If there is one thing you can count on when it comes to kick-ass action films is that when Jason Statham is involved, it’ll be exactly that – kick-ass. Statham has been one of the most consistent of the action stars, taking on all comers and never worrying if he is playing a good guy or a bad guy.
He simply likes to kick ass and take names. Not only is he proficient with his hand-to-hand combat, but he also doesn’t mind getting behind the wheel of a car for some crazy stunts.
Ever since Jason Statham broke onto the scene in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, the now 55-year-old has found himself in one crazy situation after another. Here are nine of his best action scenes ever.
Jason Statham’s 9 Best Action Scenes
9. Death Race (2008)
Death Race is a remake of the 1975 feature, Death Race 2000, and stars Jason Statham as Jensen Ames, a man in prison after being arrested for the murder of his wife, a murder he did not commit.
Ames is sent to Terminal Island Prison, where the sadistic warden Claire Hennessey (Joan Allen) offers to let him go if he will participate in the Death Race, to which she will earn more profits. In one of the numerous car sequences, Ames’s battle with the Dreadnought is one of the best in the film.
8. The Expendables (2010)
Jason Statham introduces his character, Lloyd Christmas, in this tense scene where he takes teaching a lesson to a new level. Christmas takes his former girlfriend to a park where she points out to him the man who beat her up.
With this man are five friends, all playing basketball, making the odds not in Lloyd’s favor. Then again, the odds might not be good for the ball players. After a quick conversation, the fisticuffs begin. The fight is over pretty quickly with Lloyd showcasing his hand-to-hand.
7. The Expendables 2 (2012)
‘We go right back to The Expendables franchise and its second installment. In this one, Jason Statham’s Lloyd Christmas finds himself chasing after bad guys inside an airplane hangar.
As they try to escape, Lloyd does his best to discourage them. The final part of this scene offers a great hand-to-hand fight between Statham and Scott Adkins.
6. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Hobbs & Shaw is a spin-off from the Fast & Furious franchise starring Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw and Dwayne Johnson as his rival, Luke Hobbs.
Here they begrudgingly team up to stop a cyber-genetically enhanced human from exposing the world to a deadly virus. Idris Elba plays Brixton Lore, the big bad guy and their final fight is one for the ages.
5. Safe (2012)
In Safe, Jason Statham stars as Luke Wright, an ex-MMA fighter who killed his opponent in the ring. The opponent had ties to the Russian Mafia, who got revenge by killing Wright’s wife.
Wright finds himself protecting a young Chinese girl who is a genius with numbers and who the Triads, the Russian Mafia, and crooked cops all want. One of the best fight sequences comes in a New York subway.
4. Transporter 2 (2005)
Jason Statham is back as Frank Martin, a former special ops soldier. In this 2005 sequel to the 2002 original, we find Frank becoming a driver for the wealthy Billings family.
Frank develops a bond with the young son and ends up protecting him from a vicious drug cartel. In one of the best chase scenes in the film, Frank jumps on a jet ski to go after one of the thugs.
3. War (2007)
War features a battle between two heavyweights in action cinema – Jason Statham and Jet Li. Statham is Crawford, an FBI agent who is on the hunt for Rogue (Li), a mysterious assassin who killed Crawford’s partner.
Of course, the entire build-up is pitting Statham and Li in a hand-to-hand battle that showcases both fighters’ extraordinary abilities.
2. The Transporter (2002)
We first met Jason Statham’s Frank Martin in The Transporter. He is an ex-special ops soldier who “transports” goods (human or otherwise) for those who will pay for his services.
We find out pretty quickly that Martin knows how to use his hands in fighting and in one of the best fight sequences, Frank engages in a high-octane fight in a garage filled with oil, demonstrating his agility, speed, and precision.
1. Crank (2006)
Talk about an adrenaline rush! In Crank, Jason Statham plays Chev Chelios, a hired assassin who is very good at his job. He is so good, that his rivals want him out of the way.
So, in order to make that happen, one rival injects Chev with a poison that will kill him unless Chev can keep his heart rate high.
Chev needs to stay active to make this happen and in the hospital escape scene, he is looking for assistance from the drug Epinephrine (adrenaline).