7 Best Jason Statham Action Movies Ranked

With A Working Man hitting theaters, there’s no better time to look at the filmography of Jason Statham, the definitive action star of our time. Few gun-toting and fist-throwing leading men have ever possessed the level of charisma and range Statham wields, and thanks to those elements he has consistently proven himself to be a draw both domestically and overseas going on three decades now. But what are the movies that helped him cement that status as a true box office draw? Those are the movies that follow, the straightforward Jason Statham actioners where he’s either one of the main parts of an ensemble or without a doubt holding center stage. The best of the best and, by this point, there are quite a few to choose from. In terms of film quality, he arguably has a better track record than Stallone and Schwarzenegger…and certainly better than Seagal.

Just missing the cutoff were Death Race, The Mechanic, Parker, and Homefront (which, like A Working Man, had a script from Stallone). But it should be noted that the lens was focused on straightforward action movies. That means no comedy (apologies, Paul Feig’s underrated Spy) and no films that skew more crime than action. In other words, Wrath of Man, The Bank Job, Snatch, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels were out.

7) Crank

If The Transporter is an early signifier of what makes Statham the definitive modern action star (more on that later), Crank is an early signifier that the inverse can work for him. In other words, Statham can play an anti-hero as well as he can play the straightforward hero.

Crank is not a pleasant movie, but it is a fun and lightning-quick one. Statham’s Chev Chelios may not be the most likable human being on the planet, but the actor makes him one worth rooting for. It’s a film that also benefits from a neat core concept, i.e. having a protagonist with a deadly ticking clock actively working against him. All that said, Crank 2: High Voltage ups the original film’s gratuity to a level that’s essentially intolerable. Crank is a Statham vehicle that will put plenty of people off, and in general there are certainly movies from the mid-aughts that have aged better, but it’s undoubtedly an important entry on the actor’s filmography.

6) The Meg

One of the best shark movies not titled Jaws, The Meg was also the first sign that, with the right concept behind it, Statham was an actor capable of getting butts in seats for a high-budget film. With a budget ranging well above $100 million, The Meg was a gamble. After all, creature features have become less of a mainstay when it comes to big studio films as the years have progressed.

But those behind The Meg wisely marketed it as more than a monster movie. It’s one part kaiju film, sure, but it’s also horror to a degree and, mostly, it’s an action movie. It’s not just a movie about a gargantuan shark, it’s a Statham vs. gargantuan shark movie. As it stands The Meg (and to a slightly lesser degree, Meg 2: The Trench) is a fun movie. Good but not great. However, in terms of importance when looking at Statham’s overall rise up the “list” (e.g. being an A-list star and so on), there may be no more important an entry on his resume.

Stream The Meg on Prime Video.

5) Safe

There are a few types of Statham action vehicles. For instance, the ensemble piece (the Fast and Furious franchise, The Italian Job, Ghosts of Mars, The Expendables franchise, and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre) and the revenge action-thriller (Parker, the two Crank movies, Wrath of Man, The Mechanic and, especially, its sequel, Mechanic: Resurrection). A third example is the politically charged type, a category which both The Beekeeper (elderly-targeting con artists) and A Working Man (child traffickers) fall under. But, whereas The Beekeeper was a financial smash, the wildly underrated Safe seemed to fly under the radar and just stay there.

It’s a shame because Safe is a movie that functions as a typical Statham vehicle but also works as a somewhat elaborately plotted look at gang activity. To the former point, Statham’s Luke Wright is a character he’s perfectly suited to play. A former cage fighter, Wright is now a lost soul. Without a job or a home, he isn’t assigned by anyone to protect a particularly brilliant young girl from the Chinese triads (or the Russian mafia, for that matter). He’s the one person in her life who doesn’t even see her gifts right off the bat. He just sees someone who is in trouble, and will do what he can to see that trouble looks elsewhere. It all works, and if ever there were a mid-budget Statham movie with an excellent supporting cast (James Hong, RoboCop 3‘s Robert John Burke, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ Anson Mount, and The Princess Bride‘s Chris Sarandon), this is it.

