NEW YORK (OSV News) – The formula is an old, but by no means venerable, one in Hollywood. Give a character with a military background an excuse to put his calm civilian existence on hold temporarily and so unleash his slaying skills on a host of wrong-doers.
Naturally, the more depraved the former soldier’s opponents, the freer the audience will feel to cheer him on as he makes short work of them. In the case of the 2008 revamp “Rambo,” for instance, the aging Vietnam-era Green Beret of the title — played, of course, by Sylvester Stallone — went up against the easy-to-despise in real life Burmese military.
Along the same lines, in last year’s “The Beekeeper,” Jason Statham’s ex-elite operative took on callous internet scammers who had ruined the life of his only friend, an elderly widow. In the latest variation on the theme, “A Working Man” (Amazon MGM), Statham’s Levon Cade tangles with Russian sex traffickers.
When we first encounter him, British-bred Levon is a construction foreman in Chicago. Though popular with his co-workers, he’s mostly a loner. His small circle of close pals does include his employers, Joe (Michael Peña) and Carla Garcia (Noemí Gonzalez), however, as well as the Garcias’ college-aged daughter, Jenny (Arianna Rivas).
So when Jenny fails to return from a night on the town, and it becomes apparent that she’s been kidnapped, Levon reluctantly swings into action. He draws on his combat experience as a Royal Marine to track Jenny down and deal out punishment to those who organized her abduction, including cowardly rich boy Dimi Kolisnyk (Maximilian Osinski).
Working from a script he co-wrote with Stallone, based on Chuck Dixon’s 2014 novel “Levon’s Trade,” director David Ayer turns in a routine action flick. In fact, “A Working Man” is distinguished from others of its ilk only by the fact that its screenplay endows Jenny with fighting abilities of her own, albeit the explanation for her expertise is vaguely ridiculous.
The bloodletting along the path of Levon’s quest is somewhat restrained, if assessed by the extravagant standards of the genre. Yet, in at least one instance, Levon kills an adversary he has neutralized and taken prisoner and who thus poses no immediate threat to him.
Adjudging his captive a lowlife, he guns him down in cold blood. Vengeance is his — or so he seems to think.
The film contains a benign view of vigilantism, much harsh and sometimes gory violence, drug use, underage drinking, at least one instance of profanity, a couple of milder oaths, pervasive rough and considerable crude language and obscene gestures. The OSV News classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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