There aren’t many actors working at present as synonymous with the motion style as Jason Statham, who has been making nice movies throughout the style for nearly three many years. Whereas stars like Liam Neeson and Tom Cruise have discovered a technique to work in some non-action roles into their respective filmographies, Statham is unlikely to be in a movie the place he isn’t dispatching unhealthy guys in a very ruthless style.
Statham has been in various nice motion movies, however a few of his initiatives are usually extra intense than others. Whereas it is good to see him strive one thing extra comedic like Spy or The Meg, Statham is commonly at his greatest when he takes the fabric significantly, as they have a tendency to profit from the gravity that he can convey. Listed here are the ten most thrilling Jason Statham films, ranked.
10 ‘The Expendables’ (2010)
Directed by Sylvester Stallone
The Expendables was the final word dream for motion film followers, because the movie combines a number of generations of stars for an epic crew up journey. Statham teamed up with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, Eric Roberts, Jet Li, Charisma Carpenter, Terry Crews, and Dolph Lundgren amongst others for this story a couple of group of past-their-prime veterans assigned to undergo with one final mission.
Though the franchise would ultimately get sillier because it went alongside, the primary The Expendables movie is sort of intense and surprisingly fairly violent, because the jokes are much more subdued than they had been within the sequels. Statham is accountable for giving the movie a few of its dramatic heft, because the combat scenes that he’s concerned with typically are usually probably the most entertaining out of any of the movie’s different co-stars.
9 ‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’ (2023)
Directed by Man Ritchie
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is among the extra underrated movies that Statham starred in, and served as a welcome reunion with director Man Ritchie, who had helmed him in a few of his earliest roles. The movie stars Statham, Aubrey Plaza, and Bugzy Malone as a gaggle of extremely skilled secret brokers who should win the help of a film star (Josh Hartnett) to assist affect a robust billionaire (Hugh Grant).
Though there are actually a whole lot of the eye-popping motion scenes that one would come to count on from a brand new Ritchie movie, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre works as an old school caper journey, full with elaborate heists and double crosses. It’s really slightly unlucky that the movie didn’t carry out effectively sufficient to obtain a sequel, as the ending appeared to counsel one other journey was in play.
8 ‘Wrath of Man’ (2021)
Directed by Man Ritchie
Wrath of Man is a heist thriller that turns the caper style on its head, as Statham stars as a safety guard who’s purposefully making an attempt to lure out criminals so as to monitor them down and kill them brutally. Though initially that is simply seen as an excuse to have some nice shootout sequences, it’s ultimately revealed that Statham’s character is on a crucial mission of revenge so as to avenge the loss of life of his son.
The emotional stakes concerning a father recovering from loss make Wrath of Man surprisingly participating on a personality stage, and make the violent motion scenes price investing in. Whereas he’s greatest often called a quippy motion star greatest identified for physicality and critical demeanor enjoying anti-heroes, Statham is commonly a much more completed actor than he’s ever given credit score for being.
7 ‘The Beekeeper’ (2024)
Directed by David Ayer
The Beekeeper is exploitative motion nonsense at its greatest, as director David Ayer was seemingly impressed by traditional Cannon movies to make this brutal, uncompromising revenge thriller. Whereas it may be in comparison with different movies primarily based on its premise alone, The Beekeeper is prepared to go to notably violent and satirical locations that motion cinema has prevented in latest reminiscence.
The Beekeeper is price watching as a result of Statham is on an ideal revenge mission, as he’s making an attempt to take down a corrupt group accountable for deceiving aged folks and depriving them of their cash. Though there are flashes of humor sprinkled all through, The Beekeeper is uncompromisingly violent in a method that will even shock these conversant in Ayer’s latest initiatives. Seeing Statham take down a corrupt conspiracy associated to the President of the US is among the wildest swings in latest motion movies.
6 ‘Crank’ (2006)
Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Crank has one of many biggest premises for any motion movie, as Statham performs a personality who should maintain his coronary heart price at a really excessive stage so as to forestall a bomb from detonating. Impressed by the traditional neo-noir thriller movie D.O.A., Crank is each an exhilarating burst of power and a surprisingly existentialist thriller on the worth of saving one’s life.
