I SAW A WORKING MAN

From the director and star of 2024's cult hit, The Beekeeper, comes A Working Man. 

Directed by David (Suicide Squad) Ayer, who coscripted with Sylvester Stallone (each having pulled from Chuck Dixon's novel, Levon's Trade), A Working Man depicts a humble gent, Jason Statham's Levon Cade, who enjoys supervising his daily, construction work, grateful that the Garcia family has hired him (a family that has, in fact, become like his own). However, when the Garcia's daughter, Arianna (Black Phone) Rivas' Jenny, is kidnapped by human-traffickers, ushered by high-tier Russian gangster Wolo Kolisnyk, who's played by Statham's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels/Snatch costar, Jason Flemyng, Cade's military skills kick in, exposing a vengeful, fighting machine that won't rest until Jenny is rescued and the cavalcade of fiends bites the dust. 

Though A Working Man is a "pulpy" slice of fiction, its concept rises from hard truth. This is important, since an arrogant portion of our society dares to pretend that human trafficking doesn't exist or at least is overplayed among social concerns. On this bold basis, Cade's work-until-the-job-is-done crusade resonates with pragmatic impact, and for those who do hold a sincere, humanitarian perspective, his Dirty Harry/Billy Jack-ish assaults aren't only therapeutic, but perform as a message of awareness, in which a loathsome, biker-bureaucratic front promotes a horde of deep-rooted sins for profit.  

Statham shines in his tailor-made role, and Rivas grants the required sympathy and spunk to counter her tormentors. When Jenny is harmed, it gives the audience all the more cause to cheer Cade on. However, the surrounding cast also makes the Taken/Rambo: Last Blood-type plot engaging, creating characters, both good and bad, who are always believable, even when placed within the explosive extremes. 

These folks consist of David (Hellboy/Stranger Things/Black Widow) Harbour's Gunny Lefferty (a blind pal, who like Cade, spent time in the military); Michael (Ant-Man) Pena's Joe Garcia (an honorable patriarch); Noemi Gonzalez as Carla (Joe's warm-hearted spouse); Isla Gie as Merry (Cade's optimistic, little daughter); Richard Heap as Dr. Roth (Merry's hateful grandfather); and as the intersecting, syndicated antagonists: Emmet J. Scanlon, Eva Mauro, David Witts, Piotr Witkowski, Greg Kolpaki, Chidi Ajufo, Andrea Vasilou, Cokey Falkow, Ricky Champ, Andrej Kaminsky, Vanko Kharchenko, Merab Ninidsi, Maximillian Oskinski, in addition to a strange and dastardly extension of others, who stir the pot from all ends of the hellish spectrum. (Be warned: The many participants do make the content more complex, but this should work to its advantage on repeated viewings, giving one extra layers to inspect.)  

I give Ayer, Stallone and Statham a lot of credit for making this movie and Dixon for conceiving the literary foundation. Sure, the stuff-shirts and magic-wand proponents are likely to scoff at it, but if so, shame on them. Like The Beekeeper, A Working Man is a fantasy-revenge yarn first and foremost, but that doesn't erode the manner in which it'll resonate with those smart enough to appreciate it. That it makes wise use of good, old-fashioned virility works, too, particularly in light of the recycled, anti-macho debris that we've been shoehorned as of late, not only in the movies, but thanks to a dictatorial spread of annoying, cultural bias. 

I saw The Beekeeper

Director David (Suicide Squad/Bright/Fury) Ayer and writer Kurt (Expend4bles/Equilibrium/Sphere) Wimmer deliver the gritty, 1980s/1990s action-themed goods in 2024's The Beekeeper, and it succeeds by striking a satisfying, eye-for-an-eye sting. 

The formula works because it's identifiable, with injustice hitting hard, but not as hard as righteousness, which in this case comes in merciless punches, gunfire and explosions.  

Jason Statham is the titular, principled principal, Adam Clay, who was once part of a secret, operative group called the Beekeepers. For underlying measure, Clay is also an actual beekeeper: that is, an expert regarding hierarchical-hive remediation, which applies to humans as much as bees. When his charitable neighbor, Mrs. Eloise Parker, portrayed by Phylicia Rashad, commits suicide after losing her life's savings in a phishing scam, Clay won't let the matter stand. He heads straight to the high-tech source to mend the problem, which is tied to his Beekeeper roots and a coverup that could (and should) impact the entire nation.  

The story's villains, whether big or small, are slick and heartless, with Jeremy Irons' Wallace Westwyld often stealing the show as a puppetized CEO. He's the perfect personification of nervous deceit, but his association with Josh (Five Nights at Freddy's) Hutcherson's cocaine-sniffing, data-breeching Derek Danforth, only makes him worse for abetting the callous shenanigans.

