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Ross (3282 KP) rated Spy (2015) in Movies

Nov 20, 2017  
Spy (2015)
Spy (2015)
2015 | Action, Comedy
What a great laugh. Where other spy spoof films have focused too much on the comedy and not bothered with a decent story, this feels more like a decent spy film with a good amount of comedy injected in.
Jude Law plays pretty much every role he has ever played, as does Jason Statham - to hilarious results.
Peter Serafinowicz is great as an Italian sex pest (like a young Berlusconi).
Melissa McCarthy is simply brilliant in this film, at times soft and sensitive, then hard and uncompromising.
Even Miranda Hart doesn't manage to spoil it!
  
The Transporter Refueled (2015)
The Transporter Refueled (2015)
2015 | Action
5
5.7 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The first Transporter movie is pretty much the definition of a guilty pleasure, due in no small part to Jason Statham in the lead role and some impressive stunt choreography.

The second and third? Largely forgettable, almost completely abandoning the limits of plausability.

This one is, essentially, a reboot of the series: the same basic premise is there; the same reliance on car chases and brawls in roughly the same setting (the French Riviera) and even elements of the same plot, but this one sorely misses the almost magnetic personality of its original leading man.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Parker (2013) in Movies

Apr 4, 2019  
Parker (2013)
Parker (2013)
2013 | Mystery
Fun if slightly nondescript Jason Statham action thriller. Master criminal (J-Stat) is betrayed by associates, embarks on vengeance; this involves pretending to be Texan. Comely estate agent (J-Lo) is, somehow, completely taken in by the wholly ridiculous accent her co-star adopts. Much twisty-turny plotting and violent mayhem ensues.

Not much here to disappoint fans of the great man: plenty of faintly absurd moments are mixed in with him kicking people in, and there are some pleasingly tense and effective moments. That said, it is a bit overlong, and - like quite a few films from around this period in his career - you do get a sense of a star perhaps a bit too firmly lodged in his comfort zone, as there's not much to distinguish this from Safe, The Mechanic, and so on. On the other hand, I kind of miss the days when you could expect two or three Statham movies like this one every year. Hey ho.
  
The One (2001)
The One (2001)
2001 | Action
5
5.8 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The Chosen One
What was this film, like honestly? It makes no sense at all. Its confusing, the action/cgi effects are hilariously bad and a waste of early 2000's metal music. Overall it is a weird but fun movie to watch. Jet Li and Jason Statham do a good job in this film. This film is a mix of like six different genres from sci-fi to action to martial arts to whatever else. By the end of the movie, i was overall confused but entertained. Thanks early 2000's for coming up with this movie.
  
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure
Fast and Furious Johnson/Statham Style
Fast And Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw is a 2019 action movie directed by David Leitch and written by Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce from a story by Morgan. It was produced by Seven Bucks Productions and Chris Morgan Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film also had Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Chris Morgan and Hiram Garcia as producers. The movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby and Ryan Reynolds.


When a team of MI6 agents try to retrieve a virus called "Snowflake", which could kill millions, from terrorist organization Eteon; Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a cybernetically enhanced member of Eteon, arrives killing all the agents except Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby). She is able to inject herself with the virus and escape but Brixton forces her to go on the run by framing her as a traitor who killed her team and stole "Snowflake". Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) are both recruited by the CIA, to work together to track it down and recover it.


This movie definitely fit in with the Fast and Furious series and was what you expected from a spin-off of the main franchise. That being said, it also didn't feel like a good fit in a lot of ways. Dwayne Johnson's character Hobbs felt diminished in a way because of how they tried to humanize him and make him more relatable by introducing family like his daughter. Also Deckard Shaw, Statham's character was given the same treatment by introducing family characters as well. Since the Fast and Furious franchise is all about family, I guess this was to be expected but it came off as contrived and "trope-ish". Vanessa Kirby did an awesome job as kick ass Hattie Shaw and delivered a strong performance as did Idris Elba although his character felt like a stereo-typed villain. The stunts and action sequences of course were crazy as hell but if you like the Fast and Furious movies than you will like this film. For me though, I'm with most fans and feel that the team up with Shaw is a stab in the back to Han since he was killed by Shaw in the franchise. But I guess the movie makers didn't really care or maybe they'll do something else about it later and he'll wind up being alive. All in all, it's a decent movie but just didn't do it for me, even with the great action, the funny dialogue/banter between Statham and Johnson and solid performances from some of the actors. I give this movie a 6/10.
  
