Jason Statham’s New Action Thriller Challenges Rebecca Ferguson’s Most Divisive Sci-Fi Movie

Action veteran Jason Statham is arguably at his best when kicking ass under the watchful eye of acclaimed director Guy Ritchie. Beginning in 1998 with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which was Statham’s debut role, their partnership is about to take its next step with Viva La Madness, a new action-thriller based on J.J. Connolly’s 2011 novel, the follow-up to Layer Cake. Starring alongside a smart-looking Statham in the film are the likes of Vinnie Jones, Jason Isaacs, Babs Olusanmokun, Camila Mendes, Ben Foster, Jonny Lee Miller, and Raúl Alejandro.

Before Viva La Madness makes its explosive debut on our screens, one of Statham’s most underrated recent actioners is proving popular on streaming. Titled A Working Man, the 2025 project by director David Ayer, who co-wrote the screenplay with the icon Sylvester Stallone, starred Statham alongside Michael Peña (Ant-Man) and David Harbour (Stranger Things) in a by-the-books action flick that was as thrilling as it was easy to watch.

At the global box office, the film grossed $89.2 million against a reported $40 million budget, a total that wouldn’t have looked so disappointing were it not for the $162.6 million haul of The Beekeeper, Ayer and Statham’s collaboration the year prior. A year later, A Working Man is proving popular once again on streaming, placing in the top ten most-watched movies on MGM+, via all Amazon channels. Topping this list, and proving a worthy opponent for Statham, is the recent sci-fi flop Mercy, which stars Rebecca Ferguson and Chris Pratt.

Critics and Audiences Were Split by ‘A Working Man’

As can often be the case with action movies of this ilk, critics and audiences were left split in their response to A Working Man. This is best illustrated on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, with critics giving the film a disappointing 47% score, juxtaposed by a strong 87% from audiences. The critics’ consensus on the site reads, “An efficient action flick that delivers on the meat and potatoes of a Jason Statham vehicle while skimping out on the personality, A Working Man clocks in and out without much fuss or flair.” In contrast, audiences said, “The Stath stoically and reliably delivers high-octane action in A Working Man, a bang-bang shoot’ em up that pairs perfectly with hot, buttery popcorn.”

A Working Man is streaming now. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.