Jason Statham is one of the current era’s reigning kings of action. He’s famous for his gruff, tough demeanor and impressive stunt skills, as well as a sly, cocky brand of humor. He started out as a competitive diver and model before transitioning to film with Guy Ritchie‘s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. A string of successful movies followed in the early 2000s, quickly cementing Statham as a 21st-century action star. Altogether, his movies have grossed well over $1.5 billion. He shows no signs of slowing down any time soon, as he appeared in a whopping four movies just last year.

Statham’s acting inspirations include Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stallone, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood, all of whom he says possess a “laidback coolness”. This is the same energy Statham channels in his best roles. These are the most entertaining Jason Statham action movies, ranked.

10 ‘The Meg’

Released: 2018

Statham leads this creature feature as deep-sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor, who is called upon to save a team of scientists trapped in a submersible after encountering a massive creature thought to be extinct – the Megalodon. It’s a gigantic shark that makes Jaws look like a goldfish. Along the way, Jonas crosses paths with a crew of colorful characters, including oceanographer Suyin Zhang (Li Bingbing), billionaire Jack Morris (Rainn Wilson), and tech mastermind Jaxx (Ruby Rose).

In other words, there are a lot of genre clichés here, but The Meg fortunately, doesn’t take itself too seriously. Rather than straining for profundity, it serves up a steady stream of solid action sequences and a hefty dose of tongue-in-cheek humor, especially from Statham himself. The jokes are admittedly pretty goofy (like the ending title card that reads ‘Fin’), but they can be a little charming too. The film received mixed reviews but was a box office behemoth, grossing $530 million against a $130 million budget.

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9 Safe

Released: 2012

“Here’s how we do this. You put down your guns, I open the safe.” Safe is a lean, mean action thriller centering on Wright (Statham), a former elite operative turned cage fighter. After a tragic incident leaves Luke’s life in ruins, he finds himself caught in the crosshairs of the Russian mafia and corrupt NYPD officers. When he witnesses a young girl, Mei (Catherine Chan), being pursued by both the mob and the police due to her extraordinary mathematical abilities, Luke makes a split-second decision to intervene. This kicks off a relentless pursuit through the streets of New York. Chinese Triads also get involved, making this a truly international array of baddies.

Safe doesn’t break any new ground or take the genre in new directions, but it does execute all of its action tropes well. It’s tautly constructed, unfolds briskly at just 95 minutes long, and culminates in a big payoff worthy of Statham’s star power. As far as switch-off-your-brain entertainment goes, you could do a lot worse.

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8 ‘The Expendables 2’

Released: 2012

The Expendables 2 reunites its cast of action icons for another operation, this time a mission to retrieve a valuable item from a crashed plane in Albania. The eponymous crew consists of Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, in addition to Statham. Never before has so much testosterone been gathered together in one film.

The film strives to be a kind of action greatest-hits collection, riffing on its stars’ most famous roles. It falls somewhat short of this, which is perhaps inevitable, given the caliber of some of the movies being referenced. Nevertheless, the sequel is definitely an improvement over the first entry and is sure to delight fans of these grizzled movie stars. Statham turns in one of the stronger performances as knife expert Lee Christmas, whom he described as “kind of a workingman’s hero […] A guy you’d want to go out and have a beer with.”

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7 ‘The Mechanic’

Released: 2011

“What I do requires a certain mindset.” In this one (a remake of a Charles Bronson flick), Statham plays Arthur Bishop, a skilled hitman known for his meticulous methods and cold demeanor. He reluctantly takes the young Steve (Ben Foster) under his wing, training him in the art of assassination. Steve is the son of Bishop’s friend and mentor, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland). His father has just been murdered, and he’s out for revenge. However, what Steve doesn’t know is that Bishop was the one who killed him.

This tension about the secret of Harry’s death forms the dramatic heart of the movie. Bishop begins digging deeper into the hit and starts to suspect that his employer may be manipulating him. Soon, Bishop and Steve are facing down hordes of henchmen. As with Safe, The Mechanic is somewhat formulaic but compensates with intense action sequences, impressive stunts, and Statham’s signature brand of tough-as-nails charisma.

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6 ‘The Beekeeper’

Released: 2024

“I protect the hive. Sometimes I use fire to smoke out hornets.” Statham’s latest project sees him taking on the role of Adam Clay, a retired special operative now leading a quiet life as a beekeeper in rural Massachusetts. After his landlady and friend Eloise (Phylicia Rashad) is scammed and commits suicide, Clay takes up arms once again for revenge.

