Before Jason Statham was an actor, he was a model and a professional diver. His career took him everywhere but into acting, and he often credits his time with the British National Swimming Squad as a lesson in life that instilled in him discipline and focus; these are greatly demanded when it comes to the film roles he chooses, so we might simply say that Statham is himself in most of his films.
Whether it’s the most recent film Shelter, which sees him as a father figure and action hero, or his earliest ventures as a small-time criminal getting into trouble, Statham is a sort of chameleon in his own respect. Sure, he’s always delivering the same intensity and action in his films, but it requires great effort to find the motivation and a difference in approach for roles that are predominantly physical. If you really want to get to know him, here are the most important Jason Statham movies that define his filmography.
‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ (1998)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is obviously the film that defines Statham’s filmography because it’s the first film he appeared in. The movie opens with a hefty dialogue line, “Handmade in Italy, hand-stolen in Stepney,” as we see a very handsome street seller with lad-like energy shuffling buyers and making them laugh. Though he doesn’t have too many lines of dialogue across the entire film, the opening of Lock, Stock is entirely his, and he delivers his monologue superbly. This is also the first film for both Statham and Guy Ritchie, and the two have been friends since.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels follows four London friends: a card sharp, Eddie (Nick Moran); a street peddler, Bacon (Statham); a sly salesman, Tom (Jason Flemyng); and one with arguably the only real job, line cook, Soap (Dexter Fletcher). After Eddie tries to swindle his way through a poker match with local gangster Hatchet Harry (P. H. Moriarty), Harry gives him a deadline to pay off his cut. Eddie and the boys decide to rob the gang next door, but they find themselves battling it out with them, who, in turn, battle it out with local marijuana growers. It’s a classic Ritchie conundrum and a defining moment for Statham.
‘Snatch’ (2000)
Sometimes we wonder whether we can see actors’ real-life personalities in some of their roles; a lot of the time, it sure feels like it, especially when they’re allowed to improvise and instill the characters with some of their own gravitas. That’s why Statham’s portrayal of Turkish in Snatch feels like a reflection of his personality: cheeky, clever, and witty, he delivers a likable protagonist who finds himself in a business that proves to be more dangerous than he ever imagined. Snatch is the sophomore film for Statham and Ritchie, and if the first one helped establish their footing in the crime comedy landscape, Snatch helped them refine and claim a permanent position in it.
Snatch is a massive ensemble film that weaves together several storylines that meet at some point in the story. The protagonist is Turkish, an aspiring boxing manager and slot machine shop owner, who, together with his friend Tommy (Stephen Graham), manages the boxer Gorgeous George. After George gets injured, Turkish and Tommy are forced to reach out to the volatile Mickey O’Neil (Brad Pitt), an Irish Traveler boxer, before they get in trouble with the local gangster, Brick Top (Alan Ford). Gangster films haven’t been the same since Lock, Stock and Snatch, and though Statham has long moved on from that, Turkish and Bacon remain his most memorable characters.
‘The Transporter’ (2002)
Luc Besson‘s Transporter franchise is truly unique, and though it starts to exude a sense of fatigue by the fourth film, Statham keeps it refreshing and alive (though the fourth film is technically a reboot and has nothing to do with Statham). The Transporter was written by Besson for Statham in particular, and if any film should be considered a definition of his career as an action star we all know and respect today, it is definitely this one. The film was, interestingly, developed based on a series of short films called The Hire, in which Clive Owen portrays a similar kind of transporter-for-hire. The short films were commissioned by BMW as a form of advertisement for different models and were directed by various directors (among whom is also Guy Ritchie).
The Transporter follows Frank Martin (Statham), an English transporter-for-hire living in France, who operates his high-stakes transport business under three distinct rules: no names, no shipment changes, and never open the package. When Frank is given a package that contains a living person inside (Shu Qi), he becomes a part of a human trafficker’s scheme. Frank is the ultimate reluctant hero, but since his background as a former Special Ops soldier may not allow him to look away from wrongdoings, he’s the best possible option for saving the day. The Transporter was the first glimpse of Statham as an action hero, and without him, the world of high-octane action wouldn’t be the same today.
‘Spy’ (2015)
If you wonder why Spy is one of the most defining movies in Statham’s filmography, well, you just have to watch his hilarious monologue and you’ll understand. This was maybe the first time we got to see Statham in a role in which he actually delivers comedic lines with a straight face, rather than just trying to be cheeky or one-up his conversation partners like in Ritchie’s old films. In Spy, he embraces the parody of James Bond, a role he expressed interest in playing IRL (which would have been fun), starring as super spy Rick Ford, who “makes it a habit of doing things people say he can’t do,” such as walk through fire and take up piano at a late age.