Crank is the kind of movie that offers the viewer no room to catch their breath, as administrators Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor do an ideal job at upping the ante in the case of ridiculousness with every subsequent motion sequence. The maniacal, darkish sense of comedian aid that Statham provides to the position someway makes the expertise of watching Crank much more intense; generally, the one technique to react to a nihilist state of affairs is to snicker at it.
5 ‘Crank 2: Excessive Voltage’ (2009)
Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Crank 2: Excessive Voltage is the uncommon motion sequel that’s much more intense than its predecessor, because the sequel takes the idea of the primary movie and pushes it to its excessive. Whereas the primary Crank actually had some moments that strained credibility (contemplating that your entire premise is totally ridiculous), Crank 2: Excessive Voltage will get weird to the purpose that it flirts with surrealism.
Statham was maybe the one motion star able to pulling off this form of movie, as he has each the physicality wanted to make it really feel considerably sensible, and the cheeky humorousness wanted to remind the viewers to not take something too significantly. If Neveldine and Taylor even wished to make a 3rd movie within the Crank franchise, they must work very exhausting to give you one thing wilder than what occurs in Crank 2: Excessive Voltage.
4 ‘Livid 7’ (2015)
Directed by James Wan
Livid 7 is arguably among the finest movies in The Quick and the Livid franchise, and truly managed to elicit some real tears from audiences primarily based on the emotional method that it wraps up. Statham joined the franchise as Shaw, a supervillain out for revenge in opposition to Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) after his brother (Luke Evans) was threatened within the earlier movie, Quick & Livid 6.
Livid 7 is among the uncommon situations through which Statham obtained to play the antagonist, and positively proved to be among the finest villains in your entire The Quick and the Livid saga. Not one of the movies within the collection are notably gritty, however Statham was a minimum of in a position so as to add some real emotional stakes to the story which have felt utterly absent in a few of the newer sequels.
3 ‘The Italian Job’ (2003)
Directed by F. Gary Grey
The Italian Job is among the uncommon motion film remakes that’s really higher than its predecessor, because the 2003 movie from director F. Gary Grey is extra emotionally concerned and effectively staged than the 1969 traditional starring Michael Caine. Statham, Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, and Seth Inexperienced star as a crew of financial institution robbers who attempt to take down a former member of their crew (Edward Norton), who betrayed them and killed their chief (Donald Sutherland).
The Italian Job options wonderful automotive chase scenes, however is at its greatest when it comes up with fascinating heist situations for the characters to drag off. Though the movie does have some critical dramatic stakes (particularly compared to the extra easy and foolish 1969 movie), the comedic interaction between Statham and Inexperienced does add some moments of a lot wanted levity.
2 ‘Lock, Inventory and Two Smoking Barrels’ (1998)
Directed by Man Ritchie
Lock, Inventory and Two Smoking Barrels was a rare debut from Ritchie that truly originated as a collection of scattershot concepts that he had written down on a serviette. Lock, Inventory, and Two Smoking Barrels does an ideal job at organising a mess of compelling gangster characters, however Statham’s efficiency because the no-nonsense mobster Bacon is most actually one of many standouts.
Lock, Inventory, and Two Smoking Barrels succeeds due to its ingenious narrative construction, because it makes use of unusual flashbacks, odd skips in time, and non-traditional needle drops to create a disorienting expertise. Statham proved in one in every of his earliest roles that he was an ideal match for Richie’s sensibilities, and to nobody’s shock, Lock, Inventory and Two Smoking Barrels grew to become an instantaneous cult traditional that kicked off one of the crucial entertaining actor-director partnerships in fashionable cinematic historical past.
1 ‘Snatch’ (2001)
Directed by Man Ritchie
Snatch is in some ways the final word Ritchie film, as it’s a comedy of errors that focuses on numerous criminals, gangsters, and thieves throughout the London legal underworld. Though it has one of many grandest, most spectacular ensemble casts of Ritchie’s movies to date (together with a standout efficiency by Brad Pitt as an Irish boxer), Statham’s position as yet one more tough-minded gangster is by far the movie’s greatest scene stealer.
Snatch strikes at such an alarmingly fast tempo that there’s little room to breathe, giving Statham the chance to maximise each second when he’s in peril. Though it’s a movie that dangers turning into complicated due to the bizarre method through which Ritchie selected to jot down and edit it, Statham brings a lot persona to his efficiency that it turns into a lot simpler to get invested throughout the story.
