Jason Statham delivers the action goods in ‘A Working Man' — for the most part
Though he appears to have no other relatives, Levon is treated like family by his boss, Joe Garcia (Michael Peña), and his wife, Carla (Noemi Gonzalez). To make sure he gets at least one good meal a day, Carla sends their daughter, Jenny (Arianna Rivas), to the latest construction site with food for Levon.
So far, this adaptation of Chuck Dixon's novel 'Levon's Trade' has the makings of a small, bittersweet story of fathers and daughters. But the trade in Dixon's title isn't mixing cement or riding steel beams. Levon has a secret past, and because he's played by Jason Statham, you know that past contains ultra-violence.
Turns out Levon is quite adept at tapping kegs of whup-ass, as evidenced in an early scene where he comes to the defense of a work colleague being beaten by thugs at the site. Levon uses buckets of nails, bags of concrete, his fists and feet, and the perpetrators' guns to restore law and order.
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From left, Arianna Rivas, Michael Peña, and Jason Statham in "A Working Man."
Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios/Dan Smith
Jenny is impressed and correctly guesses that Levon has a military background. He's a British ex-Royal Marines commando. Levon swears Jenny to secrecy. 'It's not who I am anymore,' Levon says. As you can guess, some horrible event will make him change his mind.
After Jenny and her girlfriends use fake IDs to enter a club to celebrate their high-school graduation, she is kidnapped by human traffickers Viper (Emmett J. Scanlan) and Artemis (Eve Mauro). Joe begs Levon for help — as the son of a Marine, he immediately recognizes Levon as ex-military — but is initially turned down.
Once Levon takes the assignment, director David Ayer unleashes the torrent of graphic violence you paid good money to see. In the melee, we're subject to an overly complicated plot involving drugs, the Russian Mafia, and hit men, who dress in outlandish suits that look like clown costumes designed by Yves Saint Laurent. All roads lead to Dimi (Maximilian Osinski), the son of a made Mafioso who thinks he's a capo but is really a klutz.
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'A Working Man' was initially pitched by co-writer Sylvester Stallone
David Harbour, left, and Jason Statham in "A Working Man."
Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios/Dan Smith
At the top of that list is Gunny (David Harbour), Levon's former partner and the reason he retired. Gunny is blind, but can shoot an arrow close enough to nearly miss Levon when he comes to visit. He's like the
Though she's offscreen for most of the carnage, Jenny is far from a damsel in distress. Every man to whom she is sold doesn't get far enough to molest her. One of the guys ends up needing 36 stitches. Her annoying captors, Viper and Artemis, are dangerous but hapless. And the old cliché of being saved by the sudden appearance of a cop is turned into a dark running joke when the same officer keeps showing up to help the villains instead.
I've said this whenever I've reviewed a Jason Statham movie: I find him more interesting in his non-action scenes than when he's blowing bad guys to smithereens. This film is no different. I've witnessed 27 million scenes of people being pumped full of lead (this movie probably counts for about 1 million of those), but far fewer moments when characters in action films relate to each other.
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Isla Gie and Jason Statham in "A Working Man."
Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
Unlike most action-movie actors, Statham is very good at conveying camaraderie with dialogue. His scenes with Gie made me want to know more about their relationship. I felt the same way about
his scenes with Harbour.
Director Ayer also helmed Statham's 2024 hit, 'The Beekeeper,' and Stallone wrote the actor's 2013 film 'Homefront.' If you liked those movies, you'll probably enjoy this one. As much fun as 'A Working Man' can be, I kept thinking there's a better movie peeking out through the cracks of this rather OK one.
★★½
A WORKING MAN
Directed by David Ayer. Written by Ayer and Sylvester Stallone. Starring Jason Statham, David Harbour, Arianna Rivas, Michael Peña, Emmett J. Scanlan, Eve Mauro, Maximilian Osinski, Isla Gie, Noemi Gonzalez. At AMC Boston Common, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, AMC Causeway, suburbs. 116 minutes. R (the violence gets time and a half)
Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.
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