Safe

Jason Statham plays his role. Out of favor, independent contract killer. Again (see The Mechanic or Killer Elite or and of The Transporter films), he finds someone who needs rescuing, and he does. In this case, a young girl who is a genius with numbers has been taken by the Chinese mob. They use her as their "accountant" since she can remember all numbers without leaving a paper trail. When they try to use her to courier a combination to a safe, and Statham gets involved because of a double cross, the girl and killer team up to try to save each other. Statham has to care, and she gets to live with a new benefactor. The story here holds together and there is enough turning of plot around who double crosses whom to keep us going. You know exactly what you are going to get with a Statham headlined film and he continues to deliver.
3 stars (out of 5)

The Mechanic

Jason Statham has two characters. Frenetic bad-ass and Morose bad-ass. Don't mess with either of them. Just know which one you are dealing with so you know how much time you have to run. Here, he plays a professional hit-man working for the anonymous syndicate. He does what they tell him and doesn't ask questions. When the next job that comes through is his mentor, it is just another job (clearly we are setting up the Morose bad-ass character). He finds out he was lied to and begins the path towards vengeance. Along the way, he becomes a mentor himself and we wonder if history simply repeats itself or can one break out. That is an attempt at depth, but this is really a straight up action film. A well done offering (these can be really bad) but nothing extravagent. I simply enjoy watching Statham be Statham.
3 stars (out of 5)

Redemption

Deeper, more soulful Statham. Less action, more character. At least, that was the intent. Statham plays Joey Jones, an intentionally homeless Afghanistan war vet in London. He falls into an opportunity to get cleaned up, during which time he takes on a mission to earn some money and avenge the death of his homeless friend. This is not a half-bad look at the angst that vets probably experience on return to their home. A sense of hopelessness, lack of control and lack of options. Of course, Statham presents the necessary tough guy routine when it is needed, but that is not the purpose of this film. I am sure that because of this the film doesn't fit any typical demographic. But I liked it...
3 stars (out of 5)

Hobbs and Shaw

Set in the Fast and Furious universe, The Rock and Jason Statham get paired up as a team needing to take down genetic super-soldier Idris Elba. They do because Statham's sister has injected a virus into herself in order to keep it from Elba (as part of her MI-6 job), but she has a limited time before it kills her. To defeat said genetic super-soldier, the three warriors go to Johnson's home island in order to take advantage of back home muscle and car mechanic skills. If all of this sounds ridiculous, it is on screen as well. What did you expect?

3 stars (out of 5)

The Transporter 3

How often is a three-quel any good? And how often is a summer movie released in the fall any good? Well in this case, at least once. The Transporter 3 is an excellent continuation of the Jason Statham series in which Statham gets to drive cars fast and beat people up with his hands, feet, and in amazingly his coat, shirt and tie. A satisfactory plot line, the requisite evil guy who comes up with the obligatory plot restraint (don't go too far from the car or you blow up) that was made very popular by Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in Speed, and the creative (and almost believable) defy-all-odds escapes. And yet it all holds together. Comparing this film to Daniel Craig's Quantum of Solace, I would actually have to say that this is a better summer action movie. And while that may have to do with the inherent expectations that come with a Bond movie, I am going to stick with recommending this over the Bond film, if you have to chose only one.
3-stars

[Get on Soapbox #1] Someday, would someone please make a film in which a car goes over a cliff, crashes into the valley below, and does not explode in a fireball of destruction.[Step down off Soapbox #1]

[Get back up for Soapbox #2] Requisite evil guy actually delivers the line "You know, at heart I am really a pacifist" and follows with some explanation about how he tried to plan to avoid death but outside of his control, everybody just seemed to fight back. Let's clarify that a pacifist isn't someone who just tries to avoid violence unless someone fights back. A pacifist is someone who plans to avoid violence, and does avoid violence. Even when someone perpetrates violence against you, or in your general vicinity, or in a way that interferes with your desires, a pacifist so wholly abhors violence that they always seek an alternative action. Never is violence the only option. And we must not be so naive to suggest that there is always a happy ending to seeking alternatives to violence. Seeking peace and avoiding violence is often ugly (and often for the seeker and avoider). But it is always right. Just want to make sure that the general public does not confuse pacifism with avoidance of violence when it is convenient. [Step down from Soapbox #2]

A Working Man

Can Jason Statham be any more typecast? And could I not even care if he is? In this version, Statham is a construction supervisor who left his British Special Forces life behind. When the daughter of his boss is kidnapped to be sold into the sex trade, he goes full metal. Along the way, his brash attacks on "The Brotherhood" end up causing him more trouble that had he been more thoughtful, but thoughtful is not what makes revenge action thrillers appealing. So now you know.

