I know going into a Jason Statham movie what I will be getting, tons of action and Jason Statham doing what he does best, fighting bad guys. Mutiny keeps to that familiar format, offering lots of action, some emotional connection and offering characters that are smart and more complex than normal.
Mutiny is an action thriller film directed by Jean-François Richet, written by Lindsay Michel and J. P. Davis. Starring Jason Statham as Cole Reed, a former Royal Marine Commando/Metropolitan police officer, Cole is now working as a bodyguard for a rich businessman overseas. After his boss, Tibu (Ramon Tikaram), sells his business, they are ambushed and Cole is set up for his murder. Cole sets out to get justice while also attempting to prove his innocence by stowing away on a container ship. When he and the third mate, Angie Ellis (Annabelle Wallis), find out that the captain (Roland Møller) is engaging in human trafficking, they need to find a way to get everyone to safety and stop the rest of the crew. The film also stars Adrian Lester as Navy Captain Spencer.
What I like is exactly what every Jason Statham film excels at, bloody justice and action packed scenes that make you root for Statham’s character to win. This film builds the setting carefully, setting up the emotional ties between Cole and Tibu, showing that Tibu considers Cole part of his family and adding in the complex relationship with Tibu’s son, Kameron (Chaneil Kular). While the story is fairly straightforward, with Cole going after the bad guys, there is some slight complexity in who is involved in the human trafficking. I also think that the crime is a believable one and the actions of Cole and Angie are completely realistic.
Jason Statham is solid as Cole. While he’s not playing a character wildly different from normal, Cole is portrayed as smart and logical, figuring out next steps ahead of the bad guys. His interactions with Angie are focused on surviving together and in a rare exception to most action movie tropes, there is no romance between the pair, only a focus on surviving and figuring out how to stop the bad guys. Annabelle Wallis plays Angie as smart, not blinded to the actions on the ship and strong enough to hold her own alongside Statham’s character. I also like Adrian Lester as Navy Captain Lester as he quickly picks up on the ship being suspicious and sends help. 
While I like the film and it is a solid action movie, it is fairly predictable. There is very little complexity despite intelligent character decisions and it ends where you expect it to do so. I do like the consequences for all involved and the ending, while being expected, it is very satisfying.
If you like action movies and Jason Statham, I would recommend Mutiny. I like the intelligence of the character’s decisions and reactions. I like the action and the ending is very satisfying. This is a solid film that is enjoyable to watch.
Rating: 3.5 watches out of 5
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