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When we think of Sylvester Stallone, we often forget that he not only wrote 'Rocky', but it earned him a Best Original Screenplay nomination at the Academy Awards. Most of the time when Sly pens a script he's also starred and more often than not directed the film. In 2013, he wrote 'Homefront', which was the first time he wrote a script but didn't also star in it. 'A Working Man' is now only the second time Sly has penned a script but not starred in it, once again with Jason Statham in the lead.
'A Working Man' follows construction worker Levon (Statham, 'The Meg', 'Wrath of Man'), who is an ex-marine. When his boss, Joe's (Michael Peña, 'Moonfall', 'Tom & Jerry') daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas, 'Prom Dates') gets kidnapped by human traffickers, Levon is asked to help find her. At first he's hesitant, but as he is having issues with his own daughter, who after the passing of his wife is in a custody battle with his father-in-law, decides to take on Joe's request.
Last year director David Ayer and Jason Statham teamed up for 'The Beekeeper'. While no masterpiece it was a fun ride with great action sequences and a charismatic cast. Going into 'A Working Man' - especially with a script by Stallone - I was excited to experience another wild ride. While this was the case, it was for all the wrong reasons. While the action is campy and bloody, the story is too serious for the tone of the action beats.
The first act lays all the drama on thick; so much time is wasted on Levon and his relationship with his daughter that has nothing to do with the bulk of the film. We also have so many characters, from his brother (David Harbour, 'Black Widow', 'Gran Turismo'), who had no reason being here, to all the "villains" - we go from drug dealer to mob leader and all are so interchangeable and look similar that they are forgettable. The film wants to be a serious drama action film but fails the landing.
Going into 'A Working Man' - especially with a script by Stallone - I was excited to experience another wild ride. While this was the case, it was for all the wrong reasons.
While the action is the campiness that fans of Statham will eat up, the film is weighed down with tonal issues. We go from a serious human trafficking to zany drug dealers and action scenes with terrible CGI blood and needle drops. Because of this I can't say 'A Working Man' is a fun sit. Statham is very neutered and while he delivers when the action is involved, the rest of the film doesn't have much to it. Streamlining the film, removing anything to do with Levon's personal life and just making this an ex-marine finding his boss' daughter would have made this a much tighter sit.
'A Working Man' would be a delight if you could just watch a YouTube compilation of the action sequences, but when you have this bland dragged-out story around it, it's simply not a fun sit.
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