Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2014

Jason Statham’s continuing search for more meaningful, realist social drama unfortunately often ends up just disappointing his action fans and boring everyone else. This time he’s a homeless Afghanistan vet living on the street in London. He cleans himself up, goes to work as a leg-breaker for a Chinese crime boss, befriends (and more) a conflicted nun (Agata Buzek) and seeks retribution for the sadistic murder of a prostitute friend. Barrel o’ laughs, this one. It’s a shapeless, occasionally violent film flavored with pompous religiosity that frequently gets lost in its own symbolism. AKA Redemption. (100 min)