A Working Man sets itself up as a gritty, old-school action thriller — Jason Statham as a brooding ex-military man on a rescue mission. You know the drill: kidnapped girl, Russian mobsters, a trail of broken bones. And while the ingredients are all there, what we get is a sluggish, by-the-numbers thriller that feels like it’s running on autopilot.
Statham plays Levon Cade, a former Royal Marine turned construction worker who’s pulled back into action when the daughter of his boss (Michael Peña, barely used) is kidnapped. What follows is a weary trail of gruff interrogations, predictable beatdowns, and an ever-growing pile of anonymous henchmen.
Formula isn’t the problem — plenty of great action films thrive on familiar beats. The trouble is that A Working Man brings nothing new to the table, and lacks the energy or flair to make the old feel fresh. Co-written by director David Ayer (reuniting with Statham after the stronger The Beekeeper) and Sylvester Stallone, the film occasionally gestures toward deeper themes — PTSD, fractured families, the horrors of human trafficking — but handles them with such surface-level clumsiness that they barely register. The trafficking plot, in particular, feels especially underdeveloped, reduced to background noise rather than the urgent, horrifying threat it should be.
The villains don’t help matters. It’s your usual roster of growling Russian mobsters — all attitude, no actual menace. They’re less threatening, more theatrical, and Levon tears through them like he’s on autopilot. There’s no tension, no real challenge — just a series of scowling faces waiting to be punched.
OTHER POSTS:
The victim at the centre of the plot, Jenny (Arianna Rivas), is given almost nothing to do beyond a half-hearted emotional beat involving a piano. For a film that tries to position her rescue as the driving force, she’s barely part of the story.
Statham, ever the reliable bruiser, delivers his usual mix of grim stares and growled lines. He’s not the problem — he’s doing the job. But the film gives him nothing interesting to work with. Even David Harbour, seemingly set up for a bigger role, fades into the background without much impact.
When the action finally kicks in, it’s serviceable but forgettable. The fights are okay, but rarely exciting, and the finale, while trying to go big, feels like it’s ticking a box rather than delivering a payoff. Budget constraints are obvious, and the film’s tone lurches between grim earnestness and awkward absurdity, without ever finding its footing.
A Working Man wants to be a stripped-back, hard-hitting thriller, but ends up as a flat, uninspired entry in Statham’s growing collection of “tough guy on a mission” films. Watchable in a passive way, maybe, but never gripping. For a film about violent justice, it’s strangely lacking in impact.
