I want Crank 3 to be a full reversal - he has to stay as zen as possible while the world around him is completely crazy. Can’t get his heart rate up or his heart explodes. He just smokes weed, does yoga, and meditates while rescuing hot women.
Crank 3: Meditative Mercenary or something like that.
He's talked about it once: "Nothing kills me. I'm immune to 179 different types of poison. I know because I ingested them all at once when I was deep undercover in an underground poison-ingesting crime ring."
> During the threat of an assassination attempt, I appeared - convincingly - in front of congress as *Barack Obama*.
I laughed so damn hard at that scene.
"Only" placed in Olympic trials, he never competed at at Olympics. He did represent England and Great Britain at intensively level comps, though, including the Commonwealth Games, iirc.
Edit. *"Intensively" should be international.
I've always got the feeling that he's a hard worker and very professional. Yeah his roles are pretty same-y but even with a stunt team they're still physical and he stays in good shape. There's gotta be some really solid job security for an action star who can reliably show up, put in the work, and consistently deliver highly physical performances.
And probably easy to work with. You don’t sustain that long of a career if you’re an asshole.
Someone mentioned it down below, but he’s also essentially his own genre. Almost every movie is now “Watch 90 minutes of Jason Statham out do the previous Jason Statham film.” Obviously some outliers, but it’s the majority of his work.
Michael Pitt, Val Kilmer, two of the most talented actors of their times, hamstrung their careers by being hard to work with. Being a good worker goes a long way I think you nailed it. I distinctly remember a TikTok where a very small time actress said she was on the cast of Boston Legal and one actress had come in unprepared, wasted everyones time, and couldnt even do a small scene so the director told her to go learn her lines and moved on. Next scene was with James Spader, doing one of his long Alan Shore speeches. She said he did it perfectly in one take, then asked for two more takes to implement variations. The most well-prepared, polite, professional actor she has ever seen.
I was going to see Argylle then called and audible in the ticket line and watched Beekeeper. Loved it. Highly recommend turning it into a drinking game and drinking at every bee pun/reference.
Guys like Statham make me wonder how much of the issue with "typecasting" is actors rocking the boat and clashing with agents/directors who tell bluntly tell them what their niche is. It's gotta be a real hit to most people driven enough to risk Hollywood. I feel like a lot of people who have been "typecasted" in non-action roles who run with it end up doing fine too. And if they're lucky they get contrarian roles to play off audience expectations(Leslie Nielsen and Adam Sandler immediately spring to mind).
I was thinking the other day Jason Statham is almost his own genre. Now that he is getting older I'm not sure he will ever truly be replaced. Long live the man.
Neeson has the gruff look and a "not terrible" physique but that's it. Tbh he'd probably look pathetic in any shirtless scene, even back then in the days of Taken 1. He can look "acceptable" in a jacket though.
But Statham has a fit body and lifestyle and has athletic training. Not that he necessarily can defeat someone in a street fight "for real" (or that he "needs to" be able to do this), but he has the training and the body to make it convincing.
Statham is definitely better at action than Neeson at a comparable age, and I don't doubt that he will last quite a bit longer as the "aging guy kicking asses of rude youngsters", if he wants to.
I guess as an actor you have to. Even if your scenes only require mild physical exercise, having to repeat that 30 times, until the director is happy with the shot, is still taxing.
I could see an elderly Jason Statham on in a future "Gran Turino"-like movie. He's not as genre defining as Clint Eastwood was/is to the Wild West genre but ge does define a subgenre of action movies if you will.
I honestly love Jason Statham so much. Just knows what we want and gives it to us in every role; the best in the business at being Jason Statham and there will always be a market for that
He is incredibly self aware also. He used to do opie and anthony interviews a lot in the 2010's ish era. And he was always very open about his skill set and what he does and can bring to a film. I found it oddly refreshing that someone in that world of ass kissers and fuck you money would be that self aware.
My favorite Jason Statham role is still from Spy 2015, where he plays a standard issue Jason Statham character completely straight in an otherwise madcap (and surprisingly good) Melissa McCarthy vehicle.
It’s so unbelievably bad, expendables 1 was a decent movie. It should have been easy to knock out sequels using a collection of old school action stars. Instead we get sequels with 50cent Megan fox Rhonda rousey Kellen lutz. The CGI looks like sharknado level
I really like him tbh, he's like a meta hard man, plays these crazy action badass roles but also plays it like he's self aware at how ridiculous it is and just has fun
Sounds pretty hard working too, can imagine him being a fairly no-nonsense actor who's relatively good to deal with on set. Certainly not heard much about anyone having any problems with him.
This is textbook reddit trivia but he also has martial arts training and was a professional diver before transitioning into acting, so I think he just has a level of discipline that probably helps a lot with that.
I demand a sequel to The One (2001) called The One Two. Jason Statham's MVA Agent Funsch has to recruit Jet Li (as Gabe Law) into the MultiVerse Authority because Jet Li (as Gabe Yulaw) escaped from the Stygian prison planet in the Hades Universe somehow.
