It’s a truth universally acknowledged, that even the most balanced moviegoing diet needs some cinematic junk food thrown in there every now and then. Don’t get me wrong — it’d be nice if every action blockbuster rose to the same heights of a “Mad Max: Fury Road” or if every popcorn flick could channel the ruthless efficiency of a Tony Scott film. But we don’t live in that ideal world and, frankly, it’d probably be a little boring if we did. Make no mistake: At a time when we can’t afford to be picky about what brings audiences to theaters, there is definitely room for empty calorie entertainment.
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Into this wildly imperfect ecosystem steps “A Working Man,” the next collaboration between star Jason Statham and director David Ayer, the pair that last brought us the ridiculous B-movie joys of “The Beekeeper.” This time around, they’ve teamed up for another gimmicky, shoot-em-up thriller in much the same vein. Here, the English action hero plays yet another blue-collar, ex-military type hiding his very particular set of skills while minding his own business and working an unremarkable day job (now a construction worker rather than, you know, a beekeeper) … that is, until the bad guys mess with precisely the wrong loved one. Sure, nobody will ever confuse Statham for a chameleon, but there is something charming about Hollywood pretending that one of the world’s most recognizable performers is actually the epitome of an everyman. The crowd-pleaser understands every narrative beat it needs to hit, in fact, which becomes clear as soon as it kicks things off with a hilariously over-stylized opening credits sequence brimming with rah-rah patriotic imagery: from faceless soldiers bleeding out on battlefields, to multiple closeups of American and British flags emerging from flames, to (I kid you not) cement trucks with larger-than-life grenades in place of the actual mixer. It’s all very subtle, you see.
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Despite all this goofy potential, however, “A Working Man” can’t quite establish itself as a contender to the crown of junk food cinema. Where “The Beekeeper” had the benefit of a hilariously over-the-top premise and a heightened tone to match, this latest Statham vehicle struggles mightily to recapture that same magic and ultimately delivers far less spectacular results than hoped for. Based on author Chuck Dixon’s novel “Levon’s Trade,” the adaptation takes the bones of a working-class vigilante and disjointedly filters it through the lens of Ayer and Statham’s blunt tendencies. This leads to a plot that’s somehow straightforward and needlessly convoluted all at once, action that’s unexpectedly more restrained than it ought to be (until the fireworks go off in the final act, at least), and an overall approach that aims for “John Wick” … but can’t even reach “The Transporter.”