A Working Man

I am an unapologetic fan of action movies starring Jason Statham (I submit that we should get a new one every year) so I was really excited to see A Working Man with my nephew last night.  There are definitely flaws (I think The Beekeeper is better) but we had a lot of fun with it.  Levon Cade (Statham) is a former commando with the Royal Marines who is trying to put his violent past behind him in order to get a better custody arrangement with his daughter Merry (Isla Gie). He now works for a family-run construction company owned by Joe and Carla Garcia (Michael Pena and Noemi Gonzalez, respectively) and he feels especially protective of their nineteen year old daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas).  When Jenny is abducted from a club, he reluctantly dusts off his commando skills, reconnects with an old war buddy (David Harbour), and promises the Garcias that he will bring her home.  His investigation leads him to the head of a Russian crime family (Jason Flemyng), a rogue member of that family named Dimi (Maximilian Osinski) who traffics young girls to the highest bidder, the head of a biker gang (Chidi Ajufo) who inadvertently helps him infiltrate Dimi's inner circle, and, finally, the kidnappers Viper and Artemis (Emmett Scanlan and Eve Mauro, respectively) who are bringing Jenny to the client who purchased her.  This leads to an epic showdown in which Cade must neutralize everyone (literally everyone!) involved in order to rescue Jenny and return home to his daughter.  One does not go to movies like this for the plot (this one is convoluted and messy) or for the acting (some of the performances are incredibly cheesy at times).  Rather, one goes to movies like this for the action and Statham (doing what he does best) executes the thrilling fight choreography very effectively as Cade improvises with whatever tools he has at hand.  I especially loved a scene in which Cade fights against two henchmen in the back of a van while he is restrained and the final shootout is a definite crowd-pleaser.  (However, my nephew and I could not suspend our disbelief when the henchmen are unable to hit Cade with a barrage of gunfire as he flees on a motorcycle in a straight line in front of them).  In addition to the action, I also enjoyed seeing a bit of heart in Cade's characterization as a father protecting a daughter as well as his touching interactions with Merry and Jenny.  This is exactly what I was expecting and, if you are a fan of Statham's other movies, I'm sure you will enjoy this.