Stream Safe on Prime Video.

[RELATED: This Jason Statham & Jet Li Action Flick Is an Underrated Winner]

4) The Transporter/Transporter 2

The franchise-starter that made Statham a leading man, Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen’s The Transporter is an early carrier of all the elements that have elevated Statham above his action star contemporaries. Specifically, Statham is at his best when he’s playing a cold-hearted character who is actually carrying a decent heart. There has to be something noble that not only gets him into action but also gets the plot going.

In the case of The Transporter, it’s the desire to protect Shu Qi’s Lai. And, in the equally solid (but slightly more ridiculous) Transporter 2, it’s retrieving the now-kidnapped boy he had been charged with driving around. The other primary element that helps elevate a Statham action vehicle has arguably never been done better than it has in the Transporter franchise (particularly the first two movies), which is his fluidly acrobatic combat skills. Statham can make the viewer believe that, in a room filled with both slick oil and a dozen adversaries, he could walk out with nary a scratch.

Stream The Transporter and The Transporter 2 on Starz.

3) Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

It shouldn’t have worked, taking the seemingly irredeemable villain of Furious 7 and turning him into a protagonist, but Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw pulled it off. In fact, it has as fair a claim to being the best Fast and Furious movie as many of the sequels.

Some might disagree with that claim because Hobbs & Shaw represents a tonal departure from the series, but it’s really not by much. There’s still the hit-or-miss humor and the increasingly outlandish set pieces. But the ace in the hole for this spin-off is multi-faceted. For one, Statham and Dwayne Johnson’s chemistry is white hot (even if the film occasionally becomes a bit too much like a Johnson vanity project). Two, both Vanessa Kirby and Idris Elba are fantastic additions to the franchise. And three, the energetic direction by David Leitch. But, if you are a Fast and Furious purist and Hobbs & Shaw wasn’t quite to your liking (which is understandable), consider this entry a stand-in for Furious 7, the other entry of the franchise featuring Deckard Shaw to a major extent.

2) The Beekeeper

The Beekeeper was an early-year critical and commercial success for good reason, it’s essentially Statham’s John Wick. A former assassin? Check. A good reason to come out of retirement? Check. A code to follow? Another check.

It makes sense that director David Ayer and Statham swiftly reteamed for A Working Man, because it’s obvious the star and the filmmaker of Sabotage and Fury have solid chemistry. Perhaps The Beekeeper will serve as the start of a working relationship like Statham has shared with Guy Ritchie. If so, this 2024 hit will serve as a great launching pad. What really helps The Beekeeper stand above other solo Statham action vehicles is the central character’s core motive. Who doesn’t despise phishing scam artists that target the elderly? It’s the exact type of plot that gets the viewer ready to cheer for a protagonist with his can of kerosene.

Stream The Beekeeper on Prime Video.

1) The Expendables 2

Where 2010’s The Expendables walked, Expendables 2 ran like a Clydesdale on amphetamines. At the time of the original Expendables‘ release, the concept of teaming up a bunch of (sorry) past their prime action stars was a fairly novel one. In fact, 2010 did it not just once, but twice, including RED. But it wasn’t until The Expendables 2 where this concept was perfected.

But if The Expendables franchise functions as anything other than an A and B-lister team-up, it’s as a passing of the torch. It’s Sylvester Stallone handing the action star mantle over to Statham who is, outside Stallone, undoubtedly the lead star of the first three movies (and flat-out the lead in the fourth). With a few choice one-liners (“I now pronounce you man and knife”), some meta insight into the real lives of its stars (e.g. how Dolph Lundgren’s Gunner Jensen claims to be knowledgeable in chemical engineering, a subject in which his real-life actor actually holds a Master’s Degree), and a terrific antagonist performance by Jean-Claude Van Damme, The Expendables 2 is a modern action classic. It’s just too bad The Expendables 3 was a lethargic pony and Expend4bles a batch of mean-spirited, predictable nonsense.