Spy follows a CIA desk agent, Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy), who is reluctantly sent to the field after spy Bradley Fine (Jude Law) is killed. Since she’s the only one who understands the purpose of Fine’s mission, she volunteers to catch his killer and prevent a nuclear bomb trade herself; smug but experienced field agent Rick Ford (Statham) protests and goes on the same mission on his own accord, shadowing Susan and pretty much bombing her mission. The monologue in which Ford mentions reattaching his own arm and performing at Cirque du Soleil wouldn’t have been as funny or effective if someone else had spoken it; that’s why any serious fan of Statham knows that his role in Spy was basically meant for him and that the movie is a must-watch.
‘Crank’ (2006)
Crank is an incredible feat of action cinema, reaching the points of camp, hilarity, and over-the-top visuals, sometimes in one fell swoop. It’s considered one of the most outlandish action films ever made, and it was written with Johnny Knoxville in mind for the lead role. It would have been much less intense had Knoxville come on board, since Statham has the ability to maintain an outward intensity as much as he can do it quietly. Crank raises the stakes of action to skyrocketing levels, introducing mindless violence as a means to save one’s own life; filmmaker Gareth Evans cited Crank as his favorite Statham movie.
Crank follows Chev Chelios (Statham), who works for London-based gangster Don Carlito (Carlos Sanz). However, Chev’s rival, Ricky Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo), breaks into his apartment and injects him with a synthetic drug that slows his heart rate; to survive, Chev must raise his adrenaline almost continuously, and he does it in the most bonkers ways possible—getting into street fights, having sex in public, and entering car and bike races. Crank is a powerhouse of action films and a movie Statham himself seems to love as much as the audiences, showing us a more chaotic and bold side of the actor.
‘The Expendables’ (2010)
The Expendables has also turned into a franchise, though nobody genuinely expected that. It’s a sort of action equivalent to Fast and the Furious, with bigger and more ridiculous stakes in each film and a great win for the good guys, who never look bad or break a sweat while saving the world. The Expendables was also a revival of 1980s and ’90s blockbuster action, chock-full of actors who otherwise would’ve had a single lead billing in their own film, from Sylvester Stallone to Dolph Lundgren. The second film adds Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, while the third adds Mel Gibson and Wesley Snipes. By the third film, Statham has become the franchise’s producer as well, holding down the fort as one of several constant cast members.
The Expendables follows Barney Ross (Stallone), the leader of a mercenary group called The Expendables, comprised of various weaponry, combat, and martial arts experts; they take on the mission of overthrowing a Latin American dictator led by a CIA agent. If you love gunfights, pure action stunts and high-adrenaline films, The Expendables truly is the right thing for you. While the concept was created by Stallone, Statham feels like the carrier of the franchise as Lee Christmas; the two are, together with Lundgren and Randy Couture, the only four men to appear in all four films, and the franchise wouldn’t be the same without them. Christmas is, in particular, loyal, rowdy, and often the butt of the joke because of his name, but an admirable and equal part of the team nonetheless.
‘The Beekeeper’ (2024)
The Beekeeper is a fine movie, formulaic when it comes to action movies and even Statham’s performance. Yet, The Beekeeper is the first film from Statham’s recently established production company, Punch Palace Productions (beautiful name, by the way). If you’re wondering where Statham is today and what he’s up to, The Beekeeper is the film to watch to let you know. In fact, even if you are a fan who follows every movie that Statham makes, you’ll feel even more delighted by The Beekeeper‘s sense of simplicity and complexity equally carried throughout the film. Standard action flick with bonkers ways to kill enemies? Yes, but also a deep-state cover-up, dissolved entirely by one man who likes bees and justice and has no fear.
The Beekeeper follows the retired assassin Adam Clay, who lives as a beekeeper and is friends with his elderly neighbor Eloise (Phylicia Rashad). When Eloise gets scammed out of her entire life savings and dies, Adam seeks revenge by tracking down the people who took her money; he is meanwhile pursued by Eloise’s daughter, Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman), who happens to be an FBI agent. While she pursues him, Verona realizes Adam has come into a conspiracy that involves a presidential candidate, but also that he’s a part of a clandestine agency called Beekeepers, tasked with protecting U.S. citizens and given clearance above government level. The Beekeeper 2 is in production, and this could be an amazing new franchise yet again, and we could get the same levels of lore we subsequently got with the John Wick movies, turning a simple action film into a poetry of fistfights and physical justice.