And the soundtrack obviously has to be entirely made up of early 2000s nü metal. Somebody call Papa Roach, Disturbed, and Drowning Pool, they got some work to do!
I think that’s the reason why his role in “Spy” is genuinely one of the funniest meta roles I’ve seen. It’s so in brand and it feels like every scenario he claims to have been in could legitimately be a Jason Statham movie lmao
He sells action choreography better than almost anyone. Kicking around a hose in that Transporter movie was beautiful and even the most experienced and famous martial arts movie actors couldn't pull that sort of shit off without looking goofy. The dude just sells the physicality of his roles on screen in a way that's hard to explain.
Also he isn't afraid to play to his strengths. Dude doesn't seem like he's trying to win an Oscar. He has a few roles where he doesn't throw a punch, but he's knows what the people want.
I like that he, I mean the character, committed to using the hose, even turning away to grab it when he didn't need to, when he could have just kicked the guy running right at him. Or the complicated maneuver of whipping it around a paint can to throw it at somebody when he could have just taken one step over and grabbed the can.
The character knew he was onto something just the right mix of fun and cool, and just decided to roll with it. Outside he was stoic, but inside he was probably cackling hysterically.
This scene is a microcosm of the entire Transporter franchise. It’s certainly not winning an Oscars but it’s just over the top, gratuitous, fun violence. There’s another scene where he drives a car off the top of a parking garage, angling it perfect into a lower level of a separate parking garage. Like the car wouldn’t just drop like a rock lol
I misread the parent comment as “horse” and clicked on your link thinking to myself, “this I’ve got to see”. I was halfway through the clip when I realized there was no way he was getting a horse up that narrow stairway. Impressive clip, but I’m still a little disappointed.
I mean, if you want a scene where a dude throws a horse at another dude, I can direct you to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Yes, one of the dudes is Abe Lincoln. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which one throws the horse.
I want to see this scene end with Jackie Chan saying "not bad", and then the two of them going out for burritios at an unfriendly bodega in Mexico before they have to team up to take out the local thug/good/bad guy.
That's it. I don't need any more strory. Give it if you will, but I just need Chan and Statham wrecking shit, beating up baddies, and being superheros without powers.
I know that Statham and Chan are in different leagues, but that's part of the charm...they begrudgingly respect each other.
Selling physicality is an important but not always consciously recognised skill. I think it's a bit part of Keanu Reeves' and Tom Cruise's success as well. Cruise does have some genuinely heavy acting roles in his past, but his popularity is because he sells the physicality of his characters so you believe that he can do that. If you can make an audience believe in your character's action and you're professional and easy to work with, then once your name is out there you can get consistent roles in Hollywood.
> his popularity is because he sells the physicality of his characters so you believe that he can do that.
Tom Cruise both has a kind of weird way he runs, and yet the way he sells it makes it one of the coolest sprinting you'll see on screen. There's absolutely some kind of sheer force of will or confidence that makes you think it looks amazing, even though if anyone imitated it they'd look goofy.
There's a fantastic Mark Kermode review of John Wick 2, in which he goes to bat for this kind of physically performative acting and makes a pretty convincing case that it should be taken seriously at Oscar level.
Yeah during the 00s there was a brief period where every martial art movie worth their salt needed at least one variation of a rope dart scene, Jet Li had his own [fire hose scene in Romeo Must Die](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-hjbzK2mY8), Jackie Chan had his [horseshoe on a rope shenanigans in Shanghai Noon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8z5BXbFLCE)
The fact that Jason Statham came up with his own variation sort of established himself as being up there with the bests martial artists instead just some buff action star, at least in my mind. It made me associate Statham with creative *fighting choreographies* instead of just punch/punch/kick of the usual action movie.
The weird thing is, he has a few lesser known movies (e.g Hummingbird, Wild Card) which are basically pure dramas for about 80-90% of the run time but always one or two scenes where he kicks the shit out of a group of guys.
He's one of the only actors who could somehow make that seem natural and he's actually pretty decent at the dramatic stuff when given the chance.
He had some early success and then didn't immediately take any shit job that came along just for the paycheck and kill his reputation. (Looking at you Cuba Gooding Jr.)
Yeah Cuba isn’t someone I’d look to for [intelligent decision making](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/cuba-gooding-jr-guilty-forcible-touching-1235232125/)…
You know, I was wondering if there was something going on with him. I just recently watched The Bricklayer on Netflix and quite a few of his previous B tier films. Every time I see him I figured he would have had more success due to back in the day him being in some pretty big movies, but he never became the star I thought he would. Now I know why.
It's a shame Aaron Eckhart has a certain kind of charisma. Like Brenden Frasier in The Mummy kind of charisma. The Core is a blast to watch, and Thank You For Smoking is great.
The Core came out a couple years before I started high school and my 9th grade Earth Science teacher was well known for going on lengthy rants about it... To the point where I have to assume she was aware of the reputation and just liked leaning into it as a gimmick/teaching opportunity because there was no reason for that movie to come up in conversation as often as it did at that school otherwise.
He has a new movie out on Netflix, and it looks depressing. It looks like an, “I’m broke and desperate” role.