4 stars (out of 5)

Parker

Jason Statham being Jason Statham. He is a crook working with a new crew on the recommendation of his mentor. The new crew screws up, people get hurt, and that is not how Parker rolls. Oh, and the new crew ripped him off, shot him and left him for dead too. Must be time for some revenge. Parker finds where the next job is, infiltrates, causes havoc, gets revenge. It is funny how you can pass off a character as a thief with morals. Don't hurt innocents? Ok to brutally torture and kill bad guys? This is war mentality. Different morals for different folks, but eventually the lines blur. Does a Parker character's lines of morality make sense if he holds to them?
3 stars (out of 5)

Mechanic Resurrection

I am not sure what people expect of a movie like this, or how you could possible give it a bad rating. You know exactly what you are going to get, so in my opinion if you don't want to see that, don't go. But going to the film, getting what you know it is going to be, and then critiquing it for not being something else is simply not good for your formulaic-tentpole-summer-action-movie-karma. What you do get is Jason Statham reprising his role as The Mechanic. Here he is a retired hit-man who has faked his own death to be left alone. He gets found, and gets coerced by a weapons dealer to assassinate said weapons dealers competition. The coercion in this case is the lovely Jessica Alba, former military operator turned rescuer of children from the Cambodian sex trade. How could you not rescue that? The action is solid Statham (hand to hand, clever chases, impossible break-ins, several opportunities to remove shirts), and the plot is so standard that even the twists are straight up formula. What more could you want?
3 stars (out of 5)

Wrath of Man

It has been quite some time since I have seen a Jason Statham action thriller. In this Guy Ritchie directed adventure, Statham is a highly trained killer who goes undercover to avenge the death of his kid. As expected, the characters are at best 1 dimensional. What you see is what you get, and the only motivation and personality is built to serve the action and killing. It is a straight up revenge thriller. The two things of note here are 1: the telling of the heist story is at least moderately interesting, including the mechanism of flash back, flash forward and 2: the soundtrack is effective and building tension. Unfortunately, for the soundtrack, the effectiveness was diminished as time developed since tension can't really build for an entire 2 hours. For example, the tension building soundtrack played the first 10 minutes straight, with no payoff. Eventually, my brain tuned it out. Actually, I got exactly what I expected from this formula of a movie.

3 stars (out of 5)

Killer Elite

I really do think Jason Statham is the baddest action guy around right now. He can carry a film with his bad-ness. Here he is a retired assassin who gets pulled back into the business to rescue his mentor. Over time, we realize that we don't know who is good and who is bad and who is setting up whom... all of which makes a great action film. Statham plays the assassin with ethics who is trying to get out of the game all while trying to protect his girl. This is not extravagant, or even particularly clever, but it is well made and holds attention throughout. A pretty good action film with good supporting roles in Clive Owen and Robert deNiro.
3 stars (out of 5)

Blitz

I liked Jason Statham in The Transporter films and looking forward to Drive this week with Ryan Gosling pushed me to watch this film. You always know what you are going to get with Statham and you are not disappointed here. Hard edged, not quite following the rules and gets the job done. Perhaps the problem with a film like this is that while it is enjoyable for what it is, afterwards I immediately thought "I could probably done something better with my time these last couple of hours". So if you have time to kill...
2 stars (out of 5)

Blitz

I am now to the point where I can re-watch a movie and have no idea that it is a re-watch. I was thinking "I can't believe I haven't seen this"... but alas... 

Statham is a cop with violent tendencies, fed up with being nice to criminals. When a cop killer starts working his way through a list of targets, Statham is on the job. Turns out, he is on the list too. Maybe I'm less discerning than I used to be, or was just bored, but I may have liked this better now than 15 years ago.

3 stars (out of 5)

Chaos

Jason Statham is a cop coming off suspension to pursue a bank robber. Ryan Phillippe is his new rookie partner. The two seem to always be a step behind, but the clues are there. In many ways, this is a typical heist film, with the typical twists and turns, and the typical misdirects. But it is also a Statham film that doesn't rely on him being a fighter. I liked the story and the development of the heist (both in forward time, and in flashback). 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Italian Job

Heist films are fun, and this is a particularly well done one. Action, uncertainty, mis-direction, quirky team that has trust issues, and mini Coopers as the get-away vehicles when the mini was newly minted. Saw this again on late night cable while on vacation and it just makes me smile. Love the cast (Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham) and the fact that one heist begets another that necessitates another as a revenge heist. Just light hearted fun.

