Jason Statham is one of the most recognizable action stars of this century, but his highest-rated film is actually a comedy. Jason Statham’s filmography includes popular franchises such as Fast & Furious, The Expendables, and The Mechanic, in addition to a plethora of standalone action movies. While the actor does prioritize action films over other genres, Statham has also appeared in several comedy movies. Statham’s best comedy movies include Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Mean Machine, and a 2015 film with 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Upon its release, Spy became Statham’s highest-rated movie. In addition to Statham, the cast of Spy includes Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, and Bobby Cannavale. While there are some action sequences in the film, Spy is more of a traditional comedy film that follows CIA analyst Susan Cooper as she leaves her desk and goes undercover as a spy to get revenge for the death of her colleague. Statham is hilarious in Spy, and further proves that action stars can excel in comedy movies.
Jason Statham’s Spy Is A Reminder That Action Stars Are Made For Comedies
Jason Statham Is A Standout In Spy
Even though Statham wasn’t necessarily used to starring in traditional comedy movies when he signed on for Spy, it was still a somewhat familiar role for him since he plays a CIA agent in the movie. In Spy, Statham plays Rick Ford, an agent who protests about Susan being sent undercover and decides to quit after she is chosen. Even though he quits the CIA, Ford also works the case as a rogue agent, and constantly bickers with Susan throughout the movie.
The banter between Statham’s Ford and McCarthy’s Susan make for some of the funniest moments in Spy. For example, Statham’s character constantly tells Susan about the absurd things he has survived, such as jumping from a high-rise building with only a raincoat as a parachute. Ford acts like he is a competent spy, but in reality, he messes up the mission way more than Susan. Ford constantly failing in Spy shows a completely different side of Statham, and proves that he has a lot of range as an actor.
Stallone, Schwarzenegger, And Other Action Heroes Always Shined In Comedies
Action Stars From the 80s & 90s Starred In Many Comedies
It is clear that Statham has modeled his career after some of his action hero role models, such as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Therefore, after years of starring in intense action movies, it made perfect sense for Statham to star in a more traditional comedy. After becoming known as two of the biggest action stars in the world, both Stallone and Schwarzenegger starred in comedy movies, as well.
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Jason Statham’s Highest-Rated Film Continued An Action Movie Trend That Hollywood Should Never Get Rid Of
Spy surprisingly became the highest-rated movie of Jason Statham’s career, and proved that the action star should appear in more comedy films.
Stallone starred in several comedy movies in the 1990s, such as Oscar and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot You. Neither of these films were well-received, but they did prove that Stallone is capable of being a comedy star. Schwarzenegger, on the other hand, made multiple comedy films that were much bigger successes. Schwarzenegger starred in comedy movies like Twins and Kindergarten Cop, which proved that one of the most iconic action stars of all time also had a silly side. Other action movie heroes from Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s era, such as Bruce Willis, also excelled in comedy movies.
Action Stars Doing Silly Comedies Is Becoming Less Common In Hollywood
Traditional Comedy Films Are Less Common Nowadays
While the aforementioned actors made it common for action movie stars to also appear in comedy films, this trend has become less common in Hollywood. Even Statham, who proved that he can be hilarious in Spy, hasn’t really done a true comedy movie since. This is very unfortunate, but action stars do fewer comedies nowadays because the landscape of the industry has changed a lot. Nowadays, most comedy films go straight to streaming, which is less appealing for certain actors.
A lot of modern-day action stars like Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel have avoided making comedy films in recent years, since they haven’t been as successful as franchise films.
Furthermore, what it means to be an “action star” has changed a lot in recent years. It has been argued that characters and IPs are now the true stars, rather than the actors. Therefore, a lot of modern-day action stars like Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel have avoided making comedy films in recent years, since they haven’t been as successful as franchise films. While it is exciting to see action stars together in franchises, it is also bittersweet, since many of them could likely excel in standalone comedy films, just like Jason Statham did in Spy.
Written and directed by Paul Feig, 2015’s Spy features Jason Statham, Jude Law, and Melissa McCarthy in an Action, Comedy, and Spy setting. McCarthy plays a CIA employee relegated to a desk that helps her field agent partner remotely until she’s forced into action to help keep everyone safe.
- Release Date
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June 15, 2015
- Runtime
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120 Minutes
- Director
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Paul Feig
- Writers
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Paul Feig
- Budget
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$65 million
- Studio(s)
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20th Century
- Distributor(s)
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20th Century