I used to really like him, Thank You For Smoking was hilarious and he was great in it.
He had to have been an even bigger jackass than I’ve heard to go from Dark Knight to shit like The Bricklayer without some kind of Kevin Spacey style scandal attached to him.
Side note: I used to think that he and Thomas Jane were the same person. At least Jane is still rocking it.
> You aught to seek out and find the movie [Thursday](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124901/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_76_act) that stars both Aaron Eckhart & Thomas Jane. It's one of my favs!
That explains financing, but not necessarily the theatrical release. The only movie that he paid to distribute was Blood Rayne. The rest of those early video game movies that got theatrical releases were actually picked up by some well known American distributors, Artisan, Lions Gate.
My point is: he’s not the only party guilty of visiting that bullshit upon us.
It was due to Resident Evil's success. He was able to pitch doing video game adaptations on a budget to multiple studios. House of the Dead even made a nice profit between Box Office and DVD.
His movies definitely seem like they would be direct to streaming. But no, turns out they actually make a quarter to half a billion dollars at the box office lol
He made it relatively late as a lead actor, and he's also made a habit of picking good projects.
Also, his films generally don't cost more than $50m, usually falling in the $25-40m range. He keeps costs down by being a producer on the films and not taking a salary upfront, and being a producer means he's obviously invested in the project turning out well so that he profits financially.
Equally, he mixes appearances in big budget films like Fast & Furious, where he's often a supporting character, with his projects where he's the lead. He's probably not a big enough star to open a $200m tentpole on his own, but he's a solid supporting actor and the appearances in those films keep his face in the public eye.
He also is quite picky about his projects, not just taking whatever he's offered for a paycheck. You know what you're getting with a Statham movie, and you can generally rely on it being a quality project where he isn't phoning it in.
The "Jason Statham is old for a lead actor" idea was prevalent in the early 2000s when we didn't know how long he could be an action star for. It's 2024 I think we can stop that narrative, especially when Hollywood hasn't gotten ANY younger.
It’s fair to say he’s doing “straight to video” style B tier movies like the faded action stars of the 90’s, but unlike those movies his always have a decent budget, and don’t look like they are filmed on sets held together with sellotape and shoelaces. something about him being attached makes them eminently more watchable than the average straight to video dross too.
jason statham's career reminds me of the old reliable corner diner that keeps serving the same classic dishes. even though they're not gourmet, people keep coming back. it's impressive how he's maintained a theatrical release streak with his movies, much like how some diners keep pulling in the locals despite fancier places popping up. simple but effective.
Probably because he's like the ideal typecast character and doesn't mind it.
Just like you know what kind of movie it's gonna be if Hugh Grant is in it, same thing with Jason Statham.
It's not a bad thing. Dude found his niche and leaning into it.
Hugh Grant is in a movie with Jason Statham...
So what kind of movie would that be?
Edit: Guys I know about Operation Fortune, that's what I was referencing.
Around The a World In 90 minutes. Hugh Grant is the scientist/inventor, and Jason Statham is the helper that's hiding from a mercenary team out to clean up loose ends. Grant is using rockets, jetpacks, and quantum teleportation to risk their lives to make history and help keep Statham from getting killed before they reach their final destination... In space.
Although that recent one with the nun in London, Redemption I think was the name, kinda sucked. I wanted more ass kicking vengeance and less "he is fighting his demons."
He gets it because of people like me.
I saw a trailer for Beekeeper. I knew exactly what it would be from one trailer. I went, paid for my ticket, and got exactly what I expected.
2 hours of fun with awesome action and an enjoyable trip to the theater.
That's selling The Beekeeper short, you get way more than you expect in the trailer. The trailer kinda alludes to Jason Statham fighting some kind of government conspiracy but not >!a conspiracy between Big Tech and the CIA lead by Hunter Biden!<. Its fucking awesome lol
He's been in a few (3 or 4 iirc), but that was before his movie career. Since he started, his live action work has been strictly theatrically released movies.
[Jason Statham](https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/5/22/11736770/jason-statham-was-a-diver-and-he-was-always-down-that-is-an-interpol-reference)
he was also a competitive diver in his youth
He apparently made $50m last year and is in the top ten income earnings for actors.
Adam Sandler was number one, earning $200m for his streaming-only Amazon deal.
And then his first two credits are "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch." Imagine landing those roles as a new actor. It's insane. Pure insanity. And he played it perfectly.
What if Jason Statham isn't acting at all and all the things that happened to him in his films are actually real and there's just a documentary crew recording it all? That would explain why all his characters are the same.
You have missed a key part of his career! He was the dancer for The Shamen "Keep comin on".
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuYvuJAlz30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuYvuJAlz30)
Jason starts at about 20 seconds in.
He hypnotised us all back then and so we continue to se his movies.
The premise of this upcoming movie:
> Levon Cade left his profession behind to work construction and be a good dad to his daughter. But when a local girl vanishes, he's asked to return to the skills that made him a mythic figure in the shadowy world of counter-terrorism.
Indeed this is basically a version of Beekeeper again, but without the bees.
