon for the death of his daughter). Everyone you come into contact with exists solely so Jason Statham can unleash his carnage upon us all with no qualms about taking their lives in revenge against Levon!
“A Working Man” might appear unimpressive when streamed online, but in an audience, it takes on new life as theatergoers’ reactions to visceral fight scenes and unhinged violence become like a Greek chorus that heightens the experience. Ayer employs hand-to-hand combat sequences not for balletic back-and-forths but for blunt, decisive displays of brutality that satisfy the audience’s bloodlust; no stone remains unturned in satisfying viewers who wish these oddball baddies reach sufficiently tragic ends.
At some level, in an uncertain and murky world where bad guys often win and the systems we depend upon frequently fail us, watching Statham films may provide comforting relief from life’s uncertainties – be they “The Transporter,” “Beekeeper,” or “A Working Man.” No matter how regressive or repetitive their qualities may be, they offer much-needed respite.
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