Jason Stathamstill hasn’t appeared in a James Bond movie — and might never get to — soMechanic: Resurrectionis the closest thing to a Bond film starring Statham. Although he’s never been in a Bond film, Statham’s career has always been tangentially linked to Bond, because he’s a British action star who’s been fan-casted as a very different sort of 007.Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelsproved he could play a gritty, Timothy Dalton-style Bond, whileThe Megfilms have proven he could play a goofy, tongue-in-cheek, Roger Moore-style Bond.
Statham has expressed interest in making a Bond film— he even saidhe’s been WhatsApping Barbara Broccoli to try to get the opportunity to appear in the franchise— but so far, nothing has come of it. He’sparodied the Bond franchisein comedies likeSpyandOperation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, but he’s never been able to put his stamp on the official series. Until Broccoli replies to Statham’s messages, then he only has one movie that really comes close to doing 007.
How Jason Statham Made His Own James Bond Movie With Mechanic: Resurrection
Even Statham Himself Acknowledged The Comparison, And It Was Intentional
After the success ofStatham’s remake of the ‘70s Charles Bronson thrillerThe Mechanic,he was brought back to reprise his role as international hitman Arthur Bishop in a sequel,Mechanic: Resurrection, in 2016. The sequel follows on from Bishop faking his death at the end of the first film.His arch-nemesis kidnaps the love of his life to force him into carrying out three near-impossible assassinations across the globeand making them look like accidents.
8 Jason Statham Action Movies We Still Hope Get Sequels
Jason Statham has had a career jam-packed with exciting crime thrillers and intense action hits that still have plenty of life in them for sequels.
Unlike the first film, which was a more or less grounded thriller,Mechanic: Resurrectionis a big, Bond-style, globetrotting action-adventure about a trained killer traveling the world on a dangerous mission. It has a bunch of explosive set-pieces, a star-studded supporting cast featuring icons like Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones, and Michelle Yeoh, and it was shot in Thailand and Rio. Statham himself described the sequel (viaYahoo! News) as “our own little version” of a Bond movie.
Jason Statham Should Be In A James Bond Movie, But Not As 007
Statham Would Be Great For The Franchise
Jason Stathamshould be in at least one Bond movie — he has the ideal action movie sensibility for the franchise — but he might be too hard-edged to play Bond himself. Instead, he should playa Bond villain. Statham would be the perfect casting choice to play a suave, charismatic Bond villain who’s sort of the evil inversion of 007, like Sean Bean’s Alec Trevelyan fromGoldenEyeor Christopher Lee’s Scaramanga fromThe Man with the Golden Gun.
Mechanic: Resurrection
Cast
Arthur Bishop thought he had put his murderous past behind him when his most formidable foe kidnaps the love of his life. Now he is forced to travel the globe to complete three impossible assassinations, and do what he does best, make them look like accidents.
