Review: Hummingbird


Jason Statham stars as an emotionally and psychologically shattered ex-Special Forces soldier now basically a denizen of the streets, having gone AWOL for some hazy reasons. He was made into a killing machine by the military, but what good is that now that he’s back home and is still haunted by his actions? Statham is trying to make things right with the mother of his child, as well as trying to keep an eye on another homeless person whose whereabouts are currently unknown. He also forms an odd and unlikely bond with a compassionate nun (Agata Buzek) who works in the soup kitchen Statham (who also has a drinking problem) occasionally frequents. He’s clearly looking for redemption of some kind. Statham’s temper and violent tendencies occasionally get the better of him, though, and he also manages to land a disreputable gig working for a Chinese mobster. The latter is because he’s still trying to find out what happened to his friend. He’ll stop at nothing to find the truth.

 

Perhaps inspired by the earlier “Safe”, Jason Statham finds himself cast in an unusually vulnerable, tortured role in this nearly successful action/drama from 2013. Written and directed by Steven Knight (writer of “Amazing Grace” and more importantly “Eastern Promises”), Statham actually nails it this time, where in “Safe” he wasn’t quite up to the task. You definitely won’t have seen him quite as vulnerable as he allows himself to be here. He’s also well-matched by Agata Buzek as a compassionate nun, a very good performance from her, even if her character’s behaviour isn’t always plausible.

 

It’s an interesting and unexpected film (though maybe not if you were already aware that Knight wrote “Eastern Promises”), if a bit lumpy and disjointed for my liking. There’s not a whole lot of action, but when it comes, Statham sure is a mean fucker, isn’t he? He even engages in a bit of martial arts from time to time. The film also shows off some excellent London locales.

 

The film definitely has something with Statham’s shattered and disillusioned military-made machine of a man, but it’s not entirely successful (much like “Safe”, really). Statham die-hards are warned, but the curious might find it interesting to see him doing something a little different.

 

Rating: C+

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