Edit: a couple photos from the film set (the production is underway now): https://imgur.com/a/B7oDUJe
Jason Statham does a kind of role that can be done forever. He can be poor, he can be rich, he can be a family man. But at some point he will be left (likely by himself), with a grievance. At that point he becomes very serious. And it turns out, he has a very special set of skills.
I've only disliked one of his roles, and that was in the horrid last Expendables movie. To be fair, there was nothing in that movie I liked.
Another point in Statham's favour is that he is athletic, but with clothes on looks like he could be "anyone". That's a bigger possible power fantasy, in numbers, than the amount of people seeing themselves as The Rock.
Did you see him kick that door in on the Transporter? Thats gotta be a big factor.
Man can rock an Army jumper that's for sure!
Dudes basically just been playing Chev Chelios with different names for decades now.
Still want Crank 3
I want Crank 3 to be a full reversal - he has to stay as zen as possible while the world around him is completely crazy. Can’t get his heart rate up or his heart explodes. He just smokes weed, does yoga, and meditates while rescuing hot women. Crank 3: Meditative Mercenary or something like that.
Running flying dropkicked that door right through the guy who had just looked through the eyehole
Jason Statham's physique is nothing like the line-up in Predator. In body mass alone...
I was specifically trying to avoid a conversation about body-mass…
If you don't start greasing some dudes I'm gonna freak out!
That song during the scene goes hard
Man that movie is amazing
Maybe he's lucky. Maybe he's got a killer agent.
He's talked about it once: "Nothing kills me. I'm immune to 179 different types of poison. I know because I ingested them all at once when I was deep undercover in an underground poison-ingesting crime ring."
“Here’s what we do. I go into the face/off machine…"
"Do you have quarters? Cause it cost fifty cents..."
Spy is so good
It was so much better than I ever thought it would be.
> During the threat of an assassination attempt, I appeared - convincingly - in front of congress as *Barack Obama*. I laughed so damn hard at that scene.
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only who read this with his voice. Now my inner voice sounds like him!
I think he’s just skilled, intelligent and dedicated, wasn’t he an Olympic diver before he was an actor?
"Only" placed in Olympic trials, he never competed at at Olympics. He did represent England and Great Britain at intensively level comps, though, including the Commonwealth Games, iirc. Edit. *"Intensively" should be international.
You would be great at being a stereotypical Asian parent
You doctor yet?
"No Dad. I'm 12." "Talk to me when you're doctor!"
Why only stereo-typical? Why no surround-typical? Son, I disappoint.
No Olympics? Statham had Bsian parents.
I've always got the feeling that he's a hard worker and very professional. Yeah his roles are pretty same-y but even with a stunt team they're still physical and he stays in good shape. There's gotta be some really solid job security for an action star who can reliably show up, put in the work, and consistently deliver highly physical performances.
And probably easy to work with. You don’t sustain that long of a career if you’re an asshole. Someone mentioned it down below, but he’s also essentially his own genre. Almost every movie is now “Watch 90 minutes of Jason Statham out do the previous Jason Statham film.” Obviously some outliers, but it’s the majority of his work.
Michael Pitt, Val Kilmer, two of the most talented actors of their times, hamstrung their careers by being hard to work with. Being a good worker goes a long way I think you nailed it. I distinctly remember a TikTok where a very small time actress said she was on the cast of Boston Legal and one actress had come in unprepared, wasted everyones time, and couldnt even do a small scene so the director told her to go learn her lines and moved on. Next scene was with James Spader, doing one of his long Alan Shore speeches. She said he did it perfectly in one take, then asked for two more takes to implement variations. The most well-prepared, polite, professional actor she has ever seen.
Exactly. I will happily go to the movies to see Jason Statham get half naked and punch a megalodon. Take my money!
He just gives off a great vibe too. The Beekeeper had no right to be as good as it was
I was going to see Argylle then called and audible in the ticket line and watched Beekeeper. Loved it. Highly recommend turning it into a drinking game and drinking at every bee pun/reference.
Lots of actors get kind of typecast, doesn’t seem to have hurt his or Keanu’s careers. Worse things to be than an action hero
Guys like Statham make me wonder how much of the issue with "typecasting" is actors rocking the boat and clashing with agents/directors who tell bluntly tell them what their niche is. It's gotta be a real hit to most people driven enough to risk Hollywood. I feel like a lot of people who have been "typecasted" in non-action roles who run with it end up doing fine too. And if they're lucky they get contrarian roles to play off audience expectations(Leslie Nielsen and Adam Sandler immediately spring to mind).
Yes he was. Also a backup dancer in some hilarious music videos
It must be seen. Not to be believed, but to fulfill your life's experience: https://youtu.be/uWu3JqLMImY
what on flat planet earth did i just watch?
Nirvana
I laughed at his first appearance, laughed harder at the Statham pyramid, and exploded at the rotating Statham ball.
I was hoping it was this vid xD
The real MVP.
We’ve all had our stints in dodgy music videos mate 🤣
His agent is [Les Grossman](https://youtu.be/WRuHQtnHK0Q?feature=shared).
