Rob Reviews "A Working Man"

Ten years ago, Chris Hemsworth did a film called Blackhat, where he played a guy working with multiple governments to take down cybercriminals.  Due to it reminding me of a similar film that came out a number of years ago, I coined the name “Thor-dfish” to it.  Now, I get to do that again.  But you’re not getting that just yet; that would be giving the punchline before the joke.

Now, let’s talk A Working Man.

Sylvester Stallone is actually credited as a producer and co-writer of this one (based on Chuck Dixon’s book, “Levon’s Trade,” which is also a twelve-novel series, so I think you know where this may be going) with David Ayer co-writing and directing (remember him?  Yeah, Mr. Suicide Squad).  This also reunites both of them with Jason Statham (Ayer directed him in last year’s The Beekeeper) as Levon, a former elite British soldier trying to live a quiet life as a construction foreman.  As a widower, he deals with conflict with his ex-father-in-law, limited time with his daughter, and a past history of violence that threatens both of those things.  When the daughter of the owners of his company’s owners is kidnapped to be human trafficked, Joe and Carla Garcia (Michael Peña and Noemi Gonzalez, respectively) implore him to rely on his past to bring her back.

Do elements of this sound familiar?  That is why I am dubbing this film…

“Staken”.

This is not necessarily a bad thing: It’s been over seventeen years (let that sink in) since Liam Neeson brought us Taken and then its sequels, and this follows that formula pretty closely.  Granted, give me a film with Leeson and Statham in these types of roles and I am the first to buy a ticket, but this one isn’t as strong as the 2008 film.  It’s better than Ayer and Statham’s last effort together, but that film being in my Bottom Ten of the year sets that bar low.

I am not saying that this is a bad film at all, but quite the opposite.  I was thoroughly entertained here with its solid production design and slick style that plays to Statham’s action hero strengths and a pace that was just about right and not boring me to tears or going at lightspeed.  My issue is that there is just too much to it.  This story has a number of layers that seemed to be there (at this point) for the sake of being there and had me asking more than once “how many final bosses ARE there here” as it filled almost two solid hours.

The supporting cast also does a good job here, coupled with a small role from one of my personal favorites in David Harbour.  However, there is a nice wrinkle to this story and it comes in the character of Jenny Garcia, the victim played by Arianna Rivas, who will also be in the upcoming The Black Phone 2.  Not to spoil anything here, but her character arc kind of breaks away from what could be a throwaway story in a way that was a bit of fresh air for me.

Perhaps the extra layers are not just fat that could be trimmed but part of a larger narrative with an ending that is daring us not to clamor for a sequel (twelve books).  Whether or not that comes to fruition remains to be seen, but this is definitely one that can be enjoyed for exactly what it is: watching Jason Statham beat guys to a pulp and blow stuff up.

And remember: we ARE getting The Beekeeper 2.