There aren’t many actors working today as synonymous with the action genre asJason Statham, who has been makinggreat films within the genrefor almost three decades. While stars likeLiam NeesonandTom Cruisehave found a way to work in some non-action roles into their respective filmographies, Statham is unlikely to be in a film where he isn’t dispatching bad guys in a particularly ruthless fashion.
Statham has been inmore than a few great action films, but some of his projects tend to be more intense than others. While it’s nice to see him try something more comedic likeSpyorThe Meg, Statham is often at his best when he is taking the material seriously, as they tend to benefit from the gravity that he can bring. Here are the ten most thrilling Jason Statham movies, ranked.
10‘The Expendables’ (2010)
Directed by Sylvester Stallone
The Expendableswas the ultimate dream for action movie fans, as the film combines multiple generations of stars for an epic team up adventure.Statham teamed up withSylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, Eric Roberts, Jet Li, Charisma Carpenter, Terry Crews,andDolph Lundgrenamong others for this story about a group of past-their-prime veterans assigned to go through with one last mission.
Although the franchise would eventually get sillier as it went along,the firstThe Expendablesfilm is quite intense and surprisingly quite violent, as the jokes are far more subdued than they were in the sequels. Statham is responsible for giving the film some of its dramatic heft, as the fight scenes that he is involved with generally tend to be the most entertaining out of any of the film’s other co-stars.
The Expendables
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9‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’ (2023)
Directed by Guy Ritchie
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerreis one of the more underrated films that Statham starred in, and served as a welcome reunion with directorGuy Ritchie, who had helmed him in some of his earliest roles. The film stars Statham,Aubrey Plaza,andBugzy Maloneas a group of highly trained secret agents who must win the assistance of a movie star (Josh Hartnett) to help influence a powerful billionaire (Hugh Grant).
Although there are certainly a lot of the eye-popping action scenes that one would come to expect from a new Ritchie film,Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerreworks as an old-fashioned caper adventure, complete with elaborate heists and double crosses. It’s actually rather unfortunate that the film did not perform well enough to receive a sequel, asthe ending seemed to suggestanother adventure was in play.
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
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8‘Wrath of Man’ (2021)
Wrath of Manis a heist thriller thatturns the caper genre on its head, as Statham stars as a security guard who is purposefully trying to lure out criminals in order to track them down and kill them brutally. Although initially this is just seen as an excuse to have some great shootout sequences, it’s eventually revealed that Statham’s character is on a critical mission of revenge in order to avenge the death of his son.
The emotional stakes regarding a father recovering from loss makeWrath of Mansurprisingly engaging on a character level, and make the violent action scenes worth investing in. While he is best known as a quippy action star best known for physicality and serious demeanor playing anti-heroes, Statham is often a far more accomplished actor than he is ever given credit for being.
Wrath of Man
A mysterious new security guard for a cash truck company surprises his co-workers with his precision skills during a heist. His motives are gradually revealed as he becomes embroiled in a complex revenge plot tied to his dark past and a tragic loss that drives him.
7‘The Beekeeper’ (2024)
Directed by David Ayer
The Beekeeperis exploitative action nonsense at its best,as directorDavid Ayerwas seemingly inspired by classic Cannon films to make this brutal, uncompromising revenge thriller. Whileit can be compared to other filmsbased on its premise alone,The Beekeeperis willing to go to particularly violent and satirical places that action cinema has avoided in recent memory.
The Beekeeperis worth watching because Statham is on a great revenge mission, as he is attempting to take down a corrupt organization responsible for deceiving elderly people and depriving them of their money. Although there are flashes of humor sprinkled throughout,The Beekeeperis uncompromisingly violent in a way that may even shock those familiar with Ayer’s recent projects. Seeing Statham take down a corrupt conspiracy related to the President of the United States is one of the wildest swings in recent action films.
The Beekeeper
In The Beekeeper, one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”.
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6‘Crank’ (2006)
Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Crankhas one of the greatest premises for any action film, as Statham plays a character who must keep his heart rate at a very high level in order to prevent a bomb from detonating. Inspiredby the classic neo-noir mystery filmD.O.A.,Crankis both an exhilarating burst of energy and a surprisingly existentialist thriller on the value of saving one’s life.
Crankis the type of film that gives the viewer no room to catch their breath, as directorsMark NeveldineandBrian Taylordo a great job at upping the ante when it comes to ridiculousness with each subsequent action sequence. The maniacal, dark sense of comic relief that Statham adds to the role somehow makes the experience of watchingCrankeven more intense; sometimes, the only way to react to a nihilist situation is to laugh at it.
