Despite being in the movie business for over 20 years, Jason Statham is still not a household name. But he should be; his trademark stare, his powerful physique and of course, his action roles make him such an awesome dude. Take a look and check out our list of top 10 Jason Statham movies of all time.
#10. The Mechanic (2011)
This film, directed by Simon West, gives Statham the sort of role he was made for: a cold, no-nonsense elite hitman.
Arthur Bishop is a specialist, the type of person who gets called when they need someone to vanish and make it appear as if it was an accident. Bishop takes his kid under his wing and teaches him his craft when he is forced to kill his buddy and mentor.
The film is a remake of the same-named 1972 picture, which starred none other than Charles Bronson. Statham does an excellent job of translating Bronson’s hitman character for a new generation of action enthusiasts.
Statham grabbed the part of Arthur Bishop from Sylvester Stallone and Michael Douglas, two other great performers. Stallone
#9. The Fate of the Furious (2017)
One of the most popular movie franchises of the last two decades is the long-running Fast & Furious franchise.
Statham has played Deckard Shaw, a former British military officer turned mercenary, in the Fast and Furious franchise since the sixth film.
Shaw started off as a supporting character in the series, but he was promoted to antagonist in Furious 7 and then to secondary protagonist in The Fate of the Furious.
Given that Statham went uncredited the first time he portrayed the character, this is a significant increase in popularity. The Adventures of Dominic Toretto and his crew continue in The Fate of the Furious, the eighth film in the series.
Now submerged into the world of international terrorism, Toretto will test the strength of the bonds that tie him to his family, all the while racing top-of-the-line supercars around the globe.
#8. The Transporter (2002)
The Transporter, directed by Corey Yuen, a well-known Hong Kong action choreographer, is a nonstop action thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. The film was released in 2002 and was a box office hit, leading to the creation of a franchise.
Frank Martin, played by Statham, is a guy who specialized in transferring parcels for high-profile clientele. Frank, who lives by a rigorous set of self-imposed restrictions, is compelled to break them all when one of his parcels turns out to be a lady.
The transporter is a narrative of treachery, high-speed chases, and a lot of firearms that will undoubtedly get your adrenaline pumping.
In true action hero fashion, Jason Statham did most of his stunts for this movie. He also did most of the driving and even learned how to hotwire a car for a single scene.
#7. Crank (2006)Â
Crank is a shamelessly campy action film that maintains its high adrenaline levels from beginning to end. It’s very dirty and tremendously enjoyable.
Statham had already established himself as the prototypical tough-guy hitman by 2006, a position he would reprise in this film.
Chev Chelios is a Los Angeles-based English assassin. He has a reputation for dealing with organized crime. Some members of his gang sought vengeance after he executed a mafia leader, poisoned him with a synthetic chemical that slows his adrenaline production, finally causing death by cardiac collapse.
To keep his heart beating, Chev has to expose himself to increasingly exciting experiences, causing it to go on an explosive quest for revenge.
Just like in the transporter, Statham retained his reputation as a bona fide Hollywood badass by doing most of his own stunts and reckless driving.
#6. Spy (2015)
Every Statham film does not have to be a bloody action thriller. It’s because of his on-screen presence. The actor has established a reputation as a modern-day action hero, but that image has also allowed him to mock his super-macho character. That’s exactly what occurs in Spy, a 2015 action comedy.
Melissa McCarthy acts as a desk-bound CIA employee who seeks to mimic her special agent heroes by going undercover in the realm of arms trade in this spoof of a spy film directed by Paul Feig.
Statham portrays experienced field agent Rick Ford, who leads a risky lifestyle and has a womanizing reputation.
Long before he began directing comedies, Paul Feig was an aspiring stuntman. He’s also a confessed fan of Statham stunt works and decided that he wanted to include the actor in his action film.
Rick Ford’s character was written specifically for Jason Statham based on the many tough guys he’s played over the years.
#5. The Italian Job (2003)
F. Gary Gray is the director of this film. Allow Statham to portray a character who excels at both driving fast vehicles and courting women. Statham has dealt with two things throughout his career.
