JASON STATHAM: “A Working Man.” / “Homefront.” / “The Mechanic.” / “Killer Elite.” / “Chaos.”

“A Working Man” (2025, Amazon Prime) action thriller film, directed by David Ayer, and co-written with Sylvester Stallone. Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life of working construction. Then shit happens. So you know what happens next when shit happens. The macho action hero will fix the shit!



   Yes, Sly co-wrote the script with the dude who earned his Hollywood gravitas writing action bangers and then directing some: David Ayer. He wrote the screenplays for 2001's “Training Day” and “The Fast and the Furious,” and directed 2012's “End of Watch” and 2014's “Fury.” I enjoyed all those movies. But there's nothing much to experience in “A Working Man” that I didn't see before.

       As we know it, action hunks like Jason Statham don’t talk much. In fact, they talk softly but firm (standard: Clint Eastwood in spaghetti westerns). Like a whispery shout. The acting is one-dimensional, almost a mumbling statue (standard: Keanu Reeves’ John Wick). To quote the Bee Gees: “I'm a woman's man. No time to talk.”

       The bad guys? They are stereotypical villains, with an accent. Russian. And an American (or British?) bad woman whose lines are all interjected with “fuck!”

       And so this non-losing formula again, won. For a budget of $40 million, this movie earned $98 million. Minor win but still a win. 🎥💻📽


“Homefront” (2013, Sling) action thriller film, written by Sylvester Stallone. A retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent leads a peaceful life with his daughter, but trouble ensues as they get entangled with a crime boss due to a school bullying incident. 



       Before I click-watch a Jason Statham movie, I already know what I'm gonna get. Acting, story structure, action sequences. But I still watch, for some reason. Better than 1 full hour of immersion in my Facebook homepage, LOL! 

       And this movie boasts of a kickass cast: James Franco, Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth, Frank Grillo, Clancy Brown. I mean, I wouldn't miss a movie with Ms Ryder in it. Guilty pleasure. I love her! 🎥💻📽


“The Mechanic” (2011, Apple TV+) action thriller, remake of the 1972 film of the same name. Centers on a professional assassin or “mechanic,” who specializes in making his hits look like accidents, suicides and petty criminals' acts. 



       Jason Statham, icy glare and all, and Ben Foster, always a fine actor, deliver entertaining performances, but this remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson hit, is still a drab cliché (sic). But many wouldn't really mind that in favor of the action-thriller adrenaline. 

       Hence, “The Mechanic” is a fine companion watch as you attend to three other house chores. 🎥💻📽


“Killer Elite” (2011, Sling) action thriller. A retired hitman is forced back into action when his mentor is kidnapped. The film is based on the 1991 novel “The Feather Men” by Ranulph Fiennes. 



       I am mixed with this action fare. Some parts are mere derivatives of what we already saw in most of the genre that were crafted better. Yet some sequences offer threshed-out characterizations around a cliché plot that makes the action/thriller different from most derivatives. Director Gary McKendry still delivered a watchable feature.

       Jason Statham acts parallel with Keanu Reeves and Steven Seagal so no expectations there. He isn't Liam Neeson by a long shot. But this project has drama biggies Robert De Niro, Clive Owen, Yvonne Strahovski, and Ben Mendelsohn so that'd be reasons to keep on watching till end credits. 🎥💻📽


“Chaos” (2005, Roku) crime action thriller. Seattle PD Detective Quentin Conners and his partner Jason York are implicated in the death of a hostage taken by a carjacker named John Curtis. Stars Jason Statham, Ryan Phillippe and Wesley Snipes. 



       "Chaos” isn't exactly a horrible movie but it isn't nearly a remarkable one, either. The premise is clever, the “chaos” bit and all that, but I didn't really get it--since the center of this police thriller is the action. Director Tony Giglio is not a cerebral filmmaker, obviously. But this project is still entertaining, irrelevant of the bang-bang cliches and awful dialogue. 

       But Mr Statham and Mr Snipes delivered what is expected of them, with Mr Phillippe adding some drama. 🎥💻📽

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BASED on True Story or People: “The Lost Bus.” / “The Stanford Prison Experiment.” / “Escobar: Paradise Lost.” / “Polytechnique.” / “Miss Potter.” / “Last Days.”

Image
“The Lost Bus” (2025, Apple TV+) survival drama film directed by Paul Greengrass , who co-wrote the screenplay with Brad Ingelsby .         This movie is based on a rescue detailed in a section of Lizzie Johnson's book “Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire” about the 2018 Camp Fire , one of the most destructive wildfires in California history, which claimed 85 lives.        Mr Greengrass’ recreation of the disaster is terrifyingly authentic. It'd seem like the film's audience is actually there with the schoolchildren and their teachers and driver, inside the bus. You can almost feel the blazing fire and the searing heat.        Plus an outstanding performance by Matthew McConaughey as the driver Kevin McKee and America Ferrera as the teacher Mary Ludwig.        Recommended weekend family viewing. 🎥💻📽 “The Stanford ...
Read more

NOSFERATU (or Dracula) movies or films inspired by Bram Stoker's 1897 novel “Dracula.”

Image
<>“Nosferatu” (2024, Amazon Prime), written and directed by Robert Eggers . Production design is haunting, photography is disturbingly sinister, sound editing kneads your spine. And, of course, Nicholas Hoult (as Thomas Hutter) expectedly delivers and Lily-Rose Depp (as Ellen Hutter) is a revelation.         Meanwhile, with the prosthetics or masks, it is hard to rate the performance of Bill Skarsgård 's titular Count Orlok but Simon McBurney (as Herr Knock otherwise known as Renfield) is chillingly hilarious although a bit exaggerated, I think. But Aaron Taylor-Johnson (as Arthur Holmwood) is miscast.        Take note that Nosferatu/Count Dracula, Jonathan Harker and Lucy Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Lucy Westenra, Renfield, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood etcetera assumed different names in this version. 🎥👍📽 <>“Nosferatu The Vampyre” (1979, Tubi), directed and written by Werner Herzog . A remake of...
Read more

“The Alto Knights.” / “The Irish Mob.”

Image
“The Alto Knights” (2025, Max) biographical crime drama. Story: In a failed assassination attempt orchestrated by his ambitious underboss, Vito Genovese , Luciano family boss Frank Costello finds himself at a crossroads. Robert De Niro both portrays Mr Genevese and Mr Costello , which can be confusing a bit because both speak like De Niro and both talk like Mafia bosses. As is though, this is not a bad movie although nothing is really new here. But a tired retelling of what we already knew or watched in so many mob cinema tropes.         Plot: In a failed assassination attempt orchestrated by his ambitious underboss, Vito Genovese , Luciano family boss Frank Costello finds himself at a crossroads. Weary of the constant bloodshed and betrayals that define his life, Costello informs Genovese of his intention to retire and cede control of the Luciano family. However, Vito, a man consumed by ambition and paranoia, refuses to believe Costello's in...
Read more