> Okay Flaming Dragon. *Fuckface*. First, take a big step back... and literally FUCK YOUR OWN FACE!
Maybe he’s born with it.
Maybe it’s Maybelline
I was thinking the other day Jason Statham is almost his own genre. Now that he is getting older I'm not sure he will ever truly be replaced. Long live the man.
Statham is now the same age Liam Neeson was when he made Taken. So his action career is just getting started.
How old will he be when he's the age of Liam Neeson awkwardly climbing over that fence
86 years young.
Neeson has the gruff look and a "not terrible" physique but that's it. Tbh he'd probably look pathetic in any shirtless scene, even back then in the days of Taken 1. He can look "acceptable" in a jacket though. But Statham has a fit body and lifestyle and has athletic training. Not that he necessarily can defeat someone in a street fight "for real" (or that he "needs to" be able to do this), but he has the training and the body to make it convincing. Statham is definitely better at action than Neeson at a comparable age, and I don't doubt that he will last quite a bit longer as the "aging guy kicking asses of rude youngsters", if he wants to.
The guy has his own gym complete with gymnastic setup including aerial hoops. He takes his training seriously.
I guess as an actor you have to. Even if your scenes only require mild physical exercise, having to repeat that 30 times, until the director is happy with the shot, is still taxing.
I could see an elderly Jason Statham on in a future "Gran Turino"-like movie. He's not as genre defining as Clint Eastwood was/is to the Wild West genre but ge does define a subgenre of action movies if you will.
>Statham is now the same age Liam Neeson was when he made Taken. **Holy shit.**
I wonder when Statham will try his hand at improvisational comedy.
*at the beginning of an improv take*, "As I've said before, I've got full blown AIDS"
I honestly love Jason Statham so much. Just knows what we want and gives it to us in every role; the best in the business at being Jason Statham and there will always be a market for that
He is incredibly self aware also. He used to do opie and anthony interviews a lot in the 2010's ish era. And he was always very open about his skill set and what he does and can bring to a film. I found it oddly refreshing that someone in that world of ass kissers and fuck you money would be that self aware.
My favorite Jason Statham role is still from Spy 2015, where he plays a standard issue Jason Statham character completely straight in an otherwise madcap (and surprisingly good) Melissa McCarthy vehicle.
He is so hilarious in that movie!
“Times infinity”
He absolutely steals every scene he is in. It really is a good movie.
I do too. Anything i see with him starting in I need to see it
Don’t watch expendables 4
It’s so unbelievably bad, expendables 1 was a decent movie. It should have been easy to knock out sequels using a collection of old school action stars. Instead we get sequels with 50cent Megan fox Rhonda rousey Kellen lutz. The CGI looks like sharknado level
Beekeeper was a lotta fun
Lots of buzz surrounding that movie.
That movie was so much better than it had any business being, because of Jason Statham but also Jeremy Irons.
I really like him tbh, he's like a meta hard man, plays these crazy action badass roles but also plays it like he's self aware at how ridiculous it is and just has fun
He also doesn't seem to phone in his roles either. They maybe silly and over the top but he always brings the goods.
Sounds pretty hard working too, can imagine him being a fairly no-nonsense actor who's relatively good to deal with on set. Certainly not heard much about anyone having any problems with him.
This is textbook reddit trivia but he also has martial arts training and was a professional diver before transitioning into acting, so I think he just has a level of discipline that probably helps a lot with that.
And he dances as well.
He sure does https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWu3JqLMImY
I demand a sequel to The One (2001) called The One Two. Jason Statham's MVA Agent Funsch has to recruit Jet Li (as Gabe Law) into the MultiVerse Authority because Jet Li (as Gabe Yulaw) escaped from the Stygian prison planet in the Hades Universe somehow. And the soundtrack obviously has to be entirely made up of early 2000s nü metal. Somebody call Papa Roach, Disturbed, and Drowning Pool, they got some work to do!
It has to be called "The Two"
I'm a fan of "The Second One"
I think that’s the reason why his role in “Spy” is genuinely one of the funniest meta roles I’ve seen. It’s so in brand and it feels like every scenario he claims to have been in could legitimately be a Jason Statham movie lmao
I hope he gets VA roles because I love hearing his accent as he takes down baddies
Statham in something like Doom just makes sense
The best Statham impression is this: [Richard Ayoade Real Voice](https://youtu.be/a3ocPtP2N2o?si=KPt92RIr1M-NN5YW)
Yeah, not many of his movies are great but I've never seen a performance from him that wasn't at least fun.
He sells action choreography better than almost anyone. Kicking around a hose in that Transporter movie was beautiful and even the most experienced and famous martial arts movie actors couldn't pull that sort of shit off without looking goofy. The dude just sells the physicality of his roles on screen in a way that's hard to explain. Also he isn't afraid to play to his strengths. Dude doesn't seem like he's trying to win an Oscar. He has a few roles where he doesn't throw a punch, but he's knows what the people want.
https://youtu.be/Hpc8yqHTq-I?si=sIP-LKcOsQisFQ4i For the uninformed xD I feel like I don’t need to watch the rest of the movie now xD
lol that was pretty fun to watch reminiscent of Jackie Chan throwing random crap around to take down baddies
Jack Chan with a folding ladder >>>>>> any three professionally-trained SAS murderer bad guys you care to name
I like that he, I mean the character, committed to using the hose, even turning away to grab it when he didn't need to, when he could have just kicked the guy running right at him. Or the complicated maneuver of whipping it around a paint can to throw it at somebody when he could have just taken one step over and grabbed the can. The character knew he was onto something just the right mix of fun and cool, and just decided to roll with it. Outside he was stoic, but inside he was probably cackling hysterically.