Homefront (2013)
Homefront (2013)
2013 | Action, Drama, Mystery
6
6.8 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The new movie Homefront stars Jason Statham (Phil Broker), James Franco (Gator Bodine), Winona Ryder (Sheryl Gott), Kate Bosworth (Cassie Bodine), Chuck Zito (Danny T), Omar Benson Miller (Tito), Izabela Vidovic (Maddy Broker).

Written by Sylvestor Stallone. The film opens with a major drug bust going down, and inside undercover DEA agent Phil Broker (Statham) gives chase to the head of the drug ring and his son. While trying to arrest the father and son team, the son is shot to death, and his father promises to kill Broker and his children.

The rest of the movie takes place a few years later in a small town in Louisiana, where a now widowed Broker and his pre-teen daughter have moved to rebuild their life. An entire series of events is set off by Broker’s daughter standing up for herself against the school bully. The bully’s mother Cassie, demands an apology and doesn’t get one enough to her liking. She escalates the situation by going to her brother, Gator, who is the town’s resident “drug kingpin”.

After Gator discovers that Broker is actually an ex-undercover DEA agent, he tries to use that information as leverage to gain business ground for his drug running enterprise, and that’s where the rest of the movie plays out.

There are a lot of action and shooting scenes, which is what one would expect from a Statham movie, but it is still pretty predictable. Once Gator brings in the “big dogs” from the city, things quickly escalate and spin out of his control. The remainder of the movie is one gun fight after another, interspersed with chase scenes, swearing, explosions and hand to hand fighting. If you’re a fan of Statham, then there are really no surprises here. If you know to expect the movie’s complete predictability and his somewhat stiff acting, you’ll enjoy it.
  
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure
OK, I now have a new bar set for complete over the top ridiculousness in this spin off from the Fast and Furious movies (as an aside, I remember when they actually used to be about illegal street racing).

Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham (Hobbs and Shaw respectively) reprise their roles from the later F&F films, here reluctantly teaming up in a plot that also involves Idris Elba's cyborg soldier (who even goes so far as to call himself a Black Superman at one point) and Shaw's sister Hattie, who has been framed for stealing a deadly virus.

Over the top? Absolutely.

(but the cast all seem to be having great fun)
  
Hummingbird (aka Redemption, Crazy Joe) (2013)
Hummingbird (aka Redemption, Crazy Joe) (2013)
2013 | Action, Drama
8
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Well, if anyone was going to play an ex-special forces homeless man who interferes romantically with a nun and turns up to a knife fight carrying a spoon, it was going to be Jason Statham. The plot of this one honestly feels a bit like a mix-tape of the best bits from the great man's back catalogue (Chinese gangsters, people trafficking, mob enforcement, improbable threats) but it's put together with skill and conviction.

It does have that slightly crazy quality you often get in J-Stat films, but for me this is the source of much of their charm, and this one also manages to address some slightly deeper topics than usual and even ends up with a bit of gravitas and emotional depth. It almost feels like a drama as much as an action film, and you genuinely do care for the characters by the end of it. Definitely one of the better Statham vehicles, although one has to wonder about the film's fairly blatant attempts to position him as a gay icon - is J-Stat on board with this? Has anyone even thought to tell him? Good fun either way.
  
Death Race (2008)
Death Race (2008)
2008 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
6
7.1 (12 Ratings)
Movie Rating
In Death Race, a loose remake (sort of prequel?) to 1975's Death Race 2000, our lord and saviour Paul W.S. Anderson takes all of the things that made his Resident Evil films so mind numbingly shit, and applies them to a car racing movie. You know the drill - seizure inducing quick edits, with a liberal smattering of slow-mo for good measure, plenty of quippy douchebags, and the odd explosion of invasive "cool" guitar riffs.
However - it actually kind of works with the plot template and Death Race is easily one of Anderson's better films.
Jason Statham being in the driver's seat is always going to be a plus. He's being so very Statham as per, but if it ain't broke and all that. I can always appreciate the likes of Joan Allen and Ian McShane, and the action and story is well paced to ensure that it's entertaining as hell from start to finish.

Death Race is the epitome of fast food cinema. It's hot trash, but it's a pretty good time all things considered. A solid 6 angry Stathams out of 10.
  
The Bank Job (2008)
The Bank Job (2008)
2008 | Drama, Mystery
Cracking Thriller
A very good heist/crime thriller with a very good cast of mainly British actors on show. A role that seems to fit Jason Statham like a glove, playing a cockney East London gangster. He has the chance to pull one last big Bank Job but that is where all his troubles begin. This is a very good entertaining film, that is slick, stylish and a tad raunchy too. It stays very truthful to the 70's period in all manner of ways, which is good to see. This isn't just a good heist film though as the story involves all sorts of double crosses, making it a very good crime thriller to. Make sure you see it.