As he investigates, he gets drawn into a shady world of criminals and twisted government agents. At the center of the web is the slimy, druggy Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson), the ne’er-do-well son of the current President of the United States. Hutcherson is enjoyable in the part, as is Jeremy Irons as CIA director Wallace Westwyld. Statham is also obviously excellent as this kind of character. As a result, The Beekeeper was another solid commercial success, bringing in $144 million on a budget of $40 million. Sure, it may just be John Wick with bees, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

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5 ‘The Italian Job’

Released: 2003

“Unlike you, my friend, I don’t need a guide book.” This American remake of the 1969 British cult classic features an ensemble cast including Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, and Donald Sutherland. Wahlberg is Charlie Croker, the leader of a team of master thieves. Statham joins him as Handsome Rob, the team’s getaway driver, and an inveterate ladies’ man. The movie begins with the team pulling off an elaborate gold heist, only for their associate Steve (Norton) to betray them and keep the loot for himself.

Seeking revenge, Charlie assembles a new crew, recruiting a safecracker and computer expert, to steal back the gold and settle the score. Naturally, this leads to all manner of mayhem and a wealth of high-octane sequences. The Italian Job is well-made, with a terrific opening heist scene, some great high-speed chases through city streets, and, of course, the intricate maneuvers involving several Mini Coopers. It’s, quite simply, quintessential early aughts action.

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4 ‘The Transporter’

Released: 2002

“Rule #1. Never change the deal.” Frank Martin (Statham) is a skilled and enigmatic driver for hire. Operating by a strict code of conduct and three inviolable rules, Frank delivers packages without question or curiosity, until one day he breaks his own rules by opening a package he’s transporting and discovering a bound and gagged woman inside. This decision thrusts him into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with criminals and corrupt officials who will stop at nothing to reclaim their cargo.

The storytelling may be a little slight here, but finely-tuned action and an impressively physical performance from Statham win the day. The Transporter performed strongly at the box office and went a long way toward establishing Statham’s action-hero image, paving the way for the more high-profile projects that would follow. It also marked a solid feature debut for director Louis Leterrier, who most recently helmed Fast X.

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3 ‘Furious 7’

Released: 2015

“You never should have messed with a man’s family.” Statham has a significant role in the Fast and Furious franchise as Deckard Shaw, an ex-special forces soldier turned mercenary with a litany of deadly talents. In this film, he’s seeking to get revenge on Dom’s (Vin Diesel) crew after they land his brother Owen (Luke Evans) in a coma. In contrast to the later movies, where Deckard becomes an ally to the main characters, in this one he’s the antagonist. It’s fun to watch him going up against Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne Johnson.

The anti-hero character plays to Statham’s strengths and his performances in the Fast and Furious movies have generally been praised.Furious 7 was Statham’s first full-fledged role in the franchise following his cameo in the previous film, and it represented a big step forward for him into the upper tier of spectacle filmmaking. As he explains: “A lot of the movies I do are independently financed […] I was thinking probably half of my career could be jammed into the budget of this Furious 7.”

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2 ‘The Bank Job’

Released: 2008

Inspired by real events, The Bank Job follows a group of amateur criminals led by struggling car salesman Terry Leather (Statham), who are approached by a former model named Martine Love (Saffron Burrows), with a daring plan to rob a bank vault. Unbeknownst to Terry and his crew, the bank’s safety deposit boxes contain compromising photographs and documents that could expose the secrets of powerful figures in British society, including members of parliament and royalty.

As they execute the heist, the crew quickly realize they’ve bitten off more than they can chew, drawing the attention of both the police and gangsters. They must marshal all their wits to make it out of the situation alive. The result is B-movie fare done right, with a great sense of fun and a twisty plot that unfolds at a breakneck pace. There are many scenes to enjoy here, like the crew’s ingenious scheme to rent a leather shop near the vault, tunnel beneath, and then break through with a thermal lance (all the more epic because something similar really happened).

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1 ‘Crank’

Released: 2006

Statham delivers his defining performance in Crank as hitman Chev Chelios, who wakes up one day to discover that he has been injected with a synthetic drug that will kill him if his heart rate drops below a certain level. Determined to stay alive and take revenge against those who poisoned him, Chev embarks on a frantic and chaotic rampage through the streets of Los Angeles that must perpetually keep his adrenaline pumping.

As he races to find an antidote, Chev leaves a trail of destruction in his wake, encountering eccentric characters and engaging in outrageous stunts along the way. Crank just keeps upping the ante as it rolls along, with Chev’s attempts at raising his heart rate getting wilder and wilder. Fueled by relentless action and dark humor, Crank is pure fun from start to finish and the perfect showcase of everything that makes Statham entertaining as a performer. It crams an unbelievable amount of mayhem into its 88-minute runtime.

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NEXT: The 15 Best Action Movies of 2023, Ranked