A Working Man has the star power of Jason Statham but it’s those behind the camera who garnered my attention.  Director David Ayer has hit the mark a few times with the above-average World War II drama Fury (2014) and the entertainingly trashy The Beekeeper (2024).  In addition to directing duties, he’s credited as co-writer alongside Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone (Rocky) who helped adapt the novel authored by Chuck Dixon.

Those names may help lure audiences into cinemas but I’m not sure how excited they’ll be with what they see on screen.  A Working Man is a tired, formulaic action-thriller that lacks originality.  Statham plays Levon Cade, an ex-Marine who has retired from service after a “mission gone bad” and is now employed as a regular, tax-paying construction worker.  I should also mention that he’s a widowed father who is currently on the losing end of a to obtain custody of his only child (her grandfather is fighting hard with an army of highly paid lawyers).

The crux of the movie is centred on Levon’s attempts to rescue the daughter of his boss, who has been kidnapped by a group of human-trafficking Russians.  I didn’t mind his tactics (he’s a smart operator) but it’s a Liam Neeson-style Taken story that we’ve seen many times before.  The action scenes are repetitive, the dialogue is dreadful, and the supporting players have little to do.  What was the point of casting Michael Pena and David Harbour if giving them such empty, one-note roles?

The film’s biggest problem is its numerous villains who arguably have as much screentime as Statham.  If you’re going to make the “bad guys” such a focus, you at least have to make them interesting.  That’s not the case here.  The speak using cliched European accents (it’s borderline laughable) and have no real motivation for what they do (is it money?).  Their henchmen have limited skills and seems to have been employed because of their “weirdness” as opposed to ability.  It’s a far cry from the cool villains you might see in a John Wick movie.

A Working Man is disappointing from start to finish. Statham gives it a crack (even if it is a very Jason Statham-type role) but with this script, he never stood a chance.  They couldn’t even come up with an explosive final act.