Knowledgeable’s Ranking
Our Verdict
Jason Statham’s newest movie left me grinning from ear to ear, and never for the proper causes. A Working Man is self-aware of its ridiculousness… to some extent. For those who don’t like hilariously dangerous motion pictures, this isn’t for you.
Greatest Pricing Right now
Jason Statham walks right into a room and shakes the hand of a imply drug vendor who sits on a throne made of bike components and a steel cranium. The vendor appears to be like down at their clasped palms and exclaims, “Have a look at these bricks. You ain’t a cop, you’re a working man.”
It’s this kind of nuanced dialogue that units the scene for this really, really abysmal motion movie. And but, I can’t assist however consider Maximus in Gladiator as he bellows “Are you not entertained?!”, as a result of… I used to be.
I hysterically giggled my method by most of A Working Man. I’m not sure if that was director David Ayer’s intention, however that was my fact. I not too long ago made enjoyable of Reacher for taking liberties with its story, and after seeing this, I’d wish to ship alongside a proper apology to Amazon as a result of the craziness can’t even evaluate.
Minor spoilers for A Working Man under
So, what is that this new flick all about? Statham stars as Levon Cade, a reputation I needed to search for because it was barely referenced. However like many issues on this movie, it doesn’t matter. All you might want to know is that he’s a former army man turned building employee, and he’s on a mission to take down human traffickers.
“I can’t imagine they obtained away with making a movie like that!” – Nameless pal of reviewer
The story begins throughout a traditional day at work when two employed goons present up and threaten one of many builders. When Statham intervenes, the pair threaten him. Large mistake. He picks up a bucket of screws and throws them on the assailants, which additionally occurs to be straight down the digital camera lens. As quickly as I noticed that shot, I knew what I used to be in for, and I couldn’t wait.
The driving drive behind Statham’s quest is to rescue his boss’s daughter, Jenny Garcia (Arianna Rivas). The pair share the briefest bonding second discussing the army, and as a father himself, Statham is aware of the significance of household.
Dan Smith / Warner Bros.
Not even 24 hours after Garcia is kidnapped, we see two law enforcement officials present up on web site. When Statham goes to see the mother and father, they’re already attempting to shove 1000’s of {dollars} in money at him to take this mission into his personal fingers. We haven’t even seen them speak to the police but – they haven’t even tried!
All I can assume is that on this universe, a lot of the Chicago Police Division are on annual go away, and those left are incompetent. There are lots of high-profile, loud acts of violence in A Working Man, together with two males killed by a shotgun in a block of flats and one van plummeting right into a river. However do any of them result in somebody calling the cops? After all not.
However I’ll inform you who’s at all times on the scene – the Russian mafia. Sure. Essentially the most stereotypical villains in Hollywood that each you and I believed couldn’t be made at the present time.
They usually’re not attempting to mix in by any means. The second-tier goons on this movie put on head-to-toe gaudy designer tracksuits with bucket hats – one in purple and one in blue, so you’ll be able to keep in mind which one is which. Once more, it doesn’t matter.
“Greatest movie I’ve ever seen, fingers down.” – Sarcastic man from row in entrance
The massive boss of the Russian mafia (or ‘The Brotherhood’ because it was referenced a number of instances, however I nonetheless can’t inform you why that’s) dons a fur-trimmed coat and walks round monologuing evilly. His identify is Wolo Kolisnyk, and he’s performed by Jason Flemyng.
Later, we uncover that there’s an excellent larger boss above him. I held my breath, able to see who this might presumably be… solely to search out out it was one other Russian man – Symon Kharchenko – with a black coat, hat and cane, performed by Andrej Kaminsky.
However you’ll be able to relaxation assured that none of those moustache-twirling villains are any menace to Statham, who makes it by seemingly unattainable conditions unscathed. Throughout one sequence, he’s using a motorbike as at the least three folks shoot machine weapons at him from vans. Fortunately, our hero has strong plot armour that retains him protected from any stray bullets.
I can’t argue with the truth that there are many kickass motion sequences on this movie – the hits are nearly deafening, and the violence is delivered in droves. However each element round these set items is an afterthought.
Dan Smith / Warner Bros.
In a single scene, Statham seemingly beats each man to a pulp within the throne room. Or at the least, I believed he did. After he has a dialog with vendor Dutch (Chidi Ajufo), he turns again round, and everybody he simply battled with is simply… standing there, fully cool. I noticed a number of folks throw their fingers within the air in disbelief throughout this second.
This screenplay is by David Ayer and Sylvester Stallone, and I’m prepared to guess that not a single girl was concerned through the writing course of. There are a number of situations the place a villain might be sitting doing one thing essential, as his spouse/girlfriend tries to get his consideration. To affirm that he’s dangerous, the male character will give her an enormous slap, after which we don’t hear something from that girl once more.
There are feminine characters with a bit extra substance, however the actresses sadly can not save the fabric they’ve been given. Jenny Garcia has simply sufficient spunk in her that she ticks the field of what a movie producer deems as progressive, whereas villain Artemis (Eve Mauro) spends a lot of the latter half of the movie effing and blinding so we all know she’s robust and never a lot else.
“Why… simply why?” – Man in disbelief sat subsequent to writer
The rating of A Working Man can also be… a selection. Each scene has some stereotypically on-the-nose music that feels fully unwarranted. The opening on the building web site options rousing strings designed to amplify Statham’s motto of teamwork, whereas a scene at a saloon is supported by a finger-clicking up to date nation quantity.
My questions on this film are limitless. Why is the enhancing so uneven? Who have been all these folks going to an evil on line casino? Did David Harbour actually add something to this movie as Statham’s blind pal? Why was the moon so large through the forest chase scenes? Say it with me, people: It. Doesn’t. Matter!
What I’ll give Warner Bros. and MGM credit score for is that they appear self-aware about what this film is. On the screening, all of the workers have been wearing high-vis jackets, whereas the social media workforce have created a LinkedIn profile for Statham in assist of this new launch.
No, A Working Man is absolutely not a very good movie. However it doesn’t should be.
Dan Smith / Warner Bros.
Do you have to watch A Working Man?
My sister requested whether or not she would love this movie as I messaged her about my response, and honestly… I needed to say sure. As a result of I do know she’ll have a very good time.
There’s a crowd on the market for this – and it’s not simply Statham film-nuts who loved The Beekeeper. My pal and I have been in stitches because the credit of A Working Man rolled, and neither of us noticed it as a wasted evening.
On my honour as knowledgeable reviewer, I can’t in good conscience give it a good score attributable to its trash story, distractingly terrible rating and offensively dangerous stereotypes. However if you need a comedy (I don’t assume that was intentional) with some senseless motion thrown in, then be my visitor.
A Working Man drops in cinemas tomorrow, Friday 28 March 2025. For those who’re within the UK, you may get tickets from Cineworld, Vue and Odeon. These in America can get them from AMC Theatres, Fandango and Atom Tickets.