Jason Statham has been beating up bad guys for twenty years. Ever wondered
which of his movements stand out among the rest? Was it a “Fast & Furious” fight?
An impromptu life-or-death love scene? Keep watching to find out.
Everyone who's seen "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," the third entry
in the "Fast & Furious" saga, knows that the following movies, from "The Fast and the Furious"
to "Fast & Furious 6," are prequels. They all lead up to Han's inevitable retirement and death,
as seen in the climactic car chase in "Tokyo Drift." Still, when the post-credits sequence
of "Fast & Furious 6" revisits Han's fatal car crash, nobody expects the revelation that his
death was no accident: It was murder! What's more, the killer is revealed to be none other
than Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw, setting the stage for him to be a major threat in "Furious 7."
While this retcon of Han's death is itself retconned in "F9," which reveals he faked his
death with the help of Mr. Nobody, the impact of Statham's surprise appearance and the hype
it brought to "Furious 7" cannot be overstated. Dominic Toretto and his family are being hunted by
a bloodthirsty assassin, and it'll take all their skills to survive the wrath of Deckard Shaw.
Jason Statham may be in a league of his own when it comes to action superstardom, but
he's not the only hunky Brit with impressive high kicks. Enter Scott Adkins,
star of such films as "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning" and "Triple Threat." Adkins has
earned a reputation as one of the toughest action stars out there, for very good reason.
Naturally, it was only a matter of time before he and Statham went toe-to-toe in single combat.
That opportunity finally arrived in 2012, with "The Expendables 2."
While Sylvester Stallone's Barney Ross fights the main villain, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme,
Statham's character, Lee Christmas, fights Van Damme's lieutenant, Hector, played by Adkins.
Hector has a knife, while Statham is armed with knuckle-dusters, and the two square off in a
bloody duel. While he takes a few hits along the way, Christmas eventually gains the upper hand,
ultimately punching Hector into the rear rotor of a helicopter. Rather than being turned into
a pink mist, the impact is portrayed more realistically. The rotor is destroyed,
though not before it rips off Hector's head and one of his arms. It's a grisly sight,
but it only appears on screen for a fraction of a second. Hardcore gore-hounds will find
themselves going through it frame-by-frame, to better admire the R-rated carnage.
“Can’t beat a classic”
Directed by the dynamic duo of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor,
the "Crank" movies specialize in sensory overload and testosterone-fueled audacity.
They're effectively parodies of over-the-top action movies,
what with their steadily diminishing sense of reality and open mockery of the audience. As a
result, these movies aren't for everyone. Are you interested in watching an absurdly unhinged Jason
Statham kick butt while surrounded by characters who mix R-rated caricature with Saturday morning
cartoons? If so, you will enjoy the wild ride offered by "Crank" and "Crank: High Voltage."
While "Crank" starts out realistically enough, its stylistic sensibilities slowly overtake the movie
in ways both subtle and overt. As the movies go on, the characters become increasingly self-aware:
The finale of "Crank: High Voltage" has Statham's character Chev Chelios stare
at the camera and raise his middle finger directly at the viewer while on fire and
standing next to a swimming pool, no less. Like we said, it's not for everyone. But
the "Crank" movies are worth watching, at least for these moments of sheer unpredictability.
The "Crank" movies are arguably more remembered for their sex scenes than for their action
sequences. This makes sense: The premise of these movies is that protagonist Chev Chelios
must keep his heart rate up, or else the poison in his body will kill him. One way he keeps his
heart going is by having public trysts with his girlfriend, Eve, played by Amy Smart.
These scenes, present in both movies, would be unwatchable and disturbing
if it weren't for the surreal tone of these films. In the world of "Crank,"
public expressions of affection, be they on a horse racetrack or in the middle of the street,
are just part of the formula. As the action sequences are obscene and ridiculous,
the romance scenes need to maintain the same level of bizarre energy.
To that end, "Crank" is successful in achieving what it sets out to accomplish. You'll never
forget watching Statham and Smart frantically create friction on a set of stadium stairs.
“Oh god, what are you looking at?” When a giant prehistoric shark declares war on
humanity and starts eating everyone in sight, only one man — and a bunch of supporting characters —
can fight back. That man is Jason Statham. "The Meg," released in 2018, follows Statham as he
does battle with the gigantic shark while trying to protect his comrades and innocent beachgoers.
This wild film has its fair share of PG-13 terror,
though director Jon Turteltaub originally intended for the film to be a blood-soaked,
R-rated gore-fest. Nevertheless, a decent amount of nastiness remains in the film,
much of it due to the fact that the marine life does a lot of the bleeding, rather than
unlucky humans. Ultimately, the Megalodon shark is killed after Statham's character cuts it open with
his underwater vehicle and stabs its eye with a harpoon. Drawn to the scent of blood in the water,
a swarm of smaller sharks rush to the scene and devour the "meg" in a bloody mess. Thus, nature
corrects itself and finally eradicates a species that should have died out millions of years ago.
One of the first scenes in Michael Mann's 2004 masterpiece "Collateral" sees Tom Cruise's
mysterious character pick up a briefcase from a balding man in a dapper suit, played by Jason
Statham. He only appears in a single scene, but he dresses exactly like his character in "The
Transporter," Frank Martin, does. Some viewers speculate that he may be playing Martin himself,
making this a subtle crossover. Others believe his casting is an allusion to his famous role,
but there's no real intended connection between "Collateral" and "The Transporter."
