Jason Statham’s action thrillers usually follow a predictable, cookie-cutter series of plot beats:
• His character is a seasoned, hardened, stoic, impressively capable and highly decorated former cop/military officer equally adept with weapons and hand-to-hand combat, with a Tragic Memory in his past;
 |
| Moving cautiously through the innards of the cargo ship Artemis, Cole (Jason Statham) and Angie (Annabelle Wallis) search for a first aid kit, which will allow him to attend to her wounded shoulder. |
• ... gets killed, for some nefarious reason, prompting a won’t-ever-stop vow of vengeance.
Lather, rinse, repeat. But why change? It always works...
This new entry in Statham’s oeuvre comes from scripters J.P. Davis and Lindsay Michel, who creatively dump Statham’s Cole Reed into an intriguing scenario during the bulk of the action.
I’m less impressed by director Jean-François Richet, who opens the film with a pointless flash-forward — what, he worried about gaining our attention? — and subsequently favors too many dizzy overhead drone shots and tight-tight-tight close-ups of Statham and the other actors. All are hallmarks of lazy, uninspired directing.
The flash-forward aside, events begin quietly, with Reed — a former Marine commando and London SCO19 Specialist Firearm police officer — five years into a happy position as security chief for his close friend and mentor, billionaire Thai shipping tycoon Tibu Campallo (Ramon Tikaram). The feeling is mutual: Tibu regards Cole as family, and they enjoy playing chess together.
After a long and successful career, Tibu has decided to retire. He clearly regrets abandoning the empire that took a lifetime to build, particularly since his son, Kameron (Chaneil Kular), has no interest in the business. At the posh retirement party, Cole notices a dapper but somehow sinister figure (Arnas Fedaravicious) hovering in the background; their eyes briefly lock, and then the unnamed guest moves on.
Later, while driving Tibu home, their car is ambushed. Cole kills all the attackers, but not before Tibu is mortally wounded. Knowing he has very little time, Cole scoops up the killers’ IDs and flees. The sinister figure, with numerous bent Thai cops in his pocket, arranges for Cole to be tagged as Tibu’s killer; this version of events is blasted through all media outlets, and an arrest warrant is issued.
Cole notices that the killers crewed on the container ship Artemis; by fortunate coincidence, he resembles one of them. Using that man’s ID, he’s able to pass through Customs and board the ship, determined to figure out What The Heck Is Going On.
Meanwhile...
Barely home from a previous assignment, seasoned sailor and single parent Angie Ellis (Annabelle Wallis) is ordered aboard the Artemis, to step in for a First Mate who fell sick at the last moment. She’s dismayed, having looked forward to some quality time with her daughter ... but it’s either accept, or lose her job.
Ship’s Capt. Marko Madsen (Roland Møller), likely due to sexism, isn’t happy to see her. But he’s visibly impressed by her spunk, and grudgingly welcomes her aboard.
While quietly prowling below decks, Cole hears what sounds like whimpering. He traces the sound to a particular container, shatters the padlock, opens the door ... and discovers several dozen frightened men, women and children.
That’s at least part of the answer: human trafficking. But knowing that Tibu never would have been behind such heinous activity, Cole needs to probe further. Promising to help, he cautions the frightened prisoners to remain quiet, and closes the container.
Unfortunately, while on lookout duty, Angie has been drawn by the noises and Cole’s flashlight. He ducks for cover; she makes the same discovery. But lacking any awareness of what Cole already knows, she radios Capt. Madsen, to report the discovery. Cinematographer Brendan Galvin’s quick cut to the expression on Møller’s face confirms what we’ve already suspected, and the dismayed Angie quickly realizes how much trouble she’s in.
She doesn’t yet know that Cole is in her corner ... but what can one man do, against an entire shipload of mercenary killers?
(C’mon ... this is Jason Statham. What do you think?)
Production designer Russell De Rozario and action/stunt director Steve Griffin make excellent use of the huge vessel’s decks, stairs, sleeping cabins, engine rooms, crawl spaces and all manner of nooks and crannies, while orchestrating the vicious melees. (Much of the “location” shooting took place aboard the Skylight, a 150m long, 10,000 ton cargo ship.)
“They’re much bigger than you have a reference for, because you usually only see them passing by on the horizon,” Statham mentions, in the production notes. “When you actually get up close, they’re massive. They boggle the mind. They’re like floating islands.”
The result builds to an all-stops-out third act, and — it must be mentioned — Wallis’ Angie holds her own throughout. She doesn’t quite qualify as a bad-ass, but she’s credibly resourceful and brave, and — once she and Cole link up — her knowledge of the ship proves essential.
Møller makes an excellent villain, with a powerful presence: mockingly charming, quietly menacing, and clearly ruthless, with a predator’s ability to assess weakness before striking.
Adrian Lester has an intriguing role as Adam Spencer, captain of a British military ship that catches a brief mayday Angie manages to send. Spencer finds Capt. Madsen’s subsequent “explanation” somewhat suspicious. With the equally dubious and military-crisp Commander Tully (Steven Blades) at his side, Spencer debates whether to investigate further.
(Will he? I’ll never tell...)
I don’t know how long Statham can keep this up; he’s 59, and nonetheless has five more films already in production. But as long as he can deliver results this exhilarating, his fans will keep lining up.
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