The 2025 offering from Jason Statham; A Working Man falls short of his usual effort. It is formulaic and slow, an almost “by the numbers” drill. This is not his best effort. Director David Ayer takes the screenplay, with no less that three writers, and makes a right meal of it.
the story
Levon Cade leaves behind the Special Forces (Royal Marines) after his wife dies by suicide. He wants to be a good father to his daughter; Merry. His boss, also a good father, has his daughter Jenny kidnapped by Russian gangsters. Levon steps up to help get her back.
The Cast
Jason Statham is Levon Cade.
Jason Flemyng is Wolo Kolisnyk.
Merab Ninidze is Yuri.
Maximilian Osinski is Dimi Kolisnyk.
Cokey Falkow is Dougie.
Michael Peña is Joe Garcia.
David Harbour is Gunny.
Noemi Gonzalez is Carla Garcia.
Arianna Rivas is Jenny Garcia.
Isla Gie is Merry Cade.
Emmett J Scanlan is Viper.
Eve Mauro is Artemis.
Chidi Ajufo is Dutch.
*Kudos to Ajufo as Dutch, he really stands out here in his role. Special mention to Isla Gie as Merry, keep an eye on this one.*
A Working Man BTS
Sylvester Stallone co writes this one with director Ayers, based on the novel by Chuck Dixon. Ayer, who directed The Beekeeper missed a beat on this one. A Working Man was filmed right after the aforementioned film. IMDb mentions that many of the same behind the camera folks stayed on for this film.
*Side Note: IMDb also has Ayer’s listed for the upcoming project “The Wild Bunch.” It is a remake. Ayer does a good job, at least he did for The Beekeeper. However, what he specializes in is over the top violence. Whoever thought he was a good modern day version of Peckinpah needs to rethink this. Leave The Wild Bunch alone chaps.*
Pacing
A Working Man suffers from a pacing problem. It “stumbles ” from one scene to another. This could be down to editor Fred Raskin having issues with DP Shawn White footage? Or it could be down to Ayer losing sight of the book’s storyline. Not having read the novels it is hard to tell.
Either way, the film feels jumbled together. The pacing of the film is jerky and spasmodic. There is no smooth transition here.
The stunts
A Working Man does one thing right. The fight scenes look great. They are still formulaic though. This is Statham “by the numbers.” There is nothing really new here. In fact, the best thing about the film’s fight scenes feature Arianna Rivas. This is really saying something since I am a huge Statham fan.
The pacing may be annoying but Statham does still manage to captivate in any action sequence. He delivers, which is why his Expendables pal, Stallone keeps writing for him.
The Verdict
A Working Man earns a meagre 3.5 stars. It is still oddly satisfying because it is a Statham vehicle. The London actor, who was born in Derbyshire, is a stunt performer underneath all that acting. He delivers, despite any of his films and their shortcomings.
The film is available to rent or purchase via the usual streaming platforms.
The Trailer
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