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A former Royal Marine Commando, Levon Cade (Jason Statham) now works as a construction foreman in Chicago for Joe Garcia (Michael Peña) and his wife, Carla (Noemi Gonzalez). When Joe and Carla's daughter, Jenny (Arianna Rivas), goes out for a night of celebration and drinking with her friends, she fails to return, and her parents immediately spring into action. With Joe and Carla believing the police will not conduct a sufficient investigation in time, they beg Levon to step in and bring her home. After consulting with blind fellow ex-soldier and good friend Gunny (David Harbour), Levon starts searching for Jenny and comes to discover that Russian gangsters kidnapped her as part of a human trafficking operation. Thus begins a brutal mission as Levon starts killing his way through Bratva members while hunting for Jenny, who remains at the mercy of her captors, Viper (Emmett J. Scanlan) and Artemis (Eve Mauro). Also in the mix is Dimi (Maximilian Osinski), who oversees the human trafficking.
As with many of Statham's other action movies, he plays a force of nature instead of a well-rounded character, reminiscent of the iconic, invulnerable one-man army heroes of the 1980s. It never feels like Levon is in genuine danger as he maintains control over every situation, and the fun lies in the creative ways he dispatches his victims, including drowning and even a Bluetooth device to assist with aiming at henchmen without leaving cover. The badassery is inherently humorous, and there are further goofy moments to break up the violence, such as a scene of Levon punching Wolo (Jason Flemyng) in the face before toasting a bagel to eat during his interrogation. "Hope you don't mind," he says. "I was hungry."
Statham can play this type of role in his sleep, and the British superstar remains a grizzled, engaging, and physically capable action hero despite now being in his mid-50s. The script never stretches his acting abilities, but neither does Statham feel false or forced. Unlike some of the old-school action stars (Van Damme, Steven Seagal), Statham can actually act - he's convincing in both dramatic and action scenes, and it's easy to understand why audiences continue to show up for him. Meanwhile, David Harbour is an excellent fit for the role of Levon's former gunnery sergeant, who now assists by providing weaponry, firepower, and advice. Also noteworthy is Jason Flemyng, who, like Statham, featured in several early Guy Ritchie movies and even appeared in Transporter 2 alongside The Stath. The supporting cast mostly comprises unknown actors, but Arianna Rivas makes a great impression as the spunky, fiery Jenny, ensuring the role does not amount to a useless kidnap victim.
A Working Man carries the hallmarks of a Stallone screenplay in all the right ways, from efficient character development that does not feel perfunctory to sharp dialogue that is more intriguing than the usual tone-deaf chatter that action flicks typically include. There are badass exchanges, and the picture even has a bit of heart, with Levon trying to protect his daughter (Isla Gie) while fighting for custody. Ayer's directorial contributions also significantly benefit the movie, as the filmmaker makes the most of the modest $40 million budget to stage some spectacular action set pieces. Thankfully, like The Beekeeper, A Working Man is an R-rated action fiesta, and Ayer enjoys staging creative, destructive, and hard-hitting bloodletting as Statham racks up an impressive body count. With the mobster villains lacking in nuance and redeeming characteristics, they are easy to detest, and it is even easier to cheer on Statham as he dispatches them without mercy. Statham convincingly handles the fisticuffs and the shootouts, with Ayer varying the action to prevent the set pieces from becoming too repetitive. Ayer also imbues the flick with more gravitas than a straight-to-video cheapie - it does not feel like low-budget slop.
With a running time of nearly two hours, A Working Man is a bit long for what it is, and the scripting is not entirely airtight. Most confusing is the ostensible decision to contact the police about Jenny's disappearance after an entire weekend of her being missing, and her friends apparently did not care about getting her home safely. Although A Working Man does not reach the heights of Statham's best movies (2021's Wrath of Man is a career high point), it remains a highly entertaining and satisfying B-movie that should satiate genre fans as long as they don't expect anything groundbreaking. Like The Beekeeper, there is potential for a franchise, especially since there are a dozen Levon Cade novels, though it is unclear how much time Ayer and Statham will have to pursue any sequels.
6.9/10
