'The Master' is roaring in Russian theaters, another action movie with genre regular Jason Statham. What did the brutal handyman do this time? Read our review.
According to the plot of the film 'The Master', Levon Cade (Jason Statham) served in the Royal Marines for many years. After his wife's death, he moved to the United States and promised himself that he would never return to his former job, so as not to endanger his daughter's life (Isla Gie). However, he still hasn't been able to gain custody of her: financial difficulties and skepticism from his father-in-law are to blame. The only one who agreed to employ Levon after the move was the good-natured family businessman Joe Garcia (Michael Peña), for which he is immensely grateful.
When Jenny (Arianna Rivas), the businessman's daughter, is kidnapped by unknown persons and the police throw up their hands, the boss turns to Cade for help. After reciting the standard mantra of any retired special agent ('I left that in the past'), the man plunges headlong into the criminal underworld of Chicago. By interrogating 'respected people' with prejudice, he incurs the wrath of the city's criminal elite.
Last year, Statham dispatched enemies in a beekeeper suit with the help of honey (who knew it burned so well!), and this year, he dons a construction worker's overalls. The previous film titled 'The Beekeeper' was not a new milestone in the actor's career, but its commercial success brought director David Ayer back from cinematic oblivion, whose biggest stain on his reputation remains 'Suicide Squad'. True, the subsequent 'Bright' and 'The Tax Collector' were also not of high quality. Now the director seems to have found a niche where work at least does not entail financial risks.
If we ignore the pathetic spectacle that is the quadriquel 'The Expendables', we can safely state: films with Jason pay off well, thanks to a loyal audience. It doesn't matter who Statham faces on screen: in the register of his cinematic enemies, a prehistoric shark coexists with phone scammers and... And this is only in the last three years!
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Open materialIn each of his films, he appears as an imperturbable, stern, but moderately cynical hero, tossing out pompous phrases left and right. Only the setting and the professional specialization of his character change. Jokes about the actor's impressive work experience never lose their relevance!
'The Master', based on the novel by Chuck Dixon and adapted for the big screen by Sylvester Stallone himself, continues this glorious line. David Ayer again sits in the director's chair, so comparisons with 'The Beekeeper' are unavoidable for the new film. If in the 2024 action film the serious tone deliberately clashed with the absurd content, in the fresh work the old-fashioned beatdown plays out by the book, without encroaching on genre conventions and with all the ensuing consequences. On the other hand, given the meme-like framing of Jason's figure in the Russian internet, our compatriots will find it easy to spot comedic elements even where they were not originally intended.
To be honest, when you hear the dialogues here, you really get the impression that they were inspired by comments from Russian-speaking users under Statham's social media posts. 'I don't trust people, I trust biology' — the national favorite says with fervor on screen, of course, in the voice of his regular dubbing actor Vladimir Zaitsev. However, this 'cringiness' in a good sense can hardly be credited to the filmmakers. The illusory likability of 'The Master' is primarily due to the online trail that follows the bald charisma in the Russian internet space.
However, if we leave aside the specifics of perception, Ayer's film will seem like an unpretentious action movie, inferior to its predecessor both in originality and scale. 'The Beekeeper' was certainly not an outstanding representative of the genre, but its flirtation with current political agenda partially offset the flaws of the silly script. The new film, alas, cannot boast anything similar.
The protagonist, who stirs up the hornet's nest of Chicago, faces a criminal syndicate run by the Russian mafia. Of course, the plot conflict is inherited from the source material, and therefore the complaint is not entirely fair, but without 'bad Russians' the hit parade of hackneyed clichés would be incomplete. At the same time, post-Soviet gangsters are not the only force operating in the area. A couple of slave traders, a perverted millionaire, corrupt cops, a biker gang, and a black drug lord (Chidi Ajufo) sitting on a replica of the Iron Throne from 'Game of Thrones' — all of them are also drawn into the armed confrontation.
Most gratifying was to see on screen Jason Flemyng, who once shone alongside Statham in 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', and later reached even greater heights than his namesake, starring in 'Viy 3D' by Oleg Stepchenko. It's only a pity that his role is essentially episodic, despite his name appearing among the first in the opening credits.
David Harbour, the star of 'Stranger Things', also briefly appears in 'The Master'. However, you will only learn about his character that he lost his sight during a mission and is well versed in firearms. There is no question of any full-fledged character development, including Levon. One can only rely on the action scenes, which are not particularly inventive or varied, but take place in aesthetic locations.
If Steve Harrington dies, we're ready to write a petition to Netflix.
Open material
Judging by the main villain absurdly screaming in the finale and the good opening box office numbers, 'The Master' has every chance of growing into a long-running franchise about the adventures of special forces soldier Cade. Especially since Ayer has a whole literary arsenal by Chuck Dixon at his disposal.
If you belong to the slim army of Jason Statham fans, then another proletarianly crude action movie with his participation will be a decent one-time entertainment for you. If you are not part of this friendly community, then we have bad news: there will soon be even more monotonous content featuring the actor. In conclusion, I want to 'quote' the classic: never give up, go towards your goal, but if it gets hard – give up.
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