'A Working Man' Review: A Bone-Crunching, Straightforward, No-Nonsense Action
- Jack Ransom
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
By Jack Ransom - April 1, 2025
Inspired by the novel Levon’s Trade. A Working Man follows Levon Cade (Jason Statham), a man who left his profession behind to work construction and be a good dad to his daughter. But when a local girl vanishes, he's asked to return to the skills that made him a mythic figure in the shadowy world of counter-terrorism.
Stanley Kubrick showed us the dawn of man all the way through to the distant future in 2001: A Space Odyssey; Christopher Reeve made audiences believe a man could fly; Spielberg brought the dinosaurs back to life; Nolan took us into the mindset and morality of the man who built the atomic bomb; and we also get the final 20 minutes of A Working Man in which Jason Statham shoots, stabs, pummels and grenades enough drug dealers, traffickers and murderers to fill a small country.
After the surprise hit that was The Beekeeper (keep protecting the hive people), it’s no surprise to see Ayer and Statham’s second collaboration arrive so soon after. Whilst it may not tap into the absurdity and fast pace of the aforementioned flick as consistently (final act aside), it offers up exactly what you expect from the Stath both in its pros. and cons. The story is incredibly by-the-numbers and offers up no surprises whatsoever and admittedly nearly two hours is pushing the material.
However, like its title, it gets the job done. The slow burn structure and corny dialogue aside, the rhythm and ascent up the Russian mafia hierarchy as Statham dispatches brutal justice had my engagement increasing as it went along. It taps into his lesser mentioned more dramatic-tinged flicks such as Homefront & Hummingbird at points as he navigates seedy bars, drug dealer hideouts and converses with his ex-military crew mates, as he tracks down Jenny (Arianna Rivas).
The action is rock solid and hard hitting. From the swift opening construction site beat down, a tight quarters drug dealer den beat down a chaotic claustrophobic van brawl and of course the fantastic final showdown that takes place in a rundown fortress/mansion with Statham finding his way through hordes of enemies. The lighting and camerawork can get a little shaky at points, but for the most part the choreography and presentation is in your face and tightly knit with strong sound design and practical splatter.
By now we all know the Stath’s schtick (“I’m not that man anymore.” - Immediately proceeds to start prepping for the mission) and he delivers in spades, whilst even tapping into brief emotionally vulnerable moments. His tough bravado, snark and good nature shine through. Whilst they are all generic gangster archetypes Jason Flemyng, Maximilian Osinski and especially both Emmett J Scanlan and Eve Mauro ham it up and accentuate the nastiness to elevate their material. David Harbour and Michael Pena are essentially extended cameos here and lastly, Arianna Rivas holds her own and brings a fiery confidence as Jenny.
A Working Man delivers a bone-crunching, straightforward, no-nonsense 110 minutes that should please most Statham fans but probably won’t turn any detractors. The Stath does what he does best, the film builds up nicely, the action is entertaining and the finale is an
absolute riot. Sure, it’s riddled with cliches and does overstay its welcome a tad, but it delivered exactly what I expected in a mostly positive way!
A Working Man is out now in cinemas
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