Jason Statham returns to the big screen with his latest movie, A Working Man, collaborating once again with director David Ayer after the success of their action film The Beekeeper. Surprisingly, The Beekeeper became Statham’s highest-grossing film as a lead action star, without the support of another major star like Melissa McCarthy or Sylvester Stallone, or a CGI creature like a giant shark or Vin Diesel. This success was a significant boost for Statham, especially considering his previous U.S. box office disappointment with Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, a spy movie directed by Guy Ritchie. Fortunately, Beekeeper is now available for streaming for free on the Roku Channel or on Starz for subscribers, allowing fans to catch up on one of Statham’s recent standout performances.
Known for his consistent delivery in action-packed roles, Statham alternates between headlining his own intense action sequences and participating in larger-scale blockbuster productions alongside prominent co-stars and stunning visual effects. In contrast, Operation Fortune offers a different experience with fewer fight scenes and special effects, resembling a modest version of Mission: Impossible or a less flashy James Bond adventure akin to his Transporter series. However, Statham’s portrayal of super-spy Orson Fortune injects humor and charm into the suspenseful plot as he mischievously utilizes government funds to outwit his handler (Cary Elwes) while pursuing a valuable and dangerous device coveted by an unscrupulous arms dealer (Hugh Grant) aiming for global chaos.
Similar to the dynamics seen in later Mission: Impossible installments, the ensemble cast surrounding the unflappable protagonist adds layers of entertainment to the narrative. The team comprises the resourceful Aubrey Plaza in the role of a bold American hacker, Josh Hartnett as a clueless Hollywood actor unwittingly drawn into the espionage escapade due to the arms dealer’s admiration (and possible ulterior motives involving Plaza), and Bugzy Malone as a versatile professional contributing to the operation.
Everyone in the movie is pretty delightful, but Plaza – one of our great offbeat movie stars – is especially fun, giving every line her personal spin and bouncing her chaotic energy off of Statham’s lightly-worn glowering. Ritchie isn’t going full-on music-video with his style here, but he’s clearly, ah, invigorated by the opportunity to photograph Plaza swooping through the frame in a gorgeous red dress or talking Statham through a mission with her lips to the mic like a sultry DJ. The movie in a nutshell is best conveyed by a sequence where Ritchie cross-cuts between Statham bantering his way through a punch-up (there are fewer fights, but obviously not none) and Plaza BSing her way through an art discussion as she works undercover. It’s constantly juggling the fun of maintaining and breaking cover.
Ritchie also deserves credit for getting in on the Josh Hartnett comeback trail early; he put him in Wrath of Man, also with Statham, and then brought him back for this comic showcase, where he takes a potential stock part (the dopey actor in over his head) and makes him sweetly funny as he navigates the nerve-wracking job of playing himself. Grant, well into his late-period scene-stealing phase, makes a great secondary villain, a guy who’s more of an amoral prick than a truly evil man. The joy of performance throughout the movie boosts Statham’s style all the more; he’s not doing anything wildly different from his other movies, but he seems more mischievously amused to be doing it.
As Statham gets older, even if he continues to keep himself in pristine shape, he probably won’t be able to maintain the dexterity and flexibility of his best action pictures. Operation Fortune is proof positive that there’s plenty of other fun genre work he can do without sinking into vengeful old-man grimness. Even in this franchise-drunk world, there’s virtually no chance of any further Fortune operations, but that’s a shame. I’d watch two or three more of these in a heartbeat, and I think you would too.
Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn podcasting at www.sportsalcohol.com. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others.
Stream Operation Fortune on Roku Channel
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