Movie Breakdown: A Working Man

Pre-Screening Stance:

I know there’s a lot of fans of The Beekeeper – last year’s film from director David Ayer and superhuman Jason Statham – but it fell pretty flat for me. Will A Working Man being any less goofy? I doubt it, but maybe the Sylvester Stallone-penned script will provide a different edge.

Post-Screening Ramble:

I actually had a pretty solid time with A Working Man. Story-wise, it’s definitely less of a slog than David Ayer and Jason Statham’s previous collaboration, The Beekeeper, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have some issues. It drags here and there and sometimes the whole of it is just too dumb, but I think the biggest misstep is the subplot with Statham’s character’s daughter and her eccentric grandfather, which is entirely unnecessary as it never gets fully resolved and only serves to bloat the movie to a near two-hour runtime (when it should been 100 minutes at best). I also found some of the casting to be strange. Why is funnyman Michael Pena in a bit role as a sad dad? Why is David Harbour also in a bit role but as – essentially – a wise old blind man? Did they both owe someone a favor? All oddities aside though, the ultimate reality of the situation is that this film serves up exactly what anyone who is eager to see it is hoping to get – there’s a lot of action, a lot of Jason Statham’s quiet swagger, and a lot of clunky dialogue that’s unintentionally funny. Also, nothing bad happens to anyone (that’s not a member of the Russian mob), which is relaxing in a weird sort of way. If that sounds like a great time to you, then get out there for A Working Man. It opens in theaters this Friday, March 28.

One Last Thought:

My brain is seemingly forever set on trying to call this movie A Different Man. You (or me, for that matter) have no idea how many times I’ve had to correct myself.