“A Working Man” is exactly what you would expect from a Jason Statham movie. This is not a criticism in and of itself, since this high-octane film delivers on the action and mayhem front. The plot has some weak spots with scenes that could have been cut in the editing process. In addition, the connections between the Russian mobsters and everyday criminals sometimes is confusing.

Levon Cade (Jason Statham) is a foreman at a construction company owned by Joe (Michael Pena) and Carla Garcia (Noemi Gonzalez) in the Chicago area. Their daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas) is in college and helping with the books. It is clear that Levon has a strong bond with this family.

When one of Levon’s workers is assaulted by outside gang members, Levon asks them to stop. They ignore him and the former Royal Marine soldier lets them have it. More lowlifes show up but eventually are intimidated into retreating.

Levon has a daughter, Merry (Isla Gie), who lives with her grandfather, Jordan Roth (Richard Heap), a doctor, at a palatial home. Dr. Roth is the father of Levon’s dead wife. He is fighting to limit Levon’s visitation rights, already severely restricted, due to Levon’s violent propensities.

Jenny asks her parents for money to celebrate finishing her first semester of college. When the evening of the excursion arrives, her girlfriends and she use fake ID’s to get into bars.

At one such bar, she is being watched by Viper (Emmett J. Scanlan) and Artemis (Eve Mauro). They work for Dimi (Maximilian Osinski), a Russian mobster who selects unwitting victims for sexual exploitation by his clients. Jenny is abducted by the two underlings.

Some days later, Jenny’s family is distraught over her disappearance. No ransom note has appeared. Her parents beg Levon to use his skills to locate her.

Levon uses social media to track Jenny’s last known location. While there, he notices the bartender engaging in illegal activity. Later he appears at this person’s home. Breaking in, Levon confronts the man about Jenny’s whereabouts. He doesn’t get concrete information before two Russian associates show up. A shootout occurs and Levon is the last man standing.

Later, as the bodies are cleaned up, Levon tracks the Russian boss Wolo (Jason Flemyng) back to his home. There he ties Wolo to a chair to get information. Wolo cannot believe that Levon is getting involved with the Brotherhood. When asked about Jenny, he mentions the name Dimi before being killed by Levon.

Levon goes to visit his former associate, Gunny (David Harbour). Gunny lives in a remote cabin filled with an arsenal of weapons. He now is blind. Levon asks for permission to pursue the thugs who have abducted Jenny. Of course permission is granted.

As Levon becomes more involved, he poses as a drug dealer to get closer to Dimi. This is easier said than done as Dimi is quite cautious. Soon Levon will have to deal with crooked cops and Wolo’s nephews, among others who wish to kill him.

This movie is based on a book, “Levon’s Trade,” by Chuck Dixon. According to the production notes, Sylvester Stallone originally wanted to adapt the work into a television series. Eventually he decided to go the film route. Director David Ayer (“The Beekeeper,” “End of Watch”) co-wrote the screenplay with Stallone.

There are many layers to the criminal organization with which Levon has to deal. This creates a challenge of multiple characters to keep track of, and trying to figure out how they fit into the overall hierarchy. The movie has a tendency to jump around from the mobsters to Levon and back again, which is confusing at times.

The custody plot seemed as well to be an unnecessary addition to the story. Its point seems to be to establish Levon as a nice family guy, who only commits violence when forced to do so. The facts that he works at a legitimate construction job and decides to go after Jenny, who is like family to him, is sufficient to provide him with his bona fides without adding the custody case.

In general, the title “A Working Man” seems to have caused the filmmakers to try to emphasize Levon’s ordinariness to excess. Once you have added these establishing scenes, then you have to resolve them, which balloons the running time unnecessarily.

I also think that the title is poor, as it tells you nothing about the film’s subject matter. But the same can be said for the title of Ayer’s previous film “The Beekeeper.”

Yet then there are the action scenes. These all are top-notch. From shooting a hole in someone’s hand to the incredible finale, the violence and mayhem are what you expect from a Jason Statham picture. The creativity in finding new ways to harm someone has to be admired.

I was impressed that the screenwriters decided to show Jenny’s character as a fighter rather than a passive victim. Indeed, the production notes indicate that Rivas has a background in gymnastics. Her portrayal of Jenny is tempered by the fact that she doesn’t get a lot of screen time.

In fact, the acting is adequate but not extraordinary in general. Statham always is very professional and hits his marks. Here he seems more centered in his beliefs and mission than in some of his other portrayals.

Michael Pena and David Harbour are hardly in the movie at all. I am not sure what value having Harbour’s character brought to the film. His female companion is treated as a complete non-entity. This is another reason why these scenes could have been excised from the picture.

While we see the Chicago skyline every so often, the movie was mostly filmed in the United Kingdom. I did not get a sense of place at all from the screenplay. It could have been shot in Anywhere, USA.

This film is too violent for small children. If you can be patient and sit through some unnecessary plot points, you will be rewarded with great visual effects, seeing bad guys get what’s coming to them, and primo action. I can’t help but enjoy any Jason Statham picture.

Three and a half out of five stars

Levon Cade (Statham) left his “profession” behind to live a simple life working construction and spending time with his daughter. But when his boss’s teenage daughter vanishes, he’s called upon to re-employ the skills that made him a legendary figure in the shadowy world of black ops. Levon’s hunt for the missing college student takes him to the heart of a sinister criminal conspiracy creating a chain reaction that will threaten his new way of life.

Starring: Jason Statham, Jason Flemyng, Merab Ninidze, Maximilian Osinski, Cokey Falkow with Michael Peña and David Harbour, Noemi Gonzalez, Arianna Rivas, Emmett J. Scanlan, Eve Mauro
Directed By: David Ayer
Screenplay By: Screenplay by Sylvester Stallone and David Ayer
Based the book “Levon’s Trade” by Chuck Dixon