Because of his many behind-the-scenes manipulations, one could argue that Danforth is the prime antagonist, even if a bumbling one. He's also the son of the elected-by-fraud President, played by Jemma Redgrave, and appeased (directly or indirectly) by David Witts' snotty Mickey Garnett; Michael Epp's special-operative Ennis; Minnie Driver's corrupt bureaucrat, Janet Harward; and Taylor James' brawny mercenary, Lazarus. 

The baddies are countered by Emmy Raver-Lampman's F.B.I. Agent Verona Parker, who happens to be Mrs. Parker's justice-seeking daughter, as well as her contentious partner, Bobby Naderi's Agent Matt Wiley, among other fine, co-performers and characters, who plunge fast and deep into the involuted espionage. 

Though Clay gains inadvertent support during his quest, it still proves daunting, which makes rooting for him quite easy, in particular in those crafty moments when the entrenched opposition appears impregnable. But perseverance is the key here, and Clay has inexhaustible oodles of it. Indeed, a man who never resigns is one who inspires, flaunting what all commoners believe they possess: that valorous penchant to right wrongs.

Too many people these days are left crushed and/or bullied with no recourse but to accept their depleted, financial fates. The Beekeeper presents a high-octane warning that runs contrary to that norm. Sure, the movie is a sheer, vengeance fantasy, but considering the pervading status quo, wherein hardworking folks get squashed time and again, The Beekeeper swarms forth as consummate escapism. In other words, by the time the credits roll, one's gonna feel pretty damn good, even if aware that real-life criminals continue to live, breathe and govern.

An Alternate Reality #18: I saw Bright...

“Bright” is a new Netflix flick, written Max Landis and directed by David "Suicide Squad" Ayer, which I discovered through word of mouth. It stars imagi-film favorites, Will Smith as Daryl Ward and Joel Edgerton as an Orc named Nick Jakoby, who must team for the sake of social diversity at the L.A.P.D. In addition to Jakoby, there are other fantasy characters who populate this alternate-reality spectacle, such as Elves, Fairies...even a Centaur, but the Orcs are the focus, if only due to Jakoby's groundbreaking inclusion. Orcs aren't so inclined to be officers, you see. 

By its very nature, the film projects an “Alien Nation” vibe (and therefore, a "Planet of the Apes" one, as well), though in this instance, its mystical creatures have always been part of the human experience and the Orcs, wartime adversaries. 

There are unique attributes to each creature culture, and when a tremulous Elf, a “Bright" named Tikki (Lucy Fry), who's hunted by a tenacious counterpart, Leilah (Noomi "Prometheus" Rapace), stumbles into the scene with a magic wand, all hell breaks loose. Anyway, this particular wand isn’t some sissified device for carefree sorcery, but one that can reinstate the reign of a merciless Dark Lord, which radical Elves enormously desire. 

Because of its pugnacious zeal, "Bright" won’t sit well with Disney princess fans or Potterheads, who are more attuned to pacified fare, but J.R.R.Tolkien, Piers Anthony and Thor admirers will find much to enjoy here, even if the story takes place in an alternate L.A., which looks pretty much like regular L.A. 

To offset the latter, we're at least granted a glimpse of ritzy Elf Town, but even that's not very far removed from any number of highfalutin, upstate spots that we average folks may come upon. Nonetheless, the contrast brings out both the similarities and differences to our own reality. This allows one to consider one's own surroundings and the resulting social links that can cause either friction or harmony, depending on how one perceives the proverbial light. 

For fans of buddy movies, “Bright” will also please, fitting the idiosyncratic niche of “Alien Nation”, “I Come in Peace” and of course, Smith's "Men in Black" franchise. On this basis, Smith and Edgerton pull the adventure together with empathetic, everyman heroics; credible tension; sensitivity; and all the accompanying ups and downs that hardworking people face. Often their reactions to obstacles don't brim so much of irony, but realism, including matters of racism; rodent control (okay, Fairy control); debt; and pension funds; in addition to the script’s main focus, crime, which ultimately connects to the magic-wand dilemma.  

But there's also a resounding, ethical angle that figures into Landis' script: Higher-ups want Ward to get rid of Jakoby, and murder isn't off the books. This puts Ward in a sticky situation, since he wants to keep his job and provide for his family, but he's not the sort to resort to such extreme measures. How he gets out of the jam is more accidental than planned, but it ensures his stand-up status and reinforces his bond with an individual he once despised, abetted by a little dose of mystical, prophesied surprise. 