Either way, Statham's presence helps set the tone for "Collateral," which stands
as one of Mann's finest films. Its gritty realism and incredible digital photography
give it a unique look that has rarely been matched by any other filmmaker,
save for Mann himself. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx offer fantastic
performances that explore masculinity and duty and culminate in one heck of a subway showdown.
The entire "Expendables" franchise is full of memorable action sequences,
many of which feature Jason Statham. From taking down bad guys with throwing knives
to beating up a squad of middle-aged basketball players, Statham kicks all
kinds of butt in these movies. Perhaps his most memorable moment in the 2010 first film
comes when he and Stallone take down a bunch of soldiers, via an absurdly enormous explosion.
After escaping in their jalopy of a plane, they decide they're not going to leave without causing
a bona fide spectacle. Stallone turns the plane around while Statham goes through a
secret compartment and emerges out of a hole on the plane's nose. After Stallone dumps fuel
all over the pier from which they escaped, Statham uses a flare gun to ignite it.
This engulfs the dock in a massive fireball, killing a great many soldiers in the process.
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, "Death Race," a loose remake of the 1975 cult classic
"Death Race 2000," stars Jason Statham as a prison inmate forced to compete in the
eponymous Death Race. It's a no-holds-barred vehicular combat challenge that plays out
like an R-rated take on "Mario Kart" or "Crash Team Racing," complete with
on-track power-ups that unlock the vehicles' weapons. While Statham takes part in his fair
share of hand-to-hand fights, the real draw here is the "Twisted Metal"-style mayhem,
which Anderson, always a reliable action director, delivers in spades.
"Death Race" has no shortage of grisly kills and outrageous car wrecks.
By far the film's stand-out moment comes when Statham and allied driver Machine Gun Joe,
played by Tyrese Gibson, are forced to take on the Dreadnought. It’s a massive vehicle
armed with heavy machine guns, flamethrowers, and impenetrable armor. They knock it off the
board by tricking it into colliding with an immovable obstacle at terminal speed,
causing it to flip end over end and throw its passengers into the air. This amazing crash
is captured in full, and delivers exactly what viewers want from a movie called "Death Race."
There are debates to be had as to what movie contains the best Jason Statham fight scene.
However, there is no debate as to which movie contains the most sensual Jason Statham fight
scene. That honor belongs to "The Transporter," in which a shirtless Frank Martin kicks over
multiple tubs of grease, covers his shirtless body with the slippery goo, and proceeds to
engage in a shirtless battle with half-a-dozen bad guys. Did we mention he's shirtless?
Thanks to veteran action director Corey Yuen, this fight has wonderful kinetic energy. Much humor
and bone-crunching excitement comes from the henchmen's attempts to grab Statham,
who is too slippery to hold. It's a truly unique action scene,
full of visual invention and delightful stunts that give the viewer an appreciation
of the human body's ability to perform incredible feats. Also, we cannot emphasize this enough:
He's shirtless and covered in grease. You don't see that in many action-thrillers.
"Hatchet Harry is a man you pay, if you owe." Those words are spoken by Jason Statham in 1998's
"Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" when the protagonists consider the possibility of
not paying the money they owe Hatchet Harry. Statham relays the story of Smithy Robinson,
who failed to pay his debt or offer a reasonable explanation as to why he couldn't. As a result,
Hatchet Harry reached for whatever was on his desk and bludgeoned poor
Smithy to death with it. That object just so happened to be an immodestly sized sex toy.
The sight of Harry going berserk on Smithy is as absurd as it is intimidating,
and the idea of him doing something similar to the protagonists is enough to inform their
motivations for the rest of the movie. Statham's narration of this infamous episode, filled with
seeming admiration at Harry's audacity, elevates the scene to a whole other level. It's hilarious,
memorable, and let 1998 audiences know that Jason Statham was going to do great things.
There is no shortage of fight scenes in the "Crank" films,
from bloody shoot-outs to brutal fisticuffs, and even a midair brawl in the skies above Los
Angeles. But the best part of these movies is their unpredictability.
The viewer honestly has no clue what's going to happen next at any given point. Nowhere is that
more evident than in the downright absurd Godzilla fight in "Crank: High Voltage."
Chev Chelios has fought hundreds of bad guys by the time he faces off against Johnny Vang
in an electrical power station. As such, the movie doesn't indulge in a traditional fight. Instead,
the scene suddenly shifts, taking on the aesthetic of a grainy Japanese kaiju movie.
Chelios is inexplicably portrayed as a giant "Chev-Zilla," with Vang transformed into an
equally gigantic monstrosity. The two proceed to engage in a fight that pays homage to any given
"Godzilla versus" movie, complete with absurd wire stunts and sets that look like they're
made of cardboard. It makes no sense, and it's one of the best sequences in the whole movie.
“Don’t even think about it!”
From the moment Jason Statham's character is introduced, audiences know it will all come
down to a one-on-one, hand-to-hand grudge match between Deckard Shaw and Dominic
Toretto. When the time comes in "Furious 7," their inevitable confrontation does not
disappoint. While the fisticuffs are firmly in the realm of PG-13 action, the hits are
nevertheless brutal. These characters pummel each other with the full force of their desires for
vengeance — Deckard for his injured brother, Owen, and Toretto for his fallen friend, Han.
The fight is pretty close throughout, and beautifully choreographed for
maximum impact. Gravity-defying suplexes and absurd flying elbows somehow feel visceral
and believable here, even though no human could ever survive the hits these
two titans of testosterone endure. The battle culminates with Vin Diesel's unforgettable line.
"The thing about street fights ... the street always wins."
Like most of "Furious 7," that line barely makes sense, but
it's so sincere that you can't help but love it.
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