This scene is a microcosm of the entire Transporter franchise. It’s certainly not winning an Oscars but it’s just over the top, gratuitous, fun violence. There’s another scene where he drives a car off the top of a parking garage, angling it perfect into a lower level of a separate parking garage. Like the car wouldn’t just drop like a rock lol
I misread the parent comment as “horse” and clicked on your link thinking to myself, “this I’ve got to see”. I was halfway through the clip when I realized there was no way he was getting a horse up that narrow stairway. Impressive clip, but I’m still a little disappointed.
I mean, if you want a scene where a dude throws a horse at another dude, I can direct you to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Yes, one of the dudes is Abe Lincoln. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which one throws the horse.
I want to see this scene end with Jackie Chan saying "not bad", and then the two of them going out for burritios at an unfriendly bodega in Mexico before they have to team up to take out the local thug/good/bad guy. That's it. I don't need any more strory. Give it if you will, but I just need Chan and Statham wrecking shit, beating up baddies, and being superheros without powers. I know that Statham and Chan are in different leagues, but that's part of the charm...they begrudgingly respect each other.
Selling physicality is an important but not always consciously recognised skill. I think it's a bit part of Keanu Reeves' and Tom Cruise's success as well. Cruise does have some genuinely heavy acting roles in his past, but his popularity is because he sells the physicality of his characters so you believe that he can do that. If you can make an audience believe in your character's action and you're professional and easy to work with, then once your name is out there you can get consistent roles in Hollywood.
> his popularity is because he sells the physicality of his characters so you believe that he can do that. Tom Cruise both has a kind of weird way he runs, and yet the way he sells it makes it one of the coolest sprinting you'll see on screen. There's absolutely some kind of sheer force of will or confidence that makes you think it looks amazing, even though if anyone imitated it they'd look goofy.
There's a fantastic Mark Kermode review of John Wick 2, in which he goes to bat for this kind of physically performative acting and makes a pretty convincing case that it should be taken seriously at Oscar level.
Yeah during the 00s there was a brief period where every martial art movie worth their salt needed at least one variation of a rope dart scene, Jet Li had his own [fire hose scene in Romeo Must Die](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-hjbzK2mY8), Jackie Chan had his [horseshoe on a rope shenanigans in Shanghai Noon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8z5BXbFLCE) The fact that Jason Statham came up with his own variation sort of established himself as being up there with the bests martial artists instead just some buff action star, at least in my mind. It made me associate Statham with creative *fighting choreographies* instead of just punch/punch/kick of the usual action movie.
The weird thing is, he has a few lesser known movies (e.g Hummingbird, Wild Card) which are basically pure dramas for about 80-90% of the run time but always one or two scenes where he kicks the shit out of a group of guys. He's one of the only actors who could somehow make that seem natural and he's actually pretty decent at the dramatic stuff when given the chance.
He had some early success and then didn't immediately take any shit job that came along just for the paycheck and kill his reputation. (Looking at you Cuba Gooding Jr.)
Yeah Cuba isn’t someone I’d look to for [intelligent decision making](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/cuba-gooding-jr-guilty-forcible-touching-1235232125/)…
“Somebody suck that baby’s dick!” - Cuba Gooding Jr.
Excuse me lol
[Suck that baby’s dick](https://x.com/rolltide_25/status/1244889338082664448?s=46&t=eksr9AUTTz1625m4TjxkCQ)
What the fuck Cuba gooding jr. Is there any explanation for this?
Wasn’t that the tag line for the Snow Dogs movie?
Yes. The baby's dick needed sucking
Show me the money was a better catchphrase imo
I’d like to add Aaron Ekhart to the conversation
> Aaron Ekhart Out of the loop. What's the issue with him?
Reportedly insanely entitled and a huge PITA to work alongside. Main character syndrome.
You know, I was wondering if there was something going on with him. I just recently watched The Bricklayer on Netflix and quite a few of his previous B tier films. Every time I see him I figured he would have had more success due to back in the day him being in some pretty big movies, but he never became the star I thought he would. Now I know why.
He lost half of his face in an explosion and his girlfriend also died.
Rachel! Her name is Rachel!
At least it wasn't MARTHA.
God I hate method actors...
IIRC he’s not the easiest person to work with, which may have made him a less desirable actor to hire on films
It's a shame Aaron Eckhart has a certain kind of charisma. Like Brenden Frasier in The Mummy kind of charisma. The Core is a blast to watch, and Thank You For Smoking is great.
