Synopsis: After his billionaire industrialist boss is murdered in front of him, Cole Reed is set up to take the fall for the crime — leaving him on the run as he works to uncover an international conspiracy.
Director: Jean-François Richet
Stars: Jason Statham, Annabelle Wallis
There are certain actors who, when they release a movie, I will be there: Denzel Washington. Jessica Chastain. Jason Statham.
Yes, Jason Statham!
When Statham shows up on the big screen, you pretty much know what you’re going to get. Someone is going to underestimate him. Some very bad people are going to do something terrible. And eventually, Statham will make them regret every decision that brought them into his orbit.
It’s a formula, but it’s a formula that works.
Just look at some of his recent films. In The Beekeeper, he took out scumbags who preyed on people through online scams. In A Working Man, he went after scumbags involved in human trafficking. In Shelter, he battled corrupt government scumbags.
Now, in Mutiny, Statham is back doing what he does best: beating up bad guys, surviving impossible situations and righting some wrongs along the way.
Statham plays Cole Reed, a former police officer and commando who now works in Bangkok as a bodyguard for billionaire shipping magnate Tibu Campallo. Reed and Tibu have developed a relationship that extends beyond that of an employer and employee. There is genuine friendship and mutual respect between the two men.
Of course, this is a Jason Statham movie, so the first act requires something tragic.
One night they are ambushed while driving. Reed does what Jason Statham characters do and eliminates the attackers, but he can’t save Tibu. Before dying, his friend asks Reed to look after his son, Kameron.
Things quickly go from bad to worse when Reed is framed for Tibu’s murder.
Naturally, Reed isn’t going to sit around waiting for the justice system to sort everything out.
His investigation leads him aboard the Artemis, one of Tibu’s cargo ships. Reed assumes the identity of one of the assassins and sneaks aboard, where he encounters Angie Ellis (Annabelle Wallis), a KMG employee who becomes caught up in his mission. It doesn’t take long before they discover that whatever is happening aboard the ship goes much deeper than Tibu’s murder. A human-trafficking operation is taking place, the crew is involved, and Reed finds himself facing an entire ship filled with people who would probably be much better off jumping overboard than trying to fight him.
This is where Mutiny finds its groove.
Director Jean-François Richet, who previously made Plane with Gerard Butler, understands the type of movie he’s making. Mutiny isn’t trying to reinvent the action genre. It wants to put Jason Statham in increasingly dangerous situations and then allow us to watch him punch, kick, and shoot his way out of them.
I’m perfectly fine with that.
People aren’t buying a ticket to Mutiny expecting Statham to deliver a three-hour meditation on grief. We are here to watch him walk into a room full of bad guys and wonder how long it’s going to take before everyone except him is on the floor.
And Statham remains very good at that.
At 59, he remains one of the most dependable action stars working today. There is a physicality to his performances that makes the action believable even when the situations surrounding him become increasingly ridiculous. Reed isn’t a superhero, but once the fighting starts, the distinction can become somewhat blurry.
The action aboard the Artemis also gives Mutiny something many of Statham’s recent movies haven’t had. The confined setting works to the movie’s advantage. Corridors, engine rooms and different sections of the ship essentially become playgrounds for Reed to dispose of another group of unfortunate men who clearly didn’t watch The Transporter before accepting this assignment.
That said, there is no denying that we’ve seen Statham play variations of Cole Reed before.
You could put Reed, Adam Clay from The Beekeeper and Levon Cade from A Working Man together and there would certainly be some similarities. They are highly skilled men with mysterious pasts who don’t say much, don’t scare easily and possess a very strong moral compass.
Normally, that level of repetition would bother me more.
With Statham, strangely, it doesn’t.
Part of that comes down to his screen presence. He understands exactly what audiences want from him and doesn’t overcomplicate things. There is something satisfying about watching an action star completely comfortable within his lane.
The bigger problem with Mutiny is that the story surrounding him gets unnecessarily complicated. What initially feels like a straightforward revenge thriller gradually expands into a conspiracy involving the shipping company, Tibu’s death and the people attempting to control what happens to his empire. There are times when the movie could have benefited from simplifying everything and allowing the action to carry more of the weight.
Because that’s when Mutiny is at its best.
The film runs a lean 95 minutes, which is another point in its favour. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and Richet keeps things moving quickly enough that you’re rarely given much time to question the logic of what is happening.
Annabelle Wallis also makes a welcome addition as Angie. She isn’t simply there to stand behind Statham while he handles everything, and her character becomes important to Reed’s survival. Still, make no mistake: this is Jason Statham’s movie.
And that’s perfectly fine.
There is a place for action movies that attempt to reinvent the genre. There is also a place for movies like Mutiny. Sometimes you want an elaborate meal, and sometimes you want comfort food.
Jason Statham beating up terrible people who absolutely deserve it has become cinematic comfort food.
You know what you’re ordering. You know roughly what it’s going to taste like. And somehow you still enjoy it.
Mutiny isn’t Statham’s best movie. I would put The Beekeeper ahead of it among his recent outings, and the convoluted plot prevents this one from being as entertaining as it could have been.
But Mutiny knows its audience.
It gives us Jason Statham. It gives him a personal vendetta. It gives him a seemingly endless supply of bad guys. It puts him on a cargo ship where those bad guys have nowhere to run.
What more do you really need?
Grade: B-