On both a thematic and visual plane, “Bright” is good enough to have played movie houses and concept-wise, is breezier than “Last Jedi” and nowhere near as superfluously jammed. For those who fancy "Blade Runner 2049" and "War for the Planet of the Apes", "Bright" would make a terrific supplement for a double or triple feature.

However, you need Netflix to fulfill that goal, so if you subscribe to some lackluster alternative, maybe it’s time to make the switch. You can always re-enlist what you've abandoned if something intriguing should ever surface, but for now, why not embrace a home-viewing hub which offers a movie that by and far outshines the competition?

I saw Suicide Squad...

Writer/director David Ayer's “Suicide Squad” is a comic-book refashioning of “The Dirty Dozen”, as is its animated companion piece, “Assault on Arkham” and its competing series, Marvel’s “Sinister Six”, which would have beat “Squad” to theaters if not for “Amazing Spider-man 2’”s embarrassing dissension. "Squad'"s leads, of course, are bad buys, with the hope that somewhere down the misguided line, they’ll do some good, but this gimmick also proposes a head-scratching dilemma: When dealing with villains this iconic, do we really want them to change? Depending on how one perceives it, the result can be either a blessing or a curse.

The story begins in "Batman v Superman's" melancholic wake, with concerns for safety erupting in Kal-El's absence. As a result, government employees Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) and Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman, who plays significantly in the film's long haul) dispatch a makeshift (and villain-based) squad to snuff out problems that others are unable or unwilling to tackle. In this instance, we have a demonic plague (triggered ironically by one of the recruits) that's turning a city's inhabitants into "Attack of the Mushroom People" type creatures. The squad, in a nod to Snake Plissken, is forced to quell the infectious spread (of course, with promises offered).

The characters (mostly Batman and/or Green Arrow linked) consist of the sexy yet insane Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel (Margot Robbie); the sensitive assassin-supreme Deadshot/Floyd Lawton (Will Smith); the pugnacious Captain Boomerang/Digger Harkness (Jai Courtney); the fiery El Diablo/Chato Santana (Jay Hernandez); the hulking Killer Croc/Waylon Jones (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje); the stealthy Slipknot (Adam Beach); the mysterious Katana (Karen Fukuhara);the mystical Enchantress/June Moone (Cara Delevingne); and of course, our always jubilant Joker (Jared Leto), a crime boss in this instance, who interferes with the mission in hopes of regaining his beloved Harley. (Ike Barinholtz is also on hand as memorable, wise-cracking prison guard.)

Throughout the adventure, there's ample action; a heavy layering of comic-book violence; hit tunes; snappy dialogue; and fascinating characterizations. (The first portion, a flashback lead-in, is reminiscent of "Deadpool'"s early phases in its manic, if not disorienting pace.) Batman (Ben Affleck) and the Flash (Erza Miller) make significant appearances, tying the excitement not only to "Batman v Superman", but the upcoming "Wonder Woman" and "Justice League". 

Performance-wise, everyone excels (and this is the film's indisputable strength), with attention devoted mostly to Leto, Robbie and Smith, who by their characters' designs and generous screen time, can’t help but steal most scenes. Smith, in this regard, is traditionally cordial, despite his character's austere past. In Leto’s case, we’re given the expected, prevailing creepiness: in essence, an extension of what Heath Ledger commenced, with some of Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill and Cesar Romero thrown in. In Robbie’s instance, it’s a non-stop combination of kooky sensuality and limb-twisting theatrics: her presence potentially iconic on a number of levels.

The film's weird, magnetic nature sets it high on the comic-book adaptation stack, but it also differentiates the film from others of its kind, including “Deadpool”, which still plays up the hero-at-large angle. “Squad” doesn’t have much of a traditional, moral base, therefore. How could it? This relegates the film to a questionable category. Yes, we end up rooting for the principals, but only within its monsters-attack context. We could never hope to elevate these folks above Batman, Flash, Superman and the like, and it's therefore impossible to latch unconditionally onto the group’s nature or cause, especially at those times when they reference their dismal deeds. In truth, these expendables operate for no other reason than to defeat a greater evil, which under any other circumstances, some might very well have joined. 

As a “Clockwork Orange”-meets-“Escape from New York” hybrid, "Squad" succeeds, but as much as it’s an official part of the DC theatrical Multiverse, it’s also a big-time odd-man-out. Don’t get me wrong, I damn well enjoyed the movie, but I’d have preferred these characters making appearances initially in solo Batman films, where good is good and bad is bad. 

On the other hand, we're introduced to individuals, who regardless of their immense flaws, work toward (albeit inadvertently) rehabilitation, with most risking their lives to achieve that goal. That element alone, I suppose, makes "Squad" worthy of appreciation and beyond what some might argue, the film still stands as a morality tale, even if an unorthodox one.