Cole Reed once had a promising career as a police officer in England, serving alongside his father, but following tragic turns of events, finds himself working as a bodyguard for a wealthy shipping magnate in the Orient. When his employer is murdered in an apparent conspiracy, he boards a shipping vessel seeking answers, and quickly discovers there may be more to the matters at hand than meets the eye.
By this point in time, you know who Jason Statham is and what he does. He’s one of the most reliable action stars of the past three decades. His movies aren’t the deepest, but the man always delivers when it comes to gritty and violent events unfolding on the big screen. MUTINY is the man’s latest big screen outing, this time teaming him up with director Jean-Francois Richet, who has brought us movies like PLANE from a few years back, as well as the remake of John Carpenter’s ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13. MUTINY is exactly the movie you’d expect it is from the images and trailers. This is Jason Statham doing Jason Statham. If you’re into that, MUTINY will likely be right up your alley, and the rapid pacing (it clocks in at only about an hour and a half before the credits start rolling) do it several favors. If you’re like me and like a bit more substance to your moviegoing, you’ll likely see it as little more than a shipwreck.
I’ll give MUTINY credit for giving Jason Statham the opportunity to be himself and do what he does best. The violence in MUTINY comes in burst, but when it comes, it comes. Guns, axes, fishing hooks, locks, harpoon guns… if the guy can use it as a weapon, he does. Complete with blood splattering on the camera on more than one occasion. The film earns its R rating courtesy of its leading man. While the screenplay does try to inject some backstory and drama, this stuff understandably takes a backseat to the action. Given that it’s a Statham flick, that’s hardly surprising. The action is where MUTINY delivers.
If there’s a problem with MUTINY, it’s the lack of originality or anything to elevate it above other similar thrillers, including those involving Statham. The plot of the movie involving someone pursuing a villain in an enclosed area brings to mind memories of flicks like DIE HARD and AIR FORCE ONE, but the action-centric Statham lacks of the charisma of a leading man like Bruce Willis or Harrison Ford to bring something like that full circle. Likewise, the villains here lack the appeal of those movies’ antagonists played by the likes of the late Alan Rickman and the always-entertaining Gary Oldman. As odd as it may be for me, someone who likes a bit more substance to his movies, to say this, there were times where I was wishing for less story and more action. You’ve already hired Jason Statham for your movie… why not just give us an hour and a half of him cutting loose? Attempts to flesh out the world of MUTINY don’t do much for the experience, and added subplots and secondary and tertiary characters feel like a waste of what’s already a fairly brief running time.
I didn’t hate MUTINY, but there’s not quite enough here to give it a recommendation either. When the movie lets Mr. Statham unleash his fury on the bad guys, the R-rated violence doesn’t fail to please. And it fortunately never outlasts its welcome with the brisk run time. This flick doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it delivers what it promises. Nothing more and nothing less. There are worse ways you could spend an hour and a half, but skip the theatrical release and wait for it to hit streaming.