Chev Chelios, a professional assassin, finds himself in a desperate situation after being poisoned by a rival. The deadly toxin in his system will kill him unless he maintains a constant surge of adrenaline. Racing against time, Chev tears through the city, causing chaos and destruction as he fights to keep his adrenaline pumping.
5‘Crank 2: High Voltage’ (2009)
Crank 2: High Voltageis the rare action sequel that is even more intense than its predecessor, as the sequel takes the concept of the first film and pushes it to its extreme. While the firstCrankcertainly had some moments that strained credibility (considering that the entire premise is completely ridiculous),Crank 2: High Voltagegets bizarre to the pointthat it flirts with surrealism.
Statham was perhaps the only action star capable of pulling off this sort of film,as he has both the physicality needed to make it feel somewhat practical, and the cheeky sense of humor needed to remind the viewers to not take anything too seriously. If Neveldine and Taylor even wanted to make a third film in theCrankfranchise, they would have to work very hard to come up with something wilder than what happens inCrank 2: High Voltage.
4‘Furious 7’ (2015)
Directed by James Wan
Furious 7is arguably one of the best films inThe Fast and the Furiousfranchise,and actually managed toelicit some genuine tears from audiencesbased on the emotional way that it wraps up. Statham joined the franchise as Shaw, a supervillain out for revenge against Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) after his brother (Luke Evans) was threatened in the previous film,Fast & Furious 6.
Furious 7is one of the rare instances in which Statham got to play the antagonist, and certainly proved to be one of the best villains in the entireThe Fast and the Furioussaga. None of the films in the series are particularly gritty, but Statham was at least able to add some genuine emotional stakes to the story that have felt completely absent in some of the more recent sequels.
After defeating international terrorist Owen Shaw, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and the rest of the crew have separated to return to more normal lives. However, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), Owen’s older brother, is thirsty for revenge. A slick government agent offers to help Dom and company take care of Shaw in exchange for their help in rescuing a kidnapped computer hacker who has developed a powerful surveillance program.
3‘The Italian Job’ (2003)
Directed by F. Gary Gray
The Italian Jobis one of the rare action movie remakesthat is actually better than its predecessor, as the 2003 film from directorF. Gary Grayis more emotionally involved and well staged than the 1969 classic starringMichael Caine.Statham,Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron,andSeth Greenstar as a team of bank robbers who try to take down a former member of their team (Edward Norton), who betrayed them and killed their leader (Donald Sutherland).
The Italian Jobfeatures amazing car chase scenes, but is at its best when it comes up with interesting heist scenarios for the characters to pull off. Although the film does have some serious dramatic stakes (especially in comparison to the more straightforward and silly 1969 film), the comedic interplay between Statham and Green does add some moments of much needed levity.
The Italian Job
After a successful heist in Venice, a team of skilled thieves is betrayed by one of their own. Determined to get their gold back, they plot a daring revenge in Los Angeles, using fast cars, clever tactics, and impeccable planning to pull off the ultimate heist against their former ally.
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2‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ (1998)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrelswas an extraordinary debut from Ritchiethat actually originated as a series ofscattershot ideas that he had written down on a napkin.Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelsdoes a great job at setting up a multitude of compelling gangster characters, but Statham’s performance as the no-nonsense mobster Bacon is most certainly one of the standouts.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelssucceeds because of its inventive narrative structure, as it uses strange flashbacks, odd skips in time, and non-traditional needle drops to create a disorienting experience. Statham proved in one of his earliest roles that he was a perfect fit for Richie’s sensibilities, and to no one’s surprise,Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrelsbecame an instant cult classic that kicked off one of the most entertaining actor-director partnerships in modern cinematic history.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Eddy persuades his three pals to pool money for a vital poker game against a powerful local mobster, Hatchet Harry. Eddy loses, after which Harry gives him a week to pay back 500,000 pounds.
1‘Snatch’ (2001)
Snatchis in many ways the ultimate Ritchie movie, asit is a comedy of errors that focuseson various criminals, gangsters, and thieves within the London criminal underworld. Although it has one of the grandest, most impressive ensemble casts of Ritchie’s films thus far (including a standout performance byBrad Pittas an Irish boxer), Statham’s role as yet another tough-minded gangster is by far the film’s biggest scene stealer.
Snatchmoves at such an alarmingly quick pace that there is little room to breathe, giving Statham the opportunity to maximize every moment when he’s in danger. Although it’s a film that risks becoming confusing because of the unusual way in which Ritchie chose to write and edit it, Statham brings so much personality to his performance that it becomes much easier to get invested within the story.
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.
