A WORKING MAN (2025)

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: David Ayer
Cast: Jason Statham, David Harbour, Michael Peña, Noemi Gonzalez, Arianna Rivas, Jason Flemyng
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language and Violence)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 27 March 2025

Synopsis: From the Director of Suicide Squad, David Ayer. A WORKING MAN is an exhilarating and action packed thriller where Levon Cade (Jason Statham), a construction worker with military past goes on a mission to rescue his boss’s kidnapped daughter and uncovers a world of human trafficking far greater than he ever could have imagined.

Movie Review:

If the idea of a ‘Beekeeper’ reteam does not sound attractive to you, then you’re probably not the audience for ‘A Working Man’. Neither director David Ayer or his British star Jason Statham make any apologies for essentially rehashing the same formula of a reluctant vigilante whose moral code to help the helpless compels him to revive his uniquely lethal set of skills, but those who enjoy the simple pleasures of such familiar action vehicles need no such apologies anyways.

Not that it matters, but Statham here plays former Royal Guard veteran Levon Cade, who has turned in his uniform and weapons for a life of a construction foreman in Chicago. Following the suicide of his wife, Levon is locked in a bitter custody battle of his daughter Merry (Isla Gie) with his domineering father-in-law (Richard Heap); and in order to save up enough for the legal fees, Levon sleeps in his Dodge Ram that will also come in handy later on when he is tracking down the baddies.

That bit about his daughter is why Levon, while initially hesitant, decides to come to the help of his boss Joe (Michael Pena) when the latter’s college-age daughter Carla (Arianna Rivas) is abducted by a bunch of ruthless Russian gangsters while out celebrating her first semester in business school. If you’re wondering why, it’s because these gangsters are running a human trafficking ring where they spot young, nubile females and offer them up for sale to despicable buyers.

To be sure, it doesn’t take too long before Levon swings into action, setting in motion a series of nasty confrontations – starting with the bartender at the club where Carla disappeared, whom he subjects to a waterboarding session in the former’s own bathtub; then to a physically abusive Russian crime lord (Statham’s ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ co-star Jason Flemyng), whom he ties up, suspends and subsequently drowns in the latter’s own swimming pool; then to an eccentric twins in gaudy, silk tracksuits named Viper (Emmett J. Scanlan) and Artemis (Eve Mauro), whom he battles in the back of a van with his hands tied; and lastly with the entire outfit of one branch of the Russian mafia organisation led by the laconic and vampiric-looking Symon (Andrej Kaminsky).

It is an over-the-top collection of Russian goons all right, but the rogues’ gallery of deviant weirdos does indeed add to the fun. We should add to that list a ‘weapons sommelier’ in Levon’s former brother-in-arms Gunny (David Harbour), who not only still shoots (literally) like an arrow despite his blindness but also provides Levon with an impressive array of formidable guns and explosives for the all-out finale in an isolated Russian hideout somewhere in the woods where the moon looks comically enormous (I kid you not); and a ‘meth-dealing’ muscle daddy named Dutch (Chidi Ajufo), who similarly bonds with Levon over their military background. Oh yes, these touches are probably as much credit to Ayer as to his co-writer Sylvester Stallone (yes, the Balboa himself), who had originally intended to adapt the Chuck Dixon novel on which the film is based into a TV series.

Still, it is the genuinely and charmingly rough-hewn Statham whom we are here to see in badass mode, and in that regard, we will reassure you that Statham himself does not disappoint. As he had demonstrated in their previous collaboration, Ayer knows exactly what Statham excels at and what his fans want, and he delivers it with aplomb. What is puzzling though is why Ayer resorts to cutting up the action sequences more than he needs to, rather than just letting us watch Statham do his thing. Compared to ‘The Beekeeper’ too though, the storytelling is also a lot choppier, lacking in a strong, steady build-up that is one of the underrated qualities of the ‘John Wick’ franchise.

Like ‘The Beekeeper’, it is clear that both Ayer and Statham are laying the base for a potential franchise, in particular for future engagements with the Bratva organisation that has whiffs of The Continental. Over the years, Statham has carefully honed his brand into a gruff skull-cracker with simmering charisma, and as long as he keeps at it, we suspect he will continue to command a loyal following for his action thrillers (us included). Some of these movies will be better, some of them will feel like more of the same, and so even though it is formulaic, ‘A Working Man’ still offers up sufficient visceral pleasures to fall into the former category, which we suspect is enough to win over his legion of fans and followers to demand for a sequel and possibly even a franchise.

Movie Rating:

(Jason Statham does what he does best as a reluctant vigilante with his own brand of gruff, simmering charisma, and though formulaic, it is precisely this familiarity that makes this comfort food for Statham fans)

Review by Gabriel Chong