Mutiny Review

Arriving at the theater for the press screening of Mutiny, the ticket attendant asked what I was there to see. I accidentally said, “Shelter,” confusing it for the other Jason Statham action flick that came out earlier this year. Can you blame me, though? It’s not like Statham is trying especially hard to differentiate one performance from the other. That said, I enjoyed Mutiny more than Shelter, albeit only slightly. Where Shelter was about as generic as Statham movies get, Mutiny is generic… with a few advantages. One of them is Statham, who, despite consistently playing the same character, does his thing well.

Statham plays Cole Reed, another stoic tough guy who will inevitably drive a car at some point – even in a movie that primarily takes place on a boat. Cole serves as a bodyguard who’s practically family to his boss, Tibu Campallo (Ramon Tikaram). Statham and Tikaram have a nice chemistry, although it’s apparent from their first scene that Cole’s boss will soon bite the bullet. Cole is set up for his employer’s murder, forcing him to go on the run. Deducing that this conspiracy is connected to Tibu’s shipping business, Cole stows away on a cargo ship where he finds people from Thailand being trafficked. Naturally, almost everyone else on board is in on this, including the captain.

This is a standard setup, so much so that even one of the posters is a knockoff of Die Hard. Yet, Statham isn’t the only reason to check out Mutiny. Where the violence in Shelter felt relatively tame for an R-rated release, Mutiny earns that distinction. It isn’t wall-to-wall bloodshed, but when Statham takes a random henchman’s life, he does so in a gleefully gory way. Despite essentially being a one-man army, Cole does get some backup. Annabelle Wallis makes for a welcome addition as Angie, a sailor who didn’t realize what she signed up for.

Although Cole is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, Mutiny thankfully doesn’t turn the supporting players into idiots. Not only is Angie quick to realize that Cole isn’t her enemy, but Adrian Lester also stars as a nearby Navy captain suspicious of what’s happening on that ship. Whatever’s going on, he senses that Cole isn’t the criminal that the authorities have pegged him as. Statham’s charisma, a solid supporting cast, and Jean-François Richet’s hard-hitting direction help to elevate Mutiny from a direct-to-video action picture to one that’s just barely worth seeing on the big screen.

While more fun than some of Statham’s other recent outings, Mutiny isn’t the pleasant surprise that The Beekeeper was. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect. Even the final line is so cookie-cutter that I almost laughed. That said, if you’re in the mood for a Jason Statham movie and have come to enjoy some of these clichés, you’re inclined to have a good enough time at Mutiny. Clearly, this isn’t the most glowing review, and of this summer’s various releases, Mutiny might not be priority viewing. If you have a soft spot for Statham, though, Mutiny won’t leave you jumping ship.