All roads don’t lead to salvation.
Joey (Jason Statham) is on the run from a military court martial, he’s a damaged ex-special forces solider who is now homeless, however after he seizes another man’s identity he tries to do good by doing bad.
When I first saw the trailer to Hummingbird I turned to my mates and said “That is going to be Statham’s best!” and I wasn’t wrong there. Statham’s one of those guys who make films that are fun to watch, however this film is a little different from his others.
Humming bird or “Redemption” as it was later changed to (which I thought Humming bird was a more fitting title), is a film more set on drama and delivering a good and somewhat powerful narrative than just action. Don’t get me wrong the action is there but there few scenes involving it.
Statham is known to play the tough guy who beats up a group of guys and hardly gets hurt, well in this film he is still the tough guy but he’s a tough guy with depth. Statham shows the world that he can in fact act, in the film he showcases a range of emotions, to me Hummingbird is similar to Jean Claude Van Damme’s “JCVD”, as in a type cast action star does a film where he shows he is capable of doing or being something else.
The films cinematography is beautiful; the shots of London provided a dark view which set the tone of the film as a more serious, dark and gritty film. The film takes a little while to get its pace going but it is worth the wait. The narrative to me was strong and had a powerful message.
As well as Statham showing so good acting skills, Agata Buzek was brilliant in my opinion. Unlike Statham other films where there’s always a sexy women in the lead, Agata Buzek was a “plain” nun who Joey (Statham) falls for.
Now like I said this film is a very different direction for Statham, I personally think it’s a step in the right direction as no doubt this films will open up some door for us to see him in more narrative driven films, however no doubt he will still be making films that he and we enjoy. Some of his fans might not like this films like I said at the start of the review this film is not a generic action film, it’s more a drama, thriller with a bit of action.
Rating 8/10
By Fiaz Ali
The Black Hole Corner 