Hummingbird.

This British/American action thriller stars Jason Statham, who continues to be cast as an anti-hero. In Hummingbird (2013), also known as Redemption in the USA, he plays an ex Royal Marine Special Forces operative who has gone AWOL from his unit in Afghanistan and now lives with other unfortunates sleeping rough on the streets of London and haunted by nightmares of Helmond province.  Its when Crazy Joe, as he is known to the other inmates of Covent Garden’s cardboard city, and his girlfriend Isobel are attacked by two thugs, that he stumbles upon a yuppie’s flat. Discovering that its tenant is away in America for nearly eight months he decides to stay, dispense with his alcoholic tendencies and bring himself back up to peak fitness. Helped by the fact that the owner has left the keys to his Mercedes, a bank card along with a pin number and clothes that fit our ex-soldier perfectly he’s nicely set up to search for Isobel, who has been missing since the attack, and carry out a spot of vengeance on the assailants. Finding himself a job in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant he soon gets spotted as a likely hard man and is recruited by some Chinese gangsters as their enforcer. In to this mix comes Sister Christina (Agata Buzek) who runs the soap kitchen that has helped keep Joe and his street compatriots alive.  Christina is having doubts about her calling and decides to have a wee fling with Joe before submerging herself in missionary work in Africa.

 

A quick change.

Directing his debut feature film is screenwriter Steven Knight who is best known for writing screenplays that have include Dirty Pretty Things (2002) directed by Stephan Frears, David Cronenburg’s Eastern Promise (2009) and Amazing Grace (2006) which was directed by Michael Apted who himself was responsible for helming Carol White’s penultimate film The Squeeze in 1977. Recently you may have seen Knight name amongst the credits for an unusually good BBC series called Peaky Blinders, which he created and wrote. 

 

Working in the restaurant business.

To be able to enjoy this film you really do have to suspend your disbelieve! But saying that if you are keen on a genre movie that allows Mr Statham a chance to go deeper, character wise, than he’s normally allowed to portray then this could be the film for you. Far better than Killer Elite (2010) it actually gives him a chance to act out a person you can almost believe in. A movie that’s made far more watchable by the cinematography of the great Chris Menges whose curriculum vitae includes working with such British greats as Ken Loach, Lindsay Anderson and Bill Forsyth.

Its been a hard day Sister!

Killer Elite.

When I wrote about The Mechanic (2010) I said that with Jason Statham you get what’s written on the tin, gun battles, explosions, car chases, in short an action adventure for undemanding grown up children, but what you never get is boredom: I lied!!! I’ve now had the dubious pleasure of watching Killer Elite, made later the same year, and what you get with this film is a thriller without the thrills and in fact considering what an interesting story it could have been, its quite boring and uninteresting.

Statham plays an ex-mercenary, Danny, who is brought back from what passes as domestic bliss in a Statham film, well you don’t really expect to see pipe and slippers, by an Dubai oil sheikh to kill three, or was it four, ex-SAS types. The sheikh claims that the soldiers are responsible for killing his sons and in exchange for this wee task he will release Danny’s ex-partner Hunter (Robert De Niro) who for some reason is locked in a cell in the potentate’s basement. The plot, what there is of it, also involves corrupt British government ministers, The Feather Men a group of British businessmen and bankers, lots of villains to chose from in this movie I hear you say, and Clive Owen who plays somebody called Spike who also seems to be ex-forces and I think works for The Feather Men!  I’ll not go on!!!

Although it’s based on the 1991 novel The Feather Men, an alleged fact based book by ex-SAS officer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the movie is totally unconvincing and completely un-engaging, there are plot holes the size of volcanic craters and the acting is abysmal, the terrible dialogue does not help either. Statham doesn’t do romance so why has director Gary McKendry, in his debut feature film, tacked on an amorous liaison between Danny and an Australian girl which adds nothing to the narrative. Spare us all from these lame throwaway movies, I want my two hours back!!!!!!The Mechanic (2011)

The Mechanic 2011.

You get what's on the tin!

With Jason Statham you get what’s on the tin, gun battles, explosions, car chases, in short an action adventure for undemanding grown up children, but what you never get is boredom. The English actor is best known for working in Guy Richie films including Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Snatch (2000) and Revolver (which I thought was great, but nobody else did) he has also appeared in all three of the Transporter films. Other high profile action films have included the successful British crime drama The Bank Job (2008) and of course Blitz (2011) in which he portrayed a hot headed, hard case police Detective Sergeant to great effect.

Also in 2011 he appeared in the remake of Michael Winner’s 1972 American action thriller The Mechanic where he plays Arthur Bishop, originally played by Charles Bronson. The Mechanic is defined on the films web site as someone who fixes the problems, doesn’t mind getting their hands dirty (they mean bloody) and summed up the character as an elite assassin with a unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets.

Based on a story by Lewis John Carlino who also shares scriptwriting credit with Richard Wenk, and directed by Simon West, whose best film is still the visually exciting action drama Con Air (1997), The Mechanic is an ideal addition to Statham’s body of work, its not exceptional but goes along like an express train never stopping to let you off until the closing credits. Co-starring Ben Foster as the son of one of Arthur Bishop’s only friends, a man he is forced to assassinate. Bishop takes him under his wing and teaches him the tricks of the hired executioner business without letting him know the identity of his father’s killer. Nobody can do edgy menace quite like Foster. If you’re looking for an exciting undemanding film for a Friday night then give this one a try you won’t regret it: honest.

Blitz.

If i say your guilty, your guilty!!

Irishman Ken Bruen is noir crime fiction writer who was responsible for the novel that the movie London Boulevard (2010) was based upon. He has also written a series of seven novels featuring the characters Detective Sargent Tom Brant and Chief Inspector James Roberts. It’s from one of these novels that Nathan Parker, who was responsible for writing Moon (2009) the sci-fi drama directed by Duncan Jones, based the script for Blitz (2011).

The copper stood on me foot, he had to go.

This crime drama is as usual based in London’s dark and violent underbelly! An out of control DS Tom Brant is based at a turbulent and unruly police station in South London. When we first see Brant he is beating up three young hoodies with a hurling stick for attempting to steal a BMW. As the story develops he joins forces with the gay Sargent Porter Nash who has been transferred from the West London police for privately dispensing justice without the backing of the courts. Nash is given the job as acting Chief Inspector to replace CI James Roberts who is on extended leave because of his wife’s recent death and his acute alcohol problems. This dubious pair of policeman are faced with a manhunt when fellow police officers are being brutally bumped off one by one.

This clichéd nonsense is directed by Elliott Lester and stars action man Jason Statham who grunts and growls his way through the role of Brant. Ever-dependable Paddy Considine tries his best as Porter Nash but in all honestly he’s not got a lot to work with. The only one to come out of this meaningless drivel with any kudos is Aidan Gillen who steals ever scene as a psychopathic murderer. It has the same nasty feel as London Boulevard in that if the criminals are deemed wicked enough and escape the normal justice channels then it’s ok to hand out rough justice and that no one going to care! A dangerous precedent to set? Well Harry Callahan can be forgiven but not Nash and Brant. A film for late night Friday viewing only. 

You must see my kitchen Brant?