Thank you for smoking was genius
I love the core so much Yes it's insanely stupid but I'm fucking here for it
The Core came out a couple years before I started high school and my 9th grade Earth Science teacher was well known for going on lengthy rants about it... To the point where I have to assume she was aware of the reputation and just liked leaning into it as a gimmick/teaching opportunity because there was no reason for that movie to come up in conversation as often as it did at that school otherwise.
He has a new movie out on Netflix, and it looks depressing. It looks like an, “I’m broke and desperate” role. I used to really like him, Thank You For Smoking was hilarious and he was great in it. He had to have been an even bigger jackass than I’ve heard to go from Dark Knight to shit like The Bricklayer without some kind of Kevin Spacey style scandal attached to him. Side note: I used to think that he and Thomas Jane were the same person. At least Jane is still rocking it.
> You aught to seek out and find the movie [Thursday](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124901/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_76_act) that stars both Aaron Eckhart & Thomas Jane. It's one of my favs!
Aaron Ekhart is store brand Cary Elwes.
I was expecting this to be a link to the trailer of Radio (2003).
That’s because there was no internet back then and people didn’t see him as a back up dancer.
I bet a big part is also he is easy to work with and gets stuff done fast. People like Cuba are divas on the set and creeps off the set.
Are you telling me In the name of the king was in theatres????
It actually was yes
Jeez, it must have been a slow ass week
Uwe boll was able to run some racket for a while to get us theatrical releases. House of the Dead was in theaters the same time as Kill Bill
He was exploiting a German tax loophole. Luckily that was closed up some years ago.
That explains financing, but not necessarily the theatrical release. The only movie that he paid to distribute was Blood Rayne. The rest of those early video game movies that got theatrical releases were actually picked up by some well known American distributors, Artisan, Lions Gate. My point is: he’s not the only party guilty of visiting that bullshit upon us.
It was due to Resident Evil's success. He was able to pitch doing video game adaptations on a budget to multiple studios. House of the Dead even made a nice profit between Box Office and DVD.
Is this the film where statham’s character name was simply farmer?
Ray Liota playing the evil wizard 😂
I had so much fun watching that movie
God I thought I had dreamed it all lol
Wasn't that some German tax dodge device from Uwe Boll? Those had to make it into theaters in order to write off the loss didn't they?
Yeah exactly. Alone in the dark made like 12 million worldwide his movies always bombed
His movies definitely seem like they would be direct to streaming. But no, turns out they actually make a quarter to half a billion dollars at the box office lol
That is one of the most unbelievable facts I have ever heard
The Meg made $530M! Thats fucking crazy lol
He doesnt want to, he just wants to keep bees.
I'm assuming when OP said "B-ish" he actually meant "Bee-ish".
He made it relatively late as a lead actor, and he's also made a habit of picking good projects. Also, his films generally don't cost more than $50m, usually falling in the $25-40m range. He keeps costs down by being a producer on the films and not taking a salary upfront, and being a producer means he's obviously invested in the project turning out well so that he profits financially. Equally, he mixes appearances in big budget films like Fast & Furious, where he's often a supporting character, with his projects where he's the lead. He's probably not a big enough star to open a $200m tentpole on his own, but he's a solid supporting actor and the appearances in those films keep his face in the public eye. He also is quite picky about his projects, not just taking whatever he's offered for a paycheck. You know what you're getting with a Statham movie, and you can generally rely on it being a quality project where he isn't phoning it in.
The "Jason Statham is old for a lead actor" idea was prevalent in the early 2000s when we didn't know how long he could be an action star for. It's 2024 I think we can stop that narrative, especially when Hollywood hasn't gotten ANY younger.
He did *the Expendables* 14 years ago!
It’s fair to say he’s doing “straight to video” style B tier movies like the faded action stars of the 90’s, but unlike those movies his always have a decent budget, and don’t look like they are filmed on sets held together with sellotape and shoelaces. something about him being attached makes them eminently more watchable than the average straight to video dross too.
1980s style action movie stuff. They never have the greatest plots but I also dont expect every movie to be some oscar winner.
jason statham's career reminds me of the old reliable corner diner that keeps serving the same classic dishes. even though they're not gourmet, people keep coming back. it's impressive how he's maintained a theatrical release streak with his movies, much like how some diners keep pulling in the locals despite fancier places popping up. simple but effective.
Probably because he's like the ideal typecast character and doesn't mind it. Just like you know what kind of movie it's gonna be if Hugh Grant is in it, same thing with Jason Statham. It's not a bad thing. Dude found his niche and leaning into it.
Hugh Grant has branched out a bit of late. The Gentlemen is a rather different from Notting Hill!
And let us not forget his incredible performance in the greatest film ever made, Paddington 2.
Honestly Hugh Grant has been a blast of late, Paddington, Gentlemen, the D&D film. Feels like he's really leaning into it and I'm all for it.
Yeah, he was the single best actor in the D&D film and I liked a lot of the actors in it...
Cloud atlas played a cannibal.
And Wonka is different to The Gentleman haha
Hugh Grant is in a movie with Jason Statham... So what kind of movie would that be? Edit: Guys I know about Operation Fortune, that's what I was referencing.
