Jason Statham is among the most consistent action stars of the 21st century, but he’s often been out of luck when committing to playing the same character within multiple installments in a franchise. Both The Mechanic and The Meg floundered after their sequels were met with tepid reviews, and after its disastrous fourth installment, it appears that The Expendables series may have finally overstayed its welcome. While both Crank and The Transporter earned more positive reviews for their sequels, too much time has passed for Statham to realistically return to those roles. However, Statham has the opportunity to take advantage of a recent hit if he moves forward with a sequel to A Working Man.
Statham stars in A Working Man as the former Royal Marine Commando Levon Cade, who has struggled to care for his daughter, Merry (Isla Gie), after the suicide of his wife. Although Levon has been determined to avoid getting involved in any more violent activity, as he feels that he was not there for his wife when she needed it, he is forced to change his mind when the daughter (Arianna Rivas) of his friend Joe (Michael Peña) is kidnapped by human traffickers. A Working Man featured one of Statham’s best recent performances, and there’s potential to deepen the character of Levon within sequels.
‘A Working Man’ Was the Perfect Role for Jason Statham
Statham is no longer a young action star and will need to take on roles that are realistic for someone who has been in the industry as long as he has. While Levon is very experienced at combat, A Working Man examines the challenges he faces as he enters a life that he thought he had left behind. Levon is a deeply vulnerable character, as he has felt purposeless in the wake of his family tragedy. Although many of Statham’s recent successes have been in revenge thrillers, Levon’s motivations are slightly different; since he knows what it is like to see a family splintered apart, he is determined to ensure that no other families have to experience the same heartbreak that he did. Statham is no stranger to playing an action hero, but A Working Man showed he could play a character that is closer to an everyman.
A sequel to A Working Man could allow Statham to reunite with David Ayer, a filmmaker who clearly understands why he is such an exciting star. Statham and Ayer had previously worked on the action-thriller The Beekeeper, which also benefited from its surprisingly sensitive leading character and conspiracy-related themes. While a sequel to The Beekeeper is in development, Ayer is not attached to direct. Ayer has had a career filled with ups and downs, as his work with Statham offered him redemption after the negative reviews that greeted Suicide Squad, Bright, and The Tax Collector. It would be in the best interest of both Statham and Ayer if they capitalized on a recent success.
A Working Man has set up intriguing characters that could return for a sequel, and perhaps be given a bigger role. David Harbour gave a completely self-aware performance that added just enough self-aware humor for the film to lampoon its inherently ridiculous premise, and Peña added a surprising amount of grace within his limited capacity. Although the film ends with Levon rescuing Joe’s daughter and defeating the bad guys, it hints that there is a larger conspiracy afoot that ties together corrupt cops, the Russian mafia, and international billionaires. It certainly wouldn’t be a challenge to find new antagonists for Levon to face off with in a sequel.
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‘A Working Man’ Has Potential as a Franchise
Many action franchises struggle to continue without being derivative, but A Working Man is based on a series of novels by Chuck Dixon, which gives the series a firm direction to move forward. Although films like The Beekeeper and The Expendables may have already been very silly to begin with, A Working Man is still somewhat small-scale in its conclusion, which gives the sequel an opportunity to heighten the stakes. There are also aspects of Levon’s backstory that have yet to be explored, such as the relationship with his father, his service in the Royal Marines, and how he met his wife.
A Working Man is the type of action film that the industry needs more of, as it offers a straightforward adventure story that does not require extensive background knowledge to be entertaining. Although both Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning and From The World of John Wick: Ballerina are entertaining, they are nearly incomprehensible for those that don’t already have extensive knowledge of the previous films. It’s hard to imagine that a sequel to A Working Man would have the same issue, as even for those who hadn’t seen the first film, the notion of Statham ruthlessly dispatching human traffickers is fairly self-explanatory.
