A Working Man
review by Bobby Blakey
Director David Ayer has racked up an impressive resume with great films like Fury, Suicide Squad, Bright, End of Watch and Sabotage. In 2024 he teamed with action star Jason Statham for the hit film The Beekeeper. Now the two are getting the gang back together for their new film A Working Man co-starring Jason Flemyng, Merab Ninidze, Maximilian Osinski, Cokey Falkow, with Michael Peña and David Harbour. Could this be yet another great Statham action flick or will it not work hard enough?
A Working Man follows Levon Cade who left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss’s daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by human traffickers, his search to bring her home uncovers a world of corruption far greater than he ever could have imagined.
If Jason Statham is in the movie I am there. He has established himself as a great action star that is one of the few that emulates those iconic tough guys from the 80s and the 90s to perfection. At the same time, he can weave between everyman and suave badass like no other. This is another of those very Statham movies with a screenplay from Stallone that is tailor made for Statham. He and Ayer have a great vibe together and while it’s not the martial arts focused action like usual still brings all the pain and action fans love.
The story is simple and sets the tone early on letting us know that his character is beloved by the people he works with and that there is more to him when he must smack some thugs around. It follows all the usual tropes of the genre, and I am
here for it. Filled with all the underground slim balls and crazed characters, Statham weaves through them like only he can leaving a trail of bodies behind him. Instead of him just kick ass there is some smart planning in his overall plan to rescues the girl that involves some infiltration and playing sides that makes it cleverer than some of his other films like this.
I also dug that they didn’t just make the girl that was taken an emotional wreck of a victim and had her trying to fight back anytime she could. Instead of just waiting to be saved or killed she was doing whatever she can to survive without making her some sort of badass on her own. Though there isn’t as much action as fans may be used too there is still plenty on display that will feed fans urges. The final act offers up all the fights and shootouts you are waiting for and lends itself to everything you might have wanted. There are some unresolved moments in the story that probably could have been left out altogether, but it’s a minor issue that doesn’t mess anything up.
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Grab your copy of A Working Man when it hits 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on June 10th from MGM and Warner Bros Discovery Home Entertainment.