4 stars (out of 5)

Terminator Salvation

The other day I was thinking about who I would name as my top 5 action star actors. Christian Bale is definitely on that list. As John Connor, he is rugged and fearless, doing what needs to be done to save the earth. What more could you ask for. McG takes the reins of the Terminator franchise and steers well. The film is high on action, just enough story line and connection to the rest of the episodes for continuity, and throw in a bit (but not too much, in fact barely any) sentimentality. The filming does not rely on up-close, ridiculously fast chase and crash scenes that are so close and so fast that the viewer does not really even know what happened. Can you tell what one of my action movie pet-peeves is? I have a feeling that the upcoming Transformers movie will fall into this category. Overall, high quality summer fare.
3-stars

And the other 4 on my top 5 list? Daniel Craig, Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, and Jet Li

Babylon A.D.

Vin Diesel is future version of badass Jason Statham in Transporter.  Not the same universe, but in style and substance. He is contracted to get a girl from a Nepalese monastery to New York. He does the job (against all odds and lots of people trying to kill him and the girl) against a steampunk modern backdrop (think Mad Max on ice/in the city). And like the transporter, he gets a conscience and makes a decision that is against his better judgement as an employee. Fun... ish...
2 stars (out of 5)

Spy

I like Melissa McCarthy and her brand of humor. At least, I like the bursts of it, not a 90 minute monologue. So for me, this was perfect. McCarthy plays a CIA support agent, the voice in the ear of the agent in the field. Her particular agent (Jude Law) is quintessential dapper James Bond type. And she is not so secretly infatuated. The subtle clues she throws his way fall on deaf ears since he is so clearly into himself, he doesn't need anyone else to be. Of course, Law's character gets taken out of the picture to provide space for McCarthy to step in and save the day. She gains confidence in her new role and is an overly self deprecating natural as a field agent. What I appreciate about this film is that all the characters play as a straight up spy thriller, and only the audience is in on the joke. So it is not slapstick send up where even the characters know themselves to be caricatures. I also love (LOVE) Jason Statham in this. He is so over the top that I don't know how he keeps a straight face. Absolutely hilarious.

So the movie made me laugh, and I enjoyed it. But is it good? Does it move McCarthy forward, or is it just a better execution of the same material that got her here. She can definitely carry the film, but in many ways, it still relies on her own body image as a contrast to the hollywood model image. The fact that her character requires the audience to notice her body and explicitly plays it up is telling. While on the surface it is exposing hollywood films and their misogynistic template by offering an "alternative", it somehow doesn't really expose, but utilizes misogyny in a different way. Looking forward to the day when McCarthy carries a film, is hilarious, and body:image:feminism is not even part of the discussion.

4 stars (out of 5)

The Expendables 3

For some reason, I liked this iteration better than one or two. Mel Gibson shows up as the bad guy (a former Expendable himself) and Stallone decides it is not worth risking the lives of his buddies to get him. So he goes out (with Kelsey Grammar's help of course) to recruit a new team of young studs. They get in trouble and the grizzled veterans come to the rescue, everybody ends up happy (except Mel of course). While the body count is just as high here, I liked the newbie-old guy interactions as they seemed to add something fresh. I also love Jason Statham and his chemistry with Stallone shows up. In fact, this was less about the old Expendables kicking ass, and more about their coming to terms with their frailty (and then ignoring it of course). Anyway, good 2nd tier summer comedy/action.
3 stars (out of 5)

The Expendables

This is a classic summer action film with not much plot, not much acting and lots of explosions. The plot goes something like: A bunch of ex-military mercenaries hire out their services, they get a job that is against their morals, they still do the job but in a way that causes more explosions and makes them look like they care. In this case, the hook for the film is that in stars many of the big action names of the past decade (Stallone, Statham, Rourke, etc.). With Stallone as the lead, it becomes obvious how old he is. There are a couple scenes of him running where it is clear that he can barely run. I probably would have given this a higher rating had I actually seen it in the summer where it belongs, but now, it gets
2 stars (out of 5)

War

I guess I have officially seen too many assassin/martial arts movies. I am a moderate fan (i.e. not a fanatic) of the genre, but with this Jason Statham/Jet Li contribution, I have reached the point where I actually expect a contribution. This movie did not offer anything new, or particularly interesting. So while I watched the entire movie, I must give it
2-stars