A Working Man (2025)
Levon Cade (Jason Staham) is a former Royal Marine Commando who has retired from military service and now works as the leader of a construction team in Chicago. He has a close relationship with Joe and Carla Garcia (Michael Peña and Noemi Gonzalez ) who run the company and considers them as family. Outside of work, Levon is involved in a bitter custody battle for his daughter, against her maternal grandfather, who blames Levon for his daughter’s suicide. When Garcia's teenage daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas) goes missing, Levon reluctantly agrees to help her parents and get her back. Beginning his search at the nightclub where Jenny was last seen, he soon discovers that she was abducted by Russian traffickers. Furthermore, the culprit is Dimi Kolisnyk (Maximilian Osinski), the wayward son of a senior ranking gangster.
Levon Cade (Jason Staham) is a former Royal Marine Commando who has retired from military service and now works as the leader of a construction team in Chicago. He has a close relationship with Joe and Carla Garcia (Michael Peña and Noemi Gonzalez ) who run the company and considers them as family. Outside of work, Levon is involved in a bitter custody battle for his daughter, against her maternal grandfather, who blames Levon for his daughter’s suicide. When Garcia's teenage daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas) goes missing, Levon reluctantly agrees to help her parents and get her back. Beginning his search at the nightclub where Jenny was last seen, he soon discovers that she was abducted by Russian traffickers. Furthermore, the culprit is Dimi Kolisnyk (Maximilian Osinski), the wayward son of a senior ranking gangster.
A Working Man is based upon the novel Levon's Trade by Chuck Dixon. The screenplay is by Sylvester Stallone and David Ayer who also directed the film. Stallone had originally intended the basic scenario of the book to be the basis of a television series but it was repurposed as a feature film. It was deemed a more marketable property due to the number of sequels written by the original author. Whether these ever see the light of day remains to be seen and is dependent upon the box office performance of A Working Man. The film has the solid production values associated with a medium budget feature film and a cast of dependable character actors in supporting roles. The action scenes are well conceived, realised but somewhat stylised. Firearms knock people off their feets and villains take multiple blows to the head before going down. Everything that you expect from the genre and the star is front and centre. Yet there is something missing.
A Working Man has a few interesting ideas, such as the lead character performing his own, amateur investigation. Ayer adds a few flamboyant touches, such as the leader of a drug dealing motorcycle gang who sits on a chrome throne made of exhaust pipes and fairings. There are also quite a lot of subplots for a film of this nature, with various elements of the Russian mafia working at odds with each other. Sadly, the main plot line about Jenny Garcia’s kidnapping founders as she decides to fight back and not to be a victim. By the climax of the film it has almost become an afterthought. Overall, A Working Man drags under the weight of a plot which pitches several ideas and then abandons them. Statham, as ever, does much of the heavy lifting through his screen presence and personality. However, compared to Ayer’s previous film The Beekeeper, this one fails to assert its difference, despite trying hard to do so. The word “adequate” springs to mind.
Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
Back in 2018 I wrote the following about The Meg in my review. “My interest doesn’t go so far as a sequel. This sort of movie is the equivalent of a greasy burger you buy at the funfair. It’s fine once in a while as an indulgence, despite the fact that you know it’s bad, but you would soon tire of them being a regular part of my diet”. Five years later, I foolishly thought it may be “fun” to give the sequel, Meg 2: The Trench (2023), a go. Especially in light of the fact that it’s directed by Ben Wheatley. Surely such a filmmaker would bring some creativity and a fresh perspective to this franchise? Nope. Turns out he didn’t. Meg 2: The Trench lacks everything that made its predecessor tolerable. This superfluous sequel is an uninspired, poorly written mess which confuses turning everything up to eleven with entertainment. It gets nowhere near “it’s so bad, it’s good” territory. Instead it makes the biggest mistake a film of this nature can do. It’s dull.
Back in 2018 I wrote the following about The Meg in my review. “My interest doesn’t go so far as a sequel. This sort of movie is the equivalent of a greasy burger you buy at the funfair. It’s fine once in a while as an indulgence, despite the fact that you know it’s bad, but you would soon tire of them being a regular part of my diet”. Five years later, I foolishly thought it may be “fun” to give the sequel, Meg 2: The Trench (2023), a go. Especially in light of the fact that it’s directed by Ben Wheatley. Surely such a filmmaker would bring some creativity and a fresh perspective to this franchise? Nope. Turns out he didn’t. Meg 2: The Trench lacks everything that made its predecessor tolerable. This superfluous sequel is an uninspired, poorly written mess which confuses turning everything up to eleven with entertainment. It gets nowhere near “it’s so bad, it’s good” territory. Instead it makes the biggest mistake a film of this nature can do. It’s dull.
