A Working Man (2025 | USA | 116 minutes | David Ayer)
In his latest action thriller, A Working Man, Jason Statham portrays Levon Cade, an ex-Royal Marines commando who leads a relatively unassuming life as a construction foreman in Illinois. After the death of his wife, Cade is forced to live in his car while he scrapes together enough money to pay for the legal fees to regain custody of his daughter (Isla Gie) from his eccentric father-in-law (Richard Heap), who—perhaps rightfully so—believes that chaos and danger follow him.
When Cade’s bosses (Michael Peña and Noemi Gonzalez) learn their 19-year-old daughter, Jenny (Arrianna Rivas), has gone missing, they recruit Cade to help track her down. Aware of his military background, they implore him to bring her home, to which he responds, “It’s not who I am anymore.” However, we know full well it is indeed who he is—we just witnessed him fight off an entire gang demanding money from one of his employees in the previous scene. Nevertheless, Cade decides to accept the deal and sets off to investigate.
What follows is a somewhat infuriatingly easy-to-follow trail that leads Cade straight to Jenny’s abductors. Cade instinctively reverts to his Royal Marines training (or perhaps some other specialized training), promptly resorting to waterboarding his first victim, drowning a few others, and exhibiting no mercy to anyone who stands in his way. In some respects, it’s believable, but then you remember these are Russian gangsters he’s fighting, and the ease with which he dominates these battles starts to feel unrealistic.
We’re given one pretty good fight scene in a moving van and an evenly matched, suspenseful knife fight between Cade and a drug dealer named Dutch (Chidi Ajufo), but the rest of the fight scenes are poorly choreographed and shot.
As Cade ascends the ranks of the Russian mafia, the characters become increasingly eccentric (and less believable), while the deaths grow more gruesome. The most brutal of these deaths are reserved for the two main traffickers, marking a small victory for both the audience and Cade.
On the bright side, it is evident that the costume designers had a great time. From Maximilian Osinski’s Victorian-esque rhinestone cowboy named Dimi to a pair of Russian twins perpetually dressed in matching silk tracksuits and bucket hats, the humor and enjoyment derived from the costumes alone almost redeem the film.
The film boasts a delightfully colorful ensemble cast, each adding a new layer to the narrative. The scenes with David Harbour, portraying Cade’s close friend, Gunny, are some of the most genuine and realistic in the entire film. The highlight of the film is Rivas’ performance as Jenny, who plays a significant role in her escape and proves to be a strong character. I only wish Rivas had a better film to work with.
Overall, director David Ayer fails to convey the nuances and complexities of human trafficking, reducing them to a simple issue that can be resolved by a single working man. The end result is an over-dramatic, highly cheesy action film we’ve seen from Statham and Ayer at least once before.
A Working Man arrives in theaters on March 28
Image courtesy Amazon MGM.