A Working Man Review: So Bad I Cried Laughing

Jason Statham walks into a room and shakes the hand of a mean drug dealer who sits on a throne made of motorbike parts and a metal skull. The dealer looks down at their clasped palms and exclaims, “Look at those bricks. You ain’t a cop, you’re a working man.” 

It’s this sort of nuanced dialogue that sets the scene for this truly, truly abysmal action film. And yet, I can’t help but think of Maximus in Gladiator as he bellows “Are you not entertained?!”, because… I was.  

I hysterically giggled my way through most of A Working Man. I’m unsure if that was director David Ayer’s intention, but that was my truth. I recently made fun of Reacher for taking liberties with its story, and after seeing this, I’d like to send along a formal apology to Amazon because the craziness can’t even compare.  

Minor spoilers for A Working Man below 

So, what is this new flick all about? Statham stars as Levon Cade, a name I had to look up as it was barely referenced. But like many things in this film, it doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that he’s a former military man turned construction worker, and he is on a mission to take down human traffickers.  

The story begins during a normal day at work when two hired goons show up and threaten one of the builders. When Statham intervenes, the pair threaten him. Big mistake. He picks up a bucket of screws and throws them at the assailants, which also happens to be straight down the camera lens. As soon as I saw that shot, I knew what I was in for, and I couldn’t wait.  

The driving force behind Statham’s quest is to rescue his boss’s daughter, Jenny Garcia (Arianna Rivas). The pair share the briefest bonding moment discussing the military, and as a father himself, Statham knows the importance of family.  

Dan Smith / Warner Bros.

Not even 24 hours after Garcia is kidnapped, we see two police officers show up on site. When Statham goes to see the parents, they’re already trying to shove thousands of dollars in cash at him to take this mission into his own hands. We haven’t even seen them talk to the police yet – they haven’t even tried! 

All I can assume is that in this universe, most of the Chicago Police Department are on annual leave, and the ones left are incompetent. There are many high-profile, loud acts of violence in A Working Man, including two men killed by a shotgun in a block of flats and one van plummeting into a river. But do any of them lead to someone calling the cops? Of course not.  

But I’ll tell you who is always at the scene – the Russian mafia. Yes. The most stereotypical villains in Hollywood that both you and I thought couldn’t be made in this day and age. 

And they’re not trying to blend in whatsoever. The second-tier goons in this film wear head-to-toe gaudy designer tracksuits with bucket hats – one in red and one in blue, so you can remember which one is which. Again, it doesn’t matter.  

The big boss of the Russian mafia (or ‘The Brotherhood’ as it was referenced several times, but I still can’t tell you why that is) dons a fur-trimmed coat and walks around monologuing evilly. His name is Wolo Kolisnyk, and he’s played by Jason Flemyng.  

Later, we discover that there’s an even bigger boss above him. I held my breath, ready to see who this could possibly be… only to find out it was another Russian man – Symon Kharchenko – with a black coat, hat and cane, played by Andrej Kaminsky.  

But you can rest assured that none of these moustache-twirling villains are any threat to Statham, who makes it through seemingly impossible situations unscathed. During one sequence, he’s riding a motorcycle as at least three people shoot machine guns at him from vans. Thankfully, our hero has solid plot armour that keeps him safe from any stray bullets. 

I can’t argue with the fact that there are plenty of kickass action sequences in this film – the hits are almost deafening, and the violence is delivered in droves. But every detail around these set pieces is an afterthought.  

Dan Smith / Warner Bros.

In one scene, Statham seemingly beats every man to a pulp in the throne room. Or at least, I thought he did. After he has a conversation with dealer Dutch (Chidi Ajufo), he turns back around, and everyone he just battled with is just… standing there, completely cool. I saw several people throw their hands in the air in disbelief during this moment. 

This screenplay is by David Ayer and Sylvester Stallone, and I’m willing to bet that not a single woman was involved during the writing process. There are several instances where a villain will be sitting doing something important, as his wife/girlfriend tries to get his attention. To affirm that he’s bad, the male character will give her a big slap, and then we don’t hear anything from that woman again.  

There are female characters with a bit more substance, but the actresses sadly cannot save the material they’ve been given. Jenny Garcia has just enough spunk in her that she ticks the box of what a film producer deems as progressive, while villain Artemis (Eve Mauro) spends most of the latter half of the film effing and blinding so we know she’s tough and not much else.  

The score of A Working Man is also… a choice. Every scene has some stereotypically on-the-nose music that feels completely unwarranted. The opening at the construction site features rousing strings designed to amplify Statham’s motto of teamwork, while a scene at a saloon is supported by a finger-clicking contemporary country number.  

My questions about this movie are endless. Why is the editing so choppy? Who were all these people going to an evil casino? Did David Harbour really add anything to this film as Statham’s blind friend? Why was the moon so big during the forest chase scenes? Say it with me, folks: It. Doesn’t. Matter! 

What I will give Warner Bros. and MGM credit for is that they seem self-aware about what this movie is. At the screening, all the staff were dressed in high-vis jackets, while the social media team have created a LinkedIn profile for Statham in support of this new release.  

No, A Working Man is really not a good film. But it doesn’t have to be.  

Dan Smith / Warner Bros.

Should you watch A Working Man? 

My sister asked whether she would like this film as I messaged her about my reaction, and truthfully… I had to say yes. Because I know she’ll have a good time.

There’s a crowd out there for this – and it’s not just Statham film-nuts who enjoyed The Beekeeper. My friend and I were in stitches as the credits of A Working Man rolled, and neither of us saw it as a wasted night.  

On my honour as a professional reviewer, I can’t in good conscience give it a decent rating due to its trash story, distractingly awful score and offensively bad stereotypes. But if you want a comedy (I don’t think that was intentional) with some mindless action thrown in, then be my guest. 

A Working Man is out now in cinemas. If you’re in the UK, you can get tickets from Cineworld, Vue and Odeon. Those in America can get them from AMC Theatres, Fandango and Atom Tickets.