Can Jason Statham Become The Next Great Action Star?

[Mitch Henessey]

So I was watching Richard Roeper's review of Killer Elite, and this particular quote on his website caught my attention:

“Jason Statham cements status as top-level action star.”

I haven't had a chance to watch Killer Elite yet, but Roeper is one of the more respected film critics, and I always check out his reviews.

You can watch the entire review here, and the quote is underneath the movie poster: http://www.richardroeper.com/reviews/killerelite.aspx

Statham has become popular over the years. There's no denying that. Some of his films can be entertaining, but he does have a few stinkers on his track record. War was one of the most boring and cliché filled action films I've ever seen, and Death Race didn't do anything for me. Yeah, I get it. This film featured a lot of fast cars, hot women, and gruesome deaths. This was supposed to be mindless fun, but for me, Death Race just felt like straight-to-video material. This film might have been a fantasy for the alpha male or action film junkie, but Death Race didn't satisfy me.

Also, every big name action star has their own signature franchise. Bruce Willis has Die Hard, Schwarzenegger has The Terminator, and Stallone has Rambo. Each franchise also has that one great film. The Terminator series has Judgement Day, Rambo has First Blood, and the 1988 version of Die Hard is praised as an action classic. Personally, I prefer Die Hard With A Vengeance, but that's another discussion for another time. Statham has The Transporter films, but this franchise doesn't have that one epic film. The Transporter (2002) and Transporter 3 were solid enough films, and Transporter 2 was okay. I don't think The Transporter franchise is completely horrible, and this series did produce some stylish and adrenaline filled action flicks, but at the same time, this series didn't produce one epic or memorable film.

But I will give Statham some credit, when it comes to the Crank films. Both films are fast-paced and thrilling action flicks that don't take themselves too seriously. Crank 2: High Voltage is probably my favorite Statham film. Chev Chelios is an entertaining character, and the Crank films are enjoyable popcorn flicks, but both films aren't classics.

Jason Statham isn't a bad actor. He can have a likeable on screen personality, and he is very believable as the charismatic tough guy, who could kick your ass. Although, Statham isn't that guy, who can be an enormous box office draw yet. Some of his films can be entertaining, but Statham hasn't reached the level of a "must-see" superstar. And every high quality film Statham has been apart of has involved a good or solid cast:

The Italian Job
Snatch
The Expendables​

He was surrounded by some good and high profiled actors and actresses in these films, so his presence or absence couldn't make or break the movie. Just think about it, would The Expendables have suffered without him? I think not.

Statham's films can be fun to watch, but I think he's reached his highest point. I think we've already seen the best Statham has to offer, but there's always a chance he could have that one breakthrough film someday. Willis, Schwarzenegger, and Stallone are past their primes, so he does have an open window. Statham could take the throne for the next big action superstar, but he needs something to brag about, because his résumé isn't that impressive.

What are your thoughts?

 

[New Hot Fed]

He's already the top action star of this generation and he seems to take pride at doing them. But it's not the 80s anymore, there are so many variety of things to do in pop culture than people only go the cinema to see a big event movie and his movies are not like that. I think for Statham to become a huge star he would have to actually branch out and do something more complex. Maybe even go into genre territory like sci-fi or fantasy. Doing a super-hero would be natural for him. Also he should do dramas that requires less action.

But as it stands, he seems to be working in his usual style of flicks and i'm happy to watch them. Keep 'em coming Jason!

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Jason Statham isn't a bad actor. He can have a likeable on screen personality, and he is very believable as the charismatic tough guy, who could kick your ass. Although, Statham isn't that guy, who can be an enormous box office draw yet. Some of his films can be entertaining, but Statham hasn't reached the level of a "must-see" superstar. And every high quality film Statham has been apart of has involved a good or solid cast:

The Italian Job
Snatch
The Expendables​

He was surrounded by some good and high profiled actors and actresses in these films, so his presence or absence couldn't make or break the movie. Just think about it, would The Expendables have suffered without him? I think not.

Statham's films can be fun to watch, but I think he's reached his highest point. I think we've already seen the best Statham has to offer, but there's always a chance he could have that one breakthrough film someday. Willis, Schwarzenegger, and Stallone are past their primes, so he does have an open window. Statham could take the throne for the next big action superstar, but he needs something to brag about, because his résumé isn't that impressive.

What are your thoughts?

I think you hit the nail on the head here. He's a likeable guy who is quite deceptive in his fighting style which increases the kind of stuff he can do in varying roles. However I feel he is more of a cult-like action star rather than an Arnie or Stallone type figure who can get X million dollars for a film just by being in it.

Another thing we need to consider is the gap between Arnie/Stallone/Willis' generation and Stathams in terms of action films. Arnie et al's generation were generally 'one man army' type stories; Terminators, Rambos, Die Hards that were all quite over the top and left logic completely at the door to the cinema screen. To some extent this is still true today, but audiences have become a bit more picky about it. Summer blockbusters are also guilty of the same OTT aspect, but the difference is the target audience as the blockbusters aim for young people and families, whereas action films aim for older teens onwards.

I think Statham is a guy a lot of people have a soft spot for and like but essentially will have to be content with being a cult-like figure rather than an international icon on par with the action boys of the 80s/90s.

 

[xXxMiPiSexxyB*tchxXx]

I think Jason has already done a good enough job to be on the top with other great action film stars such as Willis,Shwarzenegger and Stallone. And i've pretty much enjoyed all of his films so far...but i do agree with you on one reason, this guy's still got a pretty long way to go and if he wants to be the top star, then he should branch out into other genres..It'll help his resume!

 

[IT Factor]

I'm not a Statham fan at all. I'm still pissed he ruined the Bronson classic "The Mechanic". He has zero charisma or on-screen presence in any of the films he's been in. I've been more impressed with The Rock[excuse me, Dwayne Johnson!] as an action star than I have been with Statham[except for the Tooth Fairy, which was a shitty comedy that totally sucked]. Since I don't really care for the guy, I'm not gonna elaborate any further than that.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

I think Statham's a decent action star, but I don't see him rising from JCVD/Lundgren territory into Stallone/Schwarzenegger super-stardom for at least two reasons.

Firstly, The Expendables being an exception, the days of the box-office macho men are over. Some may attribute this to the rise of the svelte, lither superheroes, but I'd go as far back as the 1990s when Jerry Bruckheimer decided to make Nicolas Cage an action star. Although I like Nicolas Cage, I think he fundamentally changed the action scene for the worse. With his introduction on the scene, protagonists started to have consciences and hearts of gold. No longer were the men who took what they wanted, banged every woman in sight whether or not they outwardly wanted it (of course, they all ended being soaking wet), and spouted shitty one-liners while ruthlessly chopping off the limbs of "bad guys" who rivaled them in their assholish tendencies.

Second, Statham has quite a few leading roles to his credit, and, at best, they have been modest hits. This isn't to say that Statham won't break the bank one day, but all of his previous starring roles would lead one to believe that this probably won't be the case.

 

[luxferre]

Statham has done well so far to have a couple of franchises to his name (The Transporter series and the Crank series) but i don't see him as a genuine headliner.
He's always gonna be the hero's friend( think Expendables) but that's no bad thing!

 

[Silviya]

There is no doubt that he acts so well . So He is good as the next action star...