The Snapshot: Even the seasoned hands of action superstar Jason Statham struggle to elevate this unremarkable caper featuring a lackluster script.
**A Working Man:** A Missed Opportunity in Action Cinema
Rating: 14A | Duration: 1hr 56mins | Genres: Action, Crime, Drama
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Jason Statham, Jason Flemyng, Maximilian Osinski, Arianna Rivas, David Harbour, and Michael Peña
**The Premise: A Lackluster Journey**
In an age where action films should leave audiences breathless, A Working Man barely manages to muster a yawn. Starring the ever-reliable Jason Statham, this film is marred by a **generic plot** that sees Levon, a construction foreman, stepping away from his usual tasks to embark on a mission to rescue his boss's abducted daughter. While it may sound thrilling on the surface, the execution leaves much to be desired.
**A Message Lost in Mediocrity**
Despite its noble message against human trafficking and its focus on women's freedom, the film is plagued by an exasperatingly boring script. The action sequences, which one would expect to be the highlight, are disappointingly sparse, appearing only intermittently amid long stretches of tedious, pseudo-masculine boardroom dialogues.
**Adaptation Gone Awry**
Based on Chuck Dixon's 2014 novel Levon’s Trade, the film unites Statham with director/co-writer David Ayer, who previously helmed the far superior crime thriller The Beekeeper. Unfortunately, this collaboration fails to recreate the same magic. The dialogue feels thin and uninspired, even with contributions from veteran Sylvester Stallone, whose presence is conspicuously absent despite his executive role. The toughness exhibited by the characters feels forced and unconvincing.
**Cliché Characters and Hollow Conflicts**
The antagonistic Russian mafia is a tired trope that does nothing to enhance the film’s conflict. Their motives are convoluted and lack depth, diminishing any sense of tension. The unrelenting tone of macho bravado serves only to detract from the film’s message, rendering it unnecessarily superficial.
Spanning nearly two hours, A Working Man fails to deliver on its promises, with the occasional glimpse of Statham showcasing his fighting prowess being the lone highlight amidst a sea of dullness. The film’s pacing drags, leaving audiences longing for more meaningful action and depth.
**Final Verdict: A Swing and a Miss**
While intent on making a statement, A Working Man falls tragically short in execution. When compared to last year’s gripping The Beekeeper, it starkly illustrates how pivotal a solid script is to elevating an action film from banal to exhilarating. Regrettably, this film **needed to clock in a few more hours** in the writer's room before it could effectively deliver a pulse-pounding story.
For those craving compelling action stories, you might find your time better spent elsewhere. But if you’re a die-hard Statham fan, perhaps the sight of him landing punches may be worth a glance.