Five years on from the first film, Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) now works for Mana One Marine Research centre, which is currently exploring the depth of the Mariana Trench where the Megalodons and other unknown ichthyofauna live. Along with company director Jiuming Zhang (Wu Jing), Taylor takes two submersibles to an uncharted part of the trench and finds to his surprise an illegal mining operation on the ocean floor. They are ambushed by a mercenary named Montes (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and forced to abandon their vessels and walk along the ocean floor to reach the unknown mining base. After contacting Mana One, they learn that the rescue submarine has been sabotaged. Furthermore, an explosion caused by the mining operation has breached the thermocline barrier and provided a means for three megalodons and other creatures to reach the surface.
Like its predecessor Meg 2: The Trench has solid production values. A lot of money has been spent on the production design and sets. Meg 2: The Trench is far from cheap and cheerful. The film also handles dialogue in two languages well, as several characters frequently switch between conversing in English and Mandarin. Sadly the screenplay is perfunctory and the dialogue predictable. Most of the characters are two dimensional and hence disposable. When the big reveal happens involving a team member who has betrayed their colleagues, it has no impact. There is also a conveyor belt of “red shirt” mercenaries who are regularly introduced, just to provide the various beasties something to chow down on. There is also a somewhat anachronistic comedic African American character, played by Page Kennedy, that feels it’s been cribbed from an eighties action movie.
The action scenes are competently constructed but like most “creature features”with a PG-13 rating, they are mostly bloodless and free from any real threat or dramatic weight. There is an attempt to try and make some of the deaths a little more creative to try and compensate for this. One character’s exosuit implodes and the visual effects handle this quite well. But the same problem from the first movie persists into the second. The Megalodons are so large they swallow people and things whole, which effectively mitigates any shock factor. The giant Octopus is handled more discreetly and as a result is a more interesting antagonist. However, this is the sort of movie where you know well in advance who will live and who will die. Not even Jason Statham’s pugnacious character can up the ante. Overall Meg 2: The Trench is a classic example of “the same but more” and a squandered opportunity. I was left sadly feeling “so what?” at the end.
Death Race (2008)
I must admit that I did not have particularly high hopes for Paul W S Anderson's remake of the 1975 Roger Corman produced cult classic. Anderson’s work varies greatly. Event Horizon and Soldier are solid genre films but I still have not fully come to terms with Alien vs. Predator. Jason Statham is also a name that divides the public, with solid material such as The Transporter and unfathomable tosh like Revolver. But despite these considerations, Death Race is in fact quite a surprise and does not follow the path that so many remakes do. It takes the basic themes and concept associated with the original and tries to do something different with them. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel nor is it a genre milestone. But it does offer a different spin on things, have some engaging action scenes and provide some dumb but enjoyable entertainment. When combined with snacks and some beer this is a passable way to kill 111 minutes.
I must admit that I did not have particularly high hopes for Paul W S Anderson's remake of the 1975 Roger Corman produced cult classic. Anderson’s work varies greatly. Event Horizon and Soldier are solid genre films but I still have not fully come to terms with Alien vs. Predator. Jason Statham is also a name that divides the public, with solid material such as The Transporter and unfathomable tosh like Revolver. But despite these considerations, Death Race is in fact quite a surprise and does not follow the path that so many remakes do. It takes the basic themes and concept associated with the original and tries to do something different with them. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel nor is it a genre milestone. But it does offer a different spin on things, have some engaging action scenes and provide some dumb but enjoyable entertainment. When combined with snacks and some beer this is a passable way to kill 111 minutes.
Death Race is not an exact retread of the original movie. It bears more similarities to Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Running Man but avoids any attempt at social commentary. The plot is very matter of fact and established very quickly. In the near future, the US has suffered a complete economic collapse. Unemployment and poverty stalk the land, like two giant stalking things (to quote Blackadder). Ex-professional driver Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is framed for his wife’s murder and ends up in the proverbial big house. Evil Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) who makes a profit from the prison system by staging a brutal set of fatal demolition derby’s, blackmails Jensen into driving under the guise of punters favourite, “Frankenstein”. The deal is that he’ll earn his freedom if he co-operates. He is aided in his endeavours by institutionalized mechanic “Coach” (Ian McShane) and his navigator Case (Natalie Martinez).
