the previous celeb adage, “I don’t get up for lower than a million {dollars},”? Properly Jason Statham doesn’t get up and nonetheless pockets the loot, sleepwalking by means of one more gritty hardman caper, this time from director Ric Roman Waugh (no relation). Issues get a little extra critical this time with Statham launched as angular ex-special forces tremendous weapon, Michael Mason, residing in exile together with his anonymous mutt in a tastfully disused lighthouse on the Outer Hebrides. He will get by with that hardman loner perennial, a chess set, in addition to common deliveries of porridge and vodka through boat from an previous military pal and his niece/guardian, Jess (Bodhi Rae Breathnach).
When a mega storm capsizes the boat and kills his pal, the Rambo-ish Mason now has one other mouth to feed, and an injured one at that, with the inquisitive Jess. And so he ventures through boat into the native city for medical provides and is immediately caught and recognized through MI6’s new, ultra-invasive safety programme referred to as THEA.
The way in which that Mason’s little idyl falls aside is shoddily written, to the purpose the place you nearly really feel like he desires to be caught. On the opposite aspect of the curtain are Invoice Nighy’s nefarious spymaster, Manafort, a typical bureaucrat baddie position that’s beneath the wit and suave of this nationwide treasure. The nice Naomi Ackie, too, turns up as his extra morally righteous underling, however is given little or no to do.
The movie then includes a customary subject race throughout the nation with numerous violent stand-offs, a murderous murderer and a couple of elbow combating interludes. Statham’s spectacular physicality does little so as to add a lot juice to a movie that expends a lot of its power cleaving tightly to drained method, with a script that’s nearly wall-to-wall cliché. Past that, it’s a story that lives or dies on how a lot you purchase into the connection between Mason and Jess and… there’s simply no chemistry there, or no actual clarification as to why she views him as a father determine.
When you’re being beneficiant, you would possibly chalk this up as being increments above a few of Statham’s extra overtly schlocky outings, but when something, it presents up much less of what you need when you’re going to see a Jason Statham film. He ought to’ve stayed in mattress.