Charlie Croker, a skilled fixer, is played by Mark Wahlberg. He is deceived and left for dead after completing a task in Venice for a renowned safecracker.
Croker, understandably enraged, joins a gang to plunder their former employee. However, things don’t always go as planned, and there are several high-speed chases and close encounters.
The movie features an ensemble cast that includes names such as Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, and Seth Green. Every actor received a stunt driving course, with Statham taking additional classes with former Formula One champion Damon Hill.
That said, the whole cast agreed that Charlize Theron was the best driver of the group. The actress even received two speeding tickets during the filming of the Italian job.
#4. Furious 7 (2015)
After the events of Fast and Furious 6, the crew returns to their normal life in the United States in the seventh installment of the Fast and Furious franchise.
Their retirement plans, however, are thwarted by Deckard Shaw, who seeks vengeance on Toretto and his gang for the death of his comatose brother. Statham’s character’s popularity skyrocketed with the release of Furious 7.
Shaw was so popular with fans that he got his own Fast and Furious spin-off, Hobbs and Shaw, in 2019. This is also Paul Walker’s final cinematic performance before his death in 2013.
Being such an integral part of the Fast and Furious universe, this movie has been dedicated to his memory. Despite being the main antagonist of the film, Statham only gets 17 lines of dialogue in the whole movie, after all. Actions speak louder than words in the Fast and Furious series.
#3. The Bank Job (2008)
When a career criminal stormed into a bank on Baker Street in London in 1971, the boundary between fact and fiction was blurred.
Inspired by a Sherlock Holmes narrative, Anthony Gavin enlisted the aid of other coworkers to pull out the theft, which became one of England’s most bizarre criminal episodes in its lengthy history.
The bank job, directed by Roger Donaldson in 2008, brought the story to the big screen. Jason Statham plays a member of the robbery gang in this film.
Since most of the actual events surrounding the heist are shrouded in mystery. The production took some creative liberties with a story that said the director insists that they had an inside source that provided them with unpublished details about the robbery.
The fact that the robbers were seemingly more interested in stealing incriminating pictures of a member of the royal family rather than the money itself is also one of the great mysteries surrounding this heist.
#2. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Guy Ritchie in 1998, if there’s one man who understands how to blend slick action with smart comedy, it’s him. Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Ritchie’s first feature picture, was also a feature film debut for a young Jason Statham.
Statham had a shady past as a black market marketer before becoming an actor, which was exactly the type of man Ritchie was searching for.
Statham portrays a character named Bacon in this film. He and his buddies become indebted to Harry Landside, a.k.a. Hatchet, a nefarious guy with significant underworld ties, after playing a fraudulent poker game.
Because Ritchie wasn’t yet a household name in Hollywood, the picture had a difficult time finding an American distributor.
Luckily for Ritchie and Statham, Tom Cruise of all people loved the film, calling it the best movie he had seen in years. So the next time you watch an action flick and Jason Statham is in it, racing a car or shooting, some bad guys know that it’s all thanks to Tom Cruise.
#1. Snatch (2000)
Ritchie and Statham teamed up again in the 2000 criminal thriller Snatch, following the success of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Many of Ritchie’s hallmarks, such as his energetic editing technique and distinctive visual flair, were born in this film.
Following the theft of a rare diamond by Frankie, AKA: Four Fingers, a group of colorful individuals teamed together to track down the valuable treasure. Turkish is one of the opulent thieves on the lookout for the diamond. Statham portrays a boxing promoter and the proprietor of a slot machine shop.
Snatch has a star-studded ensemble cast, including Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro, who have jumped on the Guy Ritchie bandwagon.
The film had a huge cultural impact and redefined the style of action flicks for years to come. Audiences loved the charming energy of the Statham and Ritchie duo, giving the film a score of 8.3 on a scale of 10 on the IMDB website.
This was our top 10 list of the best Jason Statham movies of all time. A great list of the best movies of Jason Statham ever made.
Do you agree with our list? If you have any suggestions or comments please shoot them down in the comments below. Â