Death Race is actually an honest action movie, avoiding the usual pitfalls of being too OTT or having delusions of grandeur. The script is tight and serviceable, not straying from the accepted formula. There are no major surprises but it is not predictable to the point of tedium. The visual feel and production design are solid and the stunt driving and FXs work are good. There are several affectionate homage to well known road and action movies. The violence is strong but not gloating or gratuitous. For a genre piece, the actors and performances are above average. It’s nice to see Joan Allen indulge in action movie smacktalk. “Okay cocksucker. Fuck with me and we’ll see who shit’s on the sidewalk!” The soundtrack is also very appropriate for the subject matter, with a good selection of songs and metal riffs.
Director Anderson meets audience expectations with Death Race. Don’t get me wrong, this film is still a somewhat niche market product. Fans of costume dramas and character studies will still struggle to define the film's philosophical subtext. But for those wanting a fix of old school action with a squared jawed hero, you can’t go far wrong with Death Race. The film was sufficiently successful to spawn three direct-to-video sequels. Death Race 2 (2010), Death Race 3: Inferno (2013) and Death Race: Beyond Anarchy (2018). However, Jason Statham didn’t see fit to return so is conspicuously absent from them. He is replaced by Luke Goss in the first two follow ups and then Zach McGowan in the last. The budgets and quality decline exponentially as the franchise progresses, as is often the case with these sorts sequels. So I can’t recommend them to anyone but the most ardent genre aficionado.
Safe (2012)
During the eighties there was a clear league table of action movie stars. By the mid-nineties this system fell into decline and the Hollywood lacked any clearly defined exponents of the genre. A decade later, due to the success of Luc Besson’s Transporter films, Jason Statham became a bankable box office star in this field. When you look at Statham's early work in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels it is hard to envisage the "mockney geezer" as an international action star. Yet he has successfully stepped into the role and enjoys a large following. I enjoy his work as he has a likeable on-screen persona. My 88-year-old Mum likes him to because "he wears nice suits". The action genre seldom reaches such a diverse demographic.
During the eighties there was a clear league table of action movie stars. By the mid-nineties this system fell into decline and the Hollywood lacked any clearly defined exponents of the genre. A decade later, due to the success of Luc Besson’s Transporter films, Jason Statham became a bankable box office star in this field. When you look at Statham's early work in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels it is hard to envisage the "mockney geezer" as an international action star. Yet he has successfully stepped into the role and enjoys a large following. I enjoy his work as he has a likeable on-screen persona. My 88-year-old Mum likes him to because "he wears nice suits". The action genre seldom reaches such a diverse demographic.
Safe is a throwback movie. It's central plot theme is very seventies. It seems to be an integral part of the action movie stars rite of passage, that at some point they have to make a movie involving a child (special needs is optional), a pet or sundry exotic animal. Therefore, when I saw the trailer for Safe, the first thing I thought of was Bruce Willis in Mercury Rising. The similarities are quite apparent. In Safe, Statham plays Luke Wright, a New York law enforcer turned cage fighter whose wife has been killed by the Russian mob. He encounters on Mei (Catherine Chan) on the subway and intervenes when she is attacked by assassins. The eleven-year-old maths prodigy is the key to crime boss Han Jiao (James Hong) accounts system and therefore a huge liability in the wrong hands. Wright swears to protect her and so the bodies start piling up.
Director Boaz Yakin’s script is again very old school. It depicts a very modern Manhattan as a hotbed of corruption as you would see in many seventies’ movies such as Serpico. The entire bureaucracy is on the take from the mayor (Chris Sarandon) down to the street cops. It should also be noted that even with the required suspension of disbelief needed to watch such movies, Safe taxes credibility to the extreme with the level of mayhem that ensues. The dialogue is ripe and the acting consists of the cast shouting at each other in-between chewing the scenery. With regard to the action scenes, there are an adequate amount of set pieces, with hand to hand combat and sundry shootings. Nothing is exceptional but nor is anything substandard. Movies such as Safe require a liberal helping of action and sufficient is supplied. But there is nothing of note. Do not go expecting a bravura ending like in Wanted: Dead or Alive.
Yet despite these numerous faults, Safe bowls along under the power of its own insane internal logic. It also does exactly what it says on the side of the tin and somehow manages to entertain on a basic level. A lot of this comes down to Jason Statham. He has the ability to carry a film such as this. It is far from his finest work but overall, it’s acceptable. And so Safe simply joins the ever-growing list of tolerable action movies that are ideal for late night consumption, sans any major critical analysis. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t see that as a bad thing. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, not every film can be a critical success or a genre milestone. Material such as this fills a very particular niche in the market, serves a specific function and has its fans.
