Film Review: Hummingbird (15)

The last time Derbyshire-born hard man Jason Statham shed a tear on camera, he was probably recoiling from a swift kick to his expendables in one of the testosterone-fuelled action thrillers that have become his trademark.

By The Newsroom

Published 29th Jun 2013, 10:00 BST

Big guys, who single-handedly take down criminal fraternities and enjoy gratuitous sex scenes with gymnastic women, don’t cry.

Not in public anyway.

So it’s a revelation to find Statham laying himself emotionally bare in Hummingbird, a gritty portrait of life in present day London, which suggests there might be a decent actor behind the muscular physique and stubbled chin.

Joey Jones (Statham) sleeps rough with his friend Isabel (Victoria Bewick), hoping to forget about the military court martial that hangs over his head after a blood-soaked tour of duty. The couple are attacked by two thugs and Joey escapes by tumbling through the skylight of a luxury apartment, which is thankfully vacant. So Joey uses the flat as a base of operations to get his life back in order.

However, when Isabel’s lifeless body is dragged from the Thames, Joey’s thirst for pain returns and he vows to punish her killer.

Derbyshire London