Mutiny from Jean-François Richet sees Cole Reed (Jason Statham) become a stowaway on a cargo ship after the murder of his billionaire boss, Tibu Campallo (Ramon Tikaram). On a quest for revenge, he soon discovers a darker secret on board that only his skills can fix.

It is my third favorite time of year, behind Halloween and Christmas! It’s a new Jason Statham action movie! Instead of seeing Statham in his usual fast cars, Jean-François Richet asks the question: Jason Statham, but on a ship?

The answer isn’t a surprise. This is chock full of all the hallmarks of Statham’s previous characters: having violent skills, being a one-man army, and facial expressions that say, “somebody better hold me back for your sake.”

For some, Mutiny could be stale; however, for me, it was the awareness of the ‘we’ve seen this before’ from Jean-François Richet that made Mutiny enjoyable.

The runtime is one hour and thirty-five minutes, so it doesn’t overstay its welcome; the film quickly gets to the ship and uses the ship as nothing more than a place for Statham to kick ass, which reminded me of Under Siege (1992), with Jason Statham instead of Steven Seagal.

The ship is a fun place for staged action sequences, notably when there are fights and chases in between all the tight shipping containers. The film deals with a sensitive subject: trafficking, but only as a way for Cole to have a reason to kill the crew. In Statham films, he usually protects, saves, or avenges, so you already have one for the revenge; the trafficking covers the other two.

I do really like the supporting performances, especially Annabelle Wallis as Angie, who is given the chance to show how capable she is. If you took out the character of Cole Reed, then Angie could easily step in, as Wallis brings a sense of assurance and a bull detector.

Roland Møller as Captain Marko Madsen is a very solid, slimy bad-guy performance who believes themselves to be a captain but isn’t any better than a pirate.

Then, the main show, Statham as Cole Reed, is doing a performance that he has always done — something only he could do. A very fun moment when he shoots a crew member,  he does this almost Bond opening sequence turn, capitalizing on his signature brand.

Mutiny may not be top-tier Statham like The Transporter (2002) or even more recently The Beekeeper (2024), but it is still an entertaining time. I can’t wait to see what other method of transport Statham causes a ruckus on.​

Review Courtesy of Matthew Allan

Feature Image credit to Lionsgate