The Meg (2018)
If you have seen any of the marketing material or trailers for The Meg, then you know exactly what you’re getting right from the get-go. All movies inherently require the viewer to suspend their sense of disbelief to various degrees. Naturally, the “creature feature” genre asks audience to go the extra mile with this concept. The Meg takes a major gamble by insisting that everyone goes further still, not by believing in a giant prehistoric shark (Megalodon) but that Jason Statham is a ex-navy, deep sea rescue diver. However, it pays off and the resulting movie is staggeringly stupid, but mercifully entertaining in an undemanding way. Recent movies such as Into the Storm and Geostorm are crass and made worse by their implicit assumption that their viewers are stupid. The Meg is far from cerebral but has an upbeat tone and a sense of playfulness that knowingly invites the audience to come aboard with the silliness. It’s a big distinction and the reason why I smiled a lot and frequently rolled my eyes while watching The Meg, but never with derision.
If you have seen any of the marketing material or trailers for The Meg, then you know exactly what you’re getting right from the get-go. All movies inherently require the viewer to suspend their sense of disbelief to various degrees. Naturally, the “creature feature” genre asks audience to go the extra mile with this concept. The Meg takes a major gamble by insisting that everyone goes further still, not by believing in a giant prehistoric shark (Megalodon) but that Jason Statham is a ex-navy, deep sea rescue diver. However, it pays off and the resulting movie is staggeringly stupid, but mercifully entertaining in an undemanding way. Recent movies such as Into the Storm and Geostorm are crass and made worse by their implicit assumption that their viewers are stupid. The Meg is far from cerebral but has an upbeat tone and a sense of playfulness that knowingly invites the audience to come aboard with the silliness. It’s a big distinction and the reason why I smiled a lot and frequently rolled my eyes while watching The Meg, but never with derision.
Plot wise, no cliché, genre trope or established cinematic convention is left unturned. Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) retires with a cloud over his head after leaving several fellow divers behind during a deep-sea rescue. His claim there was an imminent danger from some unknown sea creature, is not believed by fellow team mate Dr Heller (Robert Taylor), who suspects he may have suffered pressure-induced psychosis. Five years later an incident involving a submersible, trapped in the Marianas Trench, forces Jonas out of retirement and into a confrontation with his aquatic nemesis, a prehistoric Megalodon. The creature subsequently escapes the depth of the ocean trench and threatens the safety of an underwater research station, Mana One, owned by billionaire Jack Morris (Rainn Wilson) and run by oceanographer Dr. Minway Zhang (Winston Chao) and his daughter and fellow scientist Suyin Zhang (Li Bingbing). After a failed attempt to destroy the shark, the creature heads off towards the major tourist resort of Sanya Bay in Hainan Province, China. Digital effects abound, scenery is chewed by the cast, Statham is gruff and does everything one expects of him.
The Meg is effectively a big budget copy of the sort of movies The Asylum make, which is ironic on multiple levels when you think about it. It is one of the few recent US-Chinese co-productions that actually manages to maintain a sense of identity. Often when trying to please multiple markets, cultural and social differences are stripped back from the narrative resulting in a very bland and homogeneous product. The Meg manages to maintain a foot in both nations’ respective zeitgeist and the brief scenes showing the Chinese middle-classes indulging in identical leisure activities to their western counterparts is an interesting reflection of the nature of globalism. However, this brief moment of depth is more than likely purely accidental. As for the shark itself, it suffers from being purely a CGI creation and oddly enough, it’s size actually makes it less threatening. This isn’t Jaws where victims are slowly dismembered as the shark feeds. This is a Megalodon that can swallow multiple people in one mouthful. As a result, the climatic action scene at Sanya Bay is fun but oddly not that shocking. The Meg certainly doesn’t push the boundaries of its rating.
Some viewers will still find The Meg too “stupid” for their tastes. It is the sort of movie that is best viewed in the company of likeminded friends, late on a Friday night, after an evening in the pub. It is fair to say that if it wasn’t for the presence of Jason Statham, Cliff Curtis and Shuya Sophia Cai then this would have simply been a DTV release with an unusually big budget. It’s difficult to put an exact finger upon it, but Jason Statham has created his own unique niche within the action movie genre and he carries this movie by his own curious form of star appeal. Plus, the “creature feature” genre still seems to have an inherent attraction with audiences, as the box office returns of the Jurassic Park franchise prove. I’ll be honest and state that my interest in The Meg doesn’t go so far as a sequel. This sort of movie is the equivalent of a greasy burger you buy at the funfair. It’s fine once in a while as an indulgence, despite the fact that you know it’s bad, but you would soon tire of them being a regular part of my diet.