When The Beekeeper came out early last year, I was blown away by the sheer craziness of it. Jason Statham is typically one of the most reliable movie stars when you need a badass action hero, but David Ayer’s 2024 revenge flick had so many insane twists and turns that it was simply irresistible. Name another movie where Josh Hutcherson plays a villain who’s the coked-up love child of numerous political figures. Suffice it to say, A Working Man was one that I couldn’t wait to see, especially since it’d be Ayer and Statham teaming up so soon after The Beekeeper.
With a script co-written by Sylvester Stallone, adapting the first book in Chuck Dixon’s Levon Cade series of novels (If you’ve ever stepped foot in an airport bookstore, you’ve probably seen the cover of one or two of the books), A Working Man is the kind of throwback to the action movies of the late-80s and early-90s, that will have both your inner-action buff and your Dad hooting and hollering in the theater. Is this going to be taking home any Oscars? Of course not, but if you’re looking forward to seeing Statham once again kicking ass and taking names, you’ll get exactly what you want.
What Is ‘A Working Man’ About?

Statham plays Levon Cade, an ex-Royal Marine who now tries to live a quiet life as a construction worker in Chicago. Levon likes his job quite a bit, and he really likes who he works for, the humble, self-made entrepreneur Joe Garcia (Michael Peña), who he considers to be like family to him. Ever since the death of his wife, Levon has been stuck in a rut, especially since he has lost custody of his adorable young daughter Merry Cade (Isla Gie). In the meantime, he’s been keeping his head down, only using his special military skills when needed.
When Joe’s 19-year-old daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas) is kidnapped by human traffickers, he and his wife Carla (Noemi Gonzalez) are desperate to find help, especially as the police seem to be ineffective. That’s when they turn to Levon, who is initially reluctant to take matters into his own hands, but soon gives in. With the support of his blind war buddy Gunny Lefferty (David Harbour), Levon dives headfirst into the criminal underworld to rescue Jenny and take down a ring of dangerous human traffickers with connections to the Russian Mob.
If you just read that synopsis and thought to yourself, “Gee, that feels awfully similar to Taken,” you’d be right in that assumption. A Working Man takes itself far more seriously than The Beekeeper ever did, but let’s be honest, who’s walking into a new Statham movie for the plot? Certainly not me.
If You Like Jason Statham Movies, You’ll Probably Like ‘A Working Man’

If you’re a longtime devotee of Statham’s filmography, you’ll know exactly the kind of movie you’re going to get with A Working Man. Just this time, he’s going the Taken route. Statham once again plays the gruff, badass action hero with ease. Levon Cade isn’t too different from Mason Hargreaves in Wrath of Man or Adam Clay in The Beekeeper. He’s basically just Statham, except this time, he’s a widowed construction worker. Even still, Statham’s slickness and physicality, paired with his distinct British accent, make him a compelling protagonist. The movie tries to give him at least some sort of background, as he is constantly fighting to see his young daughter against the wishes of his father-in-law, but there’s nothing all that interesting there.
Ayer has A Working Man play out far more straightforward than The Beekeeper. Naturally, it is still pretty silly, especially as the film’s antagonists are a group of cartoonishly over-the-top Russian mobsters led by Jason Flemyng. Whenever the action scenes do come into play, there’s more than enough excitement to keep you entertained throughout the film’s two-hour runtime. The majority of the set pieces are satisfying, and even though a large majority of the film takes place in and around Chicago, Ayer and his team find ways to keep things visually interesting. Sure, the movie could have dialed it back a few notches on the smoke machines, that has our hero beating up a bunch of goons surrounded by mist, but this is also the kind of movie where one of the henchmen sits on a throne made out of motorcycle parts.
After slowing down in the second act, A Working Man picks itself back up with a crowd-pleasingly bloody third act battle, which sees Statham punching, kicking, and gunning down grunts left and right. It’s also the section where it feels like Ayer and Statham finally felt as if they could let loose. The villains are so hammy that they don’t even feel real, which is obviously intentional, so you can cheer on Statham as he enacts acts of brutal violence around every corner.
‘A Working Man’ Is a Guilty Pleasure Through and Through

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

A Working Man isn’t some new action movie classic, but it’s that guilty pleasure movie that feels destined to be constantly rewatched by dads all around the world. Alas, sometimes A Working Man’s lack of substance becomes too much of a detriment, especially when it comes to the supporting cast. David Harbour’s Gunny makes his amusing entrance by casually shooting a crossbow that comes alarmingly close to Levon (it misses, obviously). After that, the character doesn’t get all that much to do. The film keeps teeing up that we’re going to see Harbour join forces with Statham, but he mainly just serves as the “weapons guy.” Make no mistake, Harbour is terrific whenever he pops up on screen, but the movie desperately needed more of him. Especially since everyone outside Statham, Rivas, and Gie, never really makes much of a lasting impression. The usually reliable Michael Peña is also failed by the plot, with his character only designated to a few scenes towards the beginning, or brief moments where we see him grieving in his daughter’s bedroom.
Regardless, A Working Man still has more than enough moments that will keep your attention just enough to enjoy yourself. There’s also an extra layer of sweetness in the scenes between Levon and his daughter, as well as with Jenny. Characters that could have simply just been there just to add an extra layer of stakes, but actually give the movie a bit more heart than even The Beekeeper had.
With two movies under their belt, Statham and Ayer have proved to be the perfect match for delivering entertaining and simple action flicks to the big screen. While it’s already been announced that Ayer won’t be back for The Beekeeper 2 (although that sequel seems to be in safe hands with Timo Tjahjanto), I can’t help but clamor for more collaborations between Statham and Ayer. They are at their best when working together.
A Working Man is now playing in theaters.

A Working Man

While never as gloriously dumb as The Beekeeper, David Ayer and Jason Statham have delivered another future Dad movie classic in A Working Man.

Release Date

March 28, 2025

Runtime

116 Minutes

Pros & Cons

The always reliable Jason Statham once again proves that he’s still a badass.
The movie has a suprising amount of heart in the moments between Statham, Arianna Rivas, and Isla Gie.
The third act action setpiece is gloriously violent and satisfying.

A Working Man has an alarmingly similar plot to Taken.
While David Harbour is a joy to watch, he’s not given as much to do as you’d hope.