Arianna Rivas (left) and Jason Statham (right) star in “A Working Man” (Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios).
(“A Working Man” trailer courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios)
Jason Statham is a less versatile Samuel L. Jackson.
Many of the characters they play on the big screen are like characters that have been portrayed in the past.
Somehow, that redundancy does not diminish their performances in any way.
Although moviegoers often know what’s coming, both actors still manage to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
In “A Working Man,” as in other performances like “The Beekeeper,” Statham proves that he has perfected the killer with a soul character.
And if it ain’t broke, why fix a winning formula?
In “A Working Man,” Levon Cade (Statham, “The Meg”) just wants to do the right thing.
He has a checkered past.
His loyalty to the family remains unwavering, especially as he earns a steady paycheck from a family business that is willing to give him a chance when other companies would not.
However, his own family relationship is a little more complicated.
Levon has a daughter named Merry Cade (Isla Gie).
But he only has a little amount of visitation time with her because the child’s grandfather does not think he is fit to raise the little girl by himself.
In fact, the grandfather wants his visitation time reduced.
He criticizes Levon for not even having a permanent address.
So, if Levon does not even have a home, how can he make a stable home for Merry?
However, the friction between Levon and Merry’s grandfather goes deeper than normal parenting issues.
In “A Working Man,” Levon’s military service created some skeletons in his closet.
And it might only be a matter of time before Levon’s past catches up with him and his daughter.
Therefore, Merry’s grandfather just wants to shield her from what he sees as inevitable.
What does not seem inevitable in “A Working Man,” is the stress that befalls the Garcia family.
The Garcia family owns and operates the land development company that Levon works for.
Joe Garcia (Michael Pena, “Observe and Report”) even has his 19-year-old college student daughter Jenny Garcia (Arianna Rivas) working for the land development company in between her studies.
Jenny has just completed a semester of college and desperately wants to celebrate with her friends.
She has secured a party bus and other activities for her friends to celebrate her accomplishment.
Jenny only has one dilemma, and it is one that the parents of teenagers know very well.
The young college student has no cash of her own.
Therefore, she must plead with Joe to cough up his credit card for a deposit for their night on the town.
Although parents must let their children spread their wings and enjoy their young adulthood and teenage years, all parents dread hearing bad news about their children after a night of partying.
Unfortunately, the Garcias receive that news when Jenny fails to come home after bar hopping with her college friends.
But thankfully, the Garcias have enough money to help investigate Jenny’s disappearance on their own.
They have a family friend with a checkered past who is willing to do anything necessary to help his friends and relatives when they are in need.
From this point in “A Working Man,” Statham’s character is much like his character in “The Beekeeper.”
To the outside world, his characters might just look like beekeepers or construction workers.
But behind that façade is a cold killer with a conscience.
In “The Beekeeper,” Statham’s character avenges the suicide death of one of the only people to accept him as family.
And in “A Working Man,” Levon vows to avenge the kidnapping of someone that could have easily been his daughter.
“A Working Man” does nothing new for Statham’s career.
But he is so good at what he does that there is no reason for him to flip the script.
Statham knows exactly who he is as a leading man, and he usually does not stray too far from his proven formula.
He kicks behind when necessary.
And saves some behind at the end of the day.
What sets “A Working Man” slightly apart from Statham’s past films is the film dives into the psychological impact that war has on American troops.
In modern times, the military and media have done a better job handling the mental health of veterans.
But for generations, soldiers returned to the States scarred mentally just as much as some were scarred physically.
However, when those soldiers exhibited violent behavior, many labeled them as violent or insane without understanding the reasons behind their transformation.
That is why a killer with a soul, or conscience, best describes Levon.
He kills because he must.
However, if he had a way to avoid violence, he would definitely take the nonviolent route.
“A Working Man” does fall into some of the action genre’s biggest traps.
In some scenes, there is no way that Levon would actually escape the gunfire coming his way.
Furthermore, “A Working Man” falls into some stereotypical traps by portraying Russians as drug-dealing gangsters, which seems commonplace in modern Hollywood.
Other than that, everything in “A Working Man” works superbly.
Although Statham is not the most versatile actor, and his voice never veers far from that monotone pitch, he knows how to choose his work in Hollywood.
And it continues to work out well for one of the biggest action movie stars on the planet.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
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