By Seth Lukas Hynes
A Working Man
Starring Jason Statham, David Harbour and Arianna Rivas
MA15+
3.5/5
The latest collaboration between director David Ayer and action star Jason Statham, A Working Man follows Levon Cade (Statham), a commando turned construction worker, who resolves to rescue his boss’s daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas) from human traffickers.
Statham is a gruff action dynamo as always, but shows more warmth than usual as a loving father and loyal protector of his boss’s family.
Co-written by Ayer and Sylvester Stallone and based on the novel Levon’s Trade by Chuck Dixon, the screenplay features engaging dialogue and dashes of wry humour, and the set-pieces are full of variety, culminating in a haunted house Gatsby party vibe for the thrilling climax.
A Working Man’s action is less stylised and more grounded than in The Beekeeper, Ayer and Statham’s previous film together, but still viscerally satisfying.
A Working Man has too many ineffectual minor antagonists, the main villains are broadly-sketched Russian gangsters, and Jenny, the whole focus of Levon’s crusade, fades into the background.
The film also drags in the middle, with Levon initiating a drug trade to get close to a suspect.
A Working Man would make a fun double-feature with The Beekeeper.
Both films complement one another, and not just in their shared star, director and burly vibe: The Beekeeper has the wilder action, and A Working Man has a much better script.
A punchy, well-written and modestly successful second lightning-strike for Ayer and Statham, A Working Man is playing in most Victorian cinemas.
