by Austen Terry, Contributing Writer
Jason Statham action movies have become a genre all their own, with just about one a year coming out. So much so people have made a meme out of their titles. This year is no different, as A Working Man reunites Statham and David Ayer after last year’s The Beekeeper. Plus, the action movie genre has seen several movies with the same premise where a retired soldier comes out of retirement for revenge.
A Working Man tells the story of Levon (Statham), a retired black ops soldier who left his job to go straight for his daughter Merry (Isla Gie) after his wife’s death. When Jenny Garcia (Arianna Rivas) is kidnapped, her parents, Joe (Michael Peña) and Carla (Noemi Gonzalez), Levon’s employers, ask him to find her. In his investigation, Levon finds that the Russian mafia is involved, and as his friend Gunny (David Harbour) tells him he killed his way into this, and will have to kill his way out.
Ayer directs and writes the screenplay, along with Sylvester Stallone, bringing the book Levon’s Trade by Chuck Dixon to screen. Action movies are scored by how good the action is, and there are some good action set pieces here, but it is hard to follow. Statham gives his all in continuity his action film roles, but several times, the action is filmed not to show Statham. The movie is very fast paced, but it also didn’t need the near-two-hour runtime.
Statham has great chemistry with all the stars, and knows how to be intimidating when getting answers. Plus, Ayer shines in bringing the actors to where they need to be. Though some of the villains are over the top and some plot points are left unresolved, the movie still has its moments. Similar to The Beekeeper Levon doesn’t do a lot of investigating; he watches from afar, but pretty much doesn’t need help.
The story was told better in 2008 with Taken, but A Working Man still ended up not being a bad way to spend the afternoon.
Rating: It Was Just Okay
A Working Man is currently playing in theaters
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