A Working Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

A Working Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Shoot first, don't ask questions later.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 16, 2025

A mid-tier action vehicle that's better than last year's resoundingly bad The Beekeeeper (he says, damning with faint praise), David Ayer's A Working Man is only half bad but gets a courtesy bump to 3/5 for a few decently inspired action scenes and set pieces. Relying on similarly goofy characters, eye-rolling lore, ultra-convenient plot developments, and obligatory open-ended sequel tease, this decently watchable production at least starts with a grounded setup before devolving into unintentional comedy in its worst and/or best moments, which I can't always tell apart.

The titular working man in this case is one Levon Cade (Jason Statham), a foreman currently employed by Joe Garcia (Michael Peña). After Joe's college-age daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas) goes missing during a night out with friends, the worried dad and his wife Carla (Noemi Gonzalez) plead with Levon to get her back. You see, Levon's a ex-Royal Marines commando -- as evidenced by his easy takedown of thugs bothering a co-worker on site -- and it turns out he's got a special connection with Jenny, or at least enough to finally accept the job after consulting with his old buddy Gunny (David Harbour), a former Marine who apparently turns off his permanent blindness like a light switch.

Joe's go plenty of rivals in the business, but it turns out that his daughter's disappearance was a random kidnapping. Levon picks up her trail incredibly quickly, which first leads him to a low-level drug dealer bartending at the place Jenny was last seen. Not surprisingly, his search continues up the ladder until it's discovered that Jenny's kidnapping was tied to members of a Russian mob known as "The Brotherhood", where young women are routinely snatched up for wealthy elites to choose from. Taking down multiple layers of an international conspiracy? That'll be a challenge for Levon, as will sorting out his own personal life in the process: his wife committed suicide years ago and their precocious young daughter Meredith (Isla Gie) remains in the custody of grumpy grandpa Dr. Jordan Roth (Richard Heap).

There's a lot to unpack during A Working Man, whose tangled narrative feels like a cinematic B-tier video game with intermittently cheesy dialogue, "boss levels", and rapid-fire action to smooth over some of the rough road. Its claim to fame is undoubtedly a co-writing credit for none other than Sylvester Stallone... which definitely checks out, because small but noticeable elements of A Working Man clearly share similarities with several of Sly's earlier films including Rambo (2008), from certain elements of its narrative to the peppered use of gruesome, stylized violence. Now that's a film I've actually got a soft spot for, mostly due to its breakneck pace and ruthless commitment to efficiency.

Sadly, A Working Man doesn't share those positives, instead feeling like every bit of its padded 116-minute runtime. But there are at least a few bright spots along the way and, as mentioned before, the setup is decently grounded which carries over into the first leg of Levon's journey. A Working Man gradually devolves into borderline lunacy as it lumbers along, though, with more than a few ridiculous characters saying and doing things that often work against any sense of needed realism. From a pair of ridiculous thugs (Greg Kolpakchi and Piotr Witkowski, playing nephews of mob enforcer Symon Kharchenko [Andrej Kaminsky]) to bumbling lackeys Viper and Artmeis (Emmett Scanlan and Eve Mauro, who's particularly terrible here) and even Levon's inner circle (including his father-in-law, Marine buddy, and daughter), A Working Man is absolutely packed with characters who intermittently stand out for very odd reasons.

In that sense it shares a lot of the flaws of The Beekeper, but A Working Man's occasionally better aspects elevate it notably above that bafflingly popular film. The action isn't always tight and seamless but really works when it is, and this production as a whole feels a lot more polished than The Beekeeper on a similar budget. What I'm saying is that A Working Man clearly isn't great but it's at least a more watchable and worthwhile effort than most of director David Ayer's recent work, and I'd much rather see a future sequel to this than, well, you-know-what.

Released to fairly mixed reviews (including a particularly harsh 3/10 in Brian Orndorf's theatrical coverage) but box-office receipts that narrowly avoided "bomb" territory, A Working Man is now available as separate 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions. Like most new-release titles owned by MGM but distributed by WB, both versions feature zero bonus features but serve up proportionately decent A/V merits. Not surprisingly, it's aimed more at established fans.

A Working Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As usual, please see my recent review of the separate UHD edition for a general overview of this native 4K film's aesthetic, which is scaled down decently well on the Blu-ray's 1080p/SDR transfer. It's fairly by-the-numbers from a visual perspective, exhibiting strong levels of fine detail in the right conditions thanks to its native 4K source material, whereas pervasive darkness and scenes featuring quick action are comparably a little flatter and mushier especially when deep shadows are present. That said, most everything holds steady within format limitations, as overall color representation and compression are both generally quite good, and occasionally closer than expected since the UHD edition is a dual-layered disc not equipped with Dolby Vision. The 4K is going to win any day of the week in a direct comparison, but those with small to medium-sized displays will find this Blu-ray to be a fine substitute.

A Working Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos presentation is obviously an active one, whether it introduces subtle atmospheric ambiance, supports the original score and soundtrack, or or course comes fully alive during the numerous action scenes. Height channels are sporadically used but generally bring a lot to the table when they do kick in, especially during one standout brawl in the back of a van as well as the film's aggressive final series of showdowns. LFE also adds its own weight when needed, supporting heavier gunshots, stray explosions, and the dull thud of limp bodies hitting walls and floors. That said, it's a little patchy at times and the dialogue is occasionally buried in the mix, but that could very well be due to the variety of heavy foreign dialects including Statham's increasingly gravelly Cockney accent. Overall, though, this is a decently solid effort that likewise doesn't achieve perfection but delivers the goods at critical moments.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles, as well as a few foreign dubs and subs, are also included.

A Working Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase; there's no slipcover, but we get at least get a Digital Copy redemption code. No bonus features are included, but you can check out Amazon MGM's official trailer here.

A Working Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

David Ayer's A Working Man is better than his last film The Beekeeper (another lower-rent actioner with Statham in similar circumstances)... but that's not really saying much, is it? There are obvious flaws here but only some of them stand in the way of a better film, resulting in a patchwork and occasionally frustrating affair that nonetheless delivers a few solid genre-fueled highlights. WB/MGM offers separate 4K and Blu-ray options; both are sadly featureless, but with proportionately decent A/V merits. Mildly Recommended to fans, but newcomers should try before they buy.