A Working Man (2025) - Okay, but not 'vintage' Stath

I confess - I didn't get round to watching this in the cinema.  I'm a pretty big fan of Jason Statham's output - yes, I know it's hardly Shakespeare, but if I'm in the mood for some good ol' fashioned action silliness, 'The Stath' normally provides.  However, in between the theatrical release and me finding it on streaming, I did see a fair few YouTube reviews of it.  Most said that it was 'Okay, but with flaws.' Then they went on to list what was wrong with it, so perhaps by the time I got round to viewing it myself, I was kind of on the look out for what was mentioned.

The plot revolves around Statham as the titular 'working man' who has traded in his special forces military background for a life on a construction site.  That's until his employers' daughter gets kidnapped and it turns into a kind of 'Taken' affair with him using his 'skill-set' to get her back.

Now I find myself listing the problems I heard about on YouTube regarding the film.  Yes, it's a bit too long.  Yes, it feels a bit unfocused with the fact that there really doesn't seem to be a 'real antagonist' for Jason Statham to fight.  He just goes from place to place, beating up henchmen until he gets to the 'lead gangster' of that area, deals with him and then moves on to the next setting (yes, a bit like a videogame beat 'em up!).  Then there are the secondary characters.  Each is brought on like they're going to have a major impact in the story, only for them to either be killed or simply abandoned as the story progresses.

Overall, I got my action.  I got my silliness and so I got my money's worth out of 'A Working Man' so I can't really complain too much.  But, seeing as I have the 'Transporter' trilogy and 'Crank' films on DVD, I'd rather watch any of them instead of this one again.  I wonder if the 'sequel bait' at the end will pay off?

6/10