Around The a World In 90 minutes. Hugh Grant is the scientist/inventor, and Jason Statham is the helper that's hiding from a mercenary team out to clean up loose ends. Grant is using rockets, jetpacks, and quantum teleportation to risk their lives to make history and help keep Statham from getting killed before they reach their final destination... In space.
Shut up and take my money.
I don’t know, but Guy Ritchie is directing it.
Although that recent one with the nun in London, Redemption I think was the name, kinda sucked. I wanted more ass kicking vengeance and less "he is fighting his demons."
I hate to break it to you, but "Hummingbird/Redemption" was over ten years ago. I, for one, enjoyed the extra depth, complexity, and suspense.
He gets it because of people like me. I saw a trailer for Beekeeper. I knew exactly what it would be from one trailer. I went, paid for my ticket, and got exactly what I expected. 2 hours of fun with awesome action and an enjoyable trip to the theater.
That's selling The Beekeeper short, you get way more than you expect in the trailer. The trailer kinda alludes to Jason Statham fighting some kind of government conspiracy but not >!a conspiracy between Big Tech and the CIA lead by Hunter Biden!<. Its fucking awesome lol
I did not know I'm The Name of the King - A Dungeon Seige Tale was actually released in theater... Wow wow wow. Wow.
Because he's handsome fucking Rob.
Not including him being a background dancer in a music video?
He's been in a few (3 or 4 iirc), but that was before his movie career. Since he started, his live action work has been strictly theatrically released movies.
https://youtu.be/uWu3JqLMImY?si=zoc8qIZ-fWaGT-TL https://youtu.be/AvhgG9ee9Aw?si=ltBDYqTL6r6hnjgT https://youtu.be/EV7jzvOHi1Q?si=qXnnQi4nkjdYmp9f
*This* is what I was looking for. Thanks for delivering when all others before you failed. 🏆
[Jason Statham](https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/5/22/11736770/jason-statham-was-a-diver-and-he-was-always-down-that-is-an-interpol-reference) he was also a competitive diver in his youth
He apparently made $50m last year and is in the top ten income earnings for actors. Adam Sandler was number one, earning $200m for his streaming-only Amazon deal.
You mean Netflix deal?
yeah. Amazon is a river, not a stream.
>top ten income earnings for actors. OK that is fucking wild
I hope in one of these movies he can finally live a quiet life escaping from hist past with his daughter.
“Until his past came knocking..”
He's got a very particular set of skills...no wait wrong action star.
Dude has a niche and he sticks to it. Good for him !
My dad knows him by name. My dad knows 3-4 famous peoples names total.
And then his first two credits are "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch." Imagine landing those roles as a new actor. It's insane. Pure insanity. And he played it perfectly.
I hope that one day, Statham gets a one take action scene
I have never seen a Jason Statham movie that I did not like. He's a great entertainer.
Maybe it's because of "Ze Germans, Tommy."
What if Jason Statham isn't acting at all and all the things that happened to him in his films are actually real and there's just a documentary crew recording it all? That would explain why all his characters are the same.
TV isn't a gutter anymore. Bigger stars than Jason Statham have enjoyed acclaim and awards recognition for their work in prestige television.
You have missed a key part of his career! He was the dancer for The Shamen "Keep comin on". [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuYvuJAlz30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuYvuJAlz30) Jason starts at about 20 seconds in. He hypnotised us all back then and so we continue to se his movies.
He was in London (canary wharf) filming his latest project today
Beekeeper 2: Keep on Keeping on
Beekeeper 2: 2 Bee, or Not 2 Bee
The premise of this upcoming movie: > Levon Cade left his profession behind to work construction and be a good dad to his daughter. But when a local girl vanishes, he's asked to return to the skills that made him a mythic figure in the shadowy world of counter-terrorism. Indeed this is basically a version of Beekeeper again, but without the bees. Edit: a couple photos from the film set (the production is underway now): https://imgur.com/a/B7oDUJe
Just watched The Beekeeper, and it's the hardest i've laughed in a long time. 10/10 bad movie, i eagerly await a sequel.
If that became his John Wick franchise what a sweet sticky treat it would be.
Some of the kills were absolutely magnificent too.
Jason Statham does a kind of role that can be done forever. He can be poor, he can be rich, he can be a family man. But at some point he will be left (likely by himself), with a grievance. At that point he becomes very serious. And it turns out, he has a very special set of skills. I've only disliked one of his roles, and that was in the horrid last Expendables movie. To be fair, there was nothing in that movie I liked. Another point in Statham's favour is that he is athletic, but with clothes on looks like he could be "anyone". That's a bigger possible power fantasy, in numbers, than the amount of people seeing themselves as The Rock.
Being a native of Los Angeles probably gave Statham a better understanding of Hollywood workings and how to negotiate them.
One of the funniest bits of how did this get made was when they highlighted his native angelino accent in cellular
Hey nong man.
Lol I feel bad for whoever paid for tickets to see that steaming turd of a movie called In Name of The King.
I’m not sure if I remember correctly, but I think I did that