REVIEW: A Working Man (2025)

Movie Reviews

The release of a new Jason Statham movie is always an event for me, so I’ve been looking forward to A Working Man since it was announced (under its superior first title, Levon’s Trade, the name of the Chuck Dixon novel on which it’s based). I love action movies, and Statham is easily my favorite modern action hero, the only one whose screen presence is evocative of the legends of yore. A Working Man was effectively rounding third before I even set foot in the theater, so it’s disappointing that it doesn’t live up to what it could have been. It does some things right, particularly towards the end when Statham really unleashes on the villains, but like his and director David Ayer’s last collaboration, The Beekeeper, it needed more character work and some better time management.

Levon Cade (Jason Statham), a British Royal Marine Commando and Iraq War veteran, lives in Chicago and works as the foreman for a construction company. Now a widower, he’s put his violent past behind him as he struggles to get custody of his daughter from his bitter father-in-law. But when his boss’ daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas) is kidnapped by sex traffickers connected to the Russian Mafia, Levon goes back into action to keep a promise he made to have Jenny’s back.

Essentially, A Working Man is Jason Statham’s Taken; the setup is mostly the same, and we expect the usual “They picked the wrong girl” wish fulfillment when Statham takes down the bad guys. But this movie isn’t as well-written as Taken because there’s not enough care given to establishing the characters and their relationships. Taken made sure we felt Liam Neeson’s strained relationship with his daughter and his willingness to give in when he knows he shouldn’t to please her, making her kidnapping hit even harder. A Working Man does very little to establish the bond between Statham and Jenny or her parents; we see them be friendly, but until an exposition scene later, that’s about it. When Jenny is kidnapped, there’s no sense of dread or urgency; it’s just a plot point we expected. Similarly, Statham’s initial hesitation to take matters into his own hands and get her back is interesting, and it makes sense because of some trouble he’s having with his own daughter, but it’s over in the space of one scene and way too easily. I understand the show must go on, but why introduce this wrinkle if you’re only going to ditch it without exploring it fully?

This rushed feel continues throughout the first act of A Working Man, as scenes featuring Statham making his way through the Russian Mob hierarchy are too quick; not to make too many one-to-one comparisons (although there are a lot of repeated scenes and characters, down to the douchey-looking spotter who offers the girls up to the gangsters), but Taken, while a fast-paced action movie, allowed these scenes to breathe so we got a sense of Liam Neeson’s long game. When Statham finds the first rung of the bad guy ladder, there’s no tension or build; the scene ends quickly, and even the escalation of the danger doesn’t register because so little comes of it. Some of this is likely the script, but some of it is the filmmaking as well, with David Ayers seemingly in a rush, never allowing us to see Statham’s mind work or allowing what should be intense moments of fear or realization to linger a bit so we feel what the movie clearly wants us to feel without putting the work in. I guess that shouldn’t be too surprising since Ayer did the same with The Beekeeper, although it’s still disappointing because he’s directed some excellent crime movies in his career.

But it’s not all bad, and on a visceral level, there’s plenty to enjoy in A Working Man. Jason Statham has some good fight scenes where he gets to demonstrate his martial arts expertise, including one in the back room of a honky tonk biker bar. (The aesthetics of this location kind of clash, but it’s worth it to see Statham use the various props to his advantage, one of the things I love about his fights.) What helps is that, unlike in The Beekeeper, he’s got some formidable opponents to face in this one. Some of the villains are weasely and clearly out of their depth with Statham, but there are a few who give him a good fight, and I’m glad to see some better throw-downs than he had in his last outing. There are also some great, satisfying kills, with most of the worst-of-the-worst getting some satisfying payback at Statham’s hands. There are no all-timers, and I’m still waiting for Statham to get the showstopper of a villain that he deserves, but the heavies in A Working Man are a cut above his usual meat-grinder foes and modern action villains in general.

The acting ranges from decent to okay to grating. Statham is who he is, and you either like him, or you don’t (I do). Ariana Rivas isn’t a particularly strong actress, but she has a good physicality that gives Jenny more personality than her dialogue. Michael Peña and Noemi Gonzalez are Jenny’s parents, and they have almost nothing to do besides cry, which is unfortunate because Michael Peña is a good actor. (I did enjoy an early scene where he’s dumbfounded when Jenny asks for an exorbitant amount of money to throw a party to celebrate her passing a single semester in college.) Emmett J. Scanlan and Eve Mauro play Viper and Artemis, the pair who kidnap Jenny, and they’re too annoying for words; they’re dumber than a pair of empty drawers, and they’re lucky they’re backed by much deadlier people. One such is Chidi Ajufo, who plays Dutch, the leader of a biker gang that deals drugs for the Russians and who proves to be one of Statham’s more formidable opponents. (Speaking of the bikers, they wear helmets with long horns, which is a nice touch; it helps give the impression that Statham is descending into hell to save Jenny.) And David Harbour appears as an old war buddy of Statham’s; he’s great, as always – outside of his Marvel appearances – and he gives the character a ton of personality while making him feel like an old friend, but he’s barely in the movie.

And that’s pretty much how A Working Man feels: a mix of good and bad elements with some wasted potential. It’s a shame Ayer couldn’t spend a little more time making us care, whether it’s for the characters and their relationships or the moments when their lives are at risk. But it’s got some fun action and satisfying villain deaths, and there are always worse ways to spend an afternoon than watching Jason Statham’s brand of justice.

Let us know what you thought of A Working Man in the comments!

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