When it comes to a film starring an action star, things like an excellent script or a good story are somewhat irrelevant, and it's a fact that you can make a very enjoyable film without the need for those elements, unless you want to raise the stakes. Jason Statham's films are no exception, and most of his films simply seek to offer a pleasant dose of action for action movie fans. A Working Man is an action thriller adapted from an obscure novel titled Levon's Trade, which Sylvester Stallone himself was interested in adapting. It was initially planned as a television series, but was later changed to a feature film, condensing the original story and adapting it into a conventional action film.
This film takes on some typical action thriller clichés, such as kidnapping, trafficking, the Russian mafia, and an ex-soldier returning to the battlefield. The opening credits sequence explains without much fuss who Levon was, and at the beginning of the film, it's clear that he's a former soldier who just wants a normal life. We see that things aren't going well for him, having lost his wife, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and his father-in-law doesn't consider him fit to take care of little Merry. Levon is a man who, by chance, returns to combat when he has to rescue Jenny after she's been kidnapped. The rest of the film is no different from Taken, as Levon uses his cunning to find Jenny. The film focuses heavily on suspense and intrigue at the beginning, and the action later becomes more evident when Levon must use force to confront his opponents. The film doesn't give much information about the Russian mafia and only drops a couple of hints that it's a powerful organization. This represents a great challenge for Levon and could offer something very fascinating to explore. The script certainly isn't excellent, but that's made up for with the action scenes. Some are very brief, but most are promising. The action is what matters most and is what makes a Jason Statham film worthwhile. Here, it's clear that Stallone has decided to pass the mantle to Statham, and it's something that was expected since they worked together on The Expendables. Although there's no denying that with The Transporter, Statham proved he was destined to be an action star. This film might not have worked without Jason Statham, so he's the one who saves the film in the same way he did with The Meg.
A Working Man may not be one of Jason Statham's best films, but it's still a pretty enjoyable film. That's something only true fans of Jason Statham or action movies will appreciate. It's a film that can't be measured by its writer, but by all the action moments where it's always nice to see Statham being the action hero he's always been. My final rating for this film is 8/10.
