After 26 years of acting, Jason Statham has grown into one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, yet his most critically successful movie highlights a surprising reality of the 57-year-old’s career. While he has featured in some interesting non-action roles, Jason Statham is primarily known for his action movie appearances. After making his debut in the genre in John Carpenter’s explosive sci-fi horror The Ghosts of Mars, Statham has kickstarted several popular action movie franchises and featured in multiple standalone projects. Yet this success belies an unexpected trend – typified by his highest-rated film.

Jason Statham’s movies haven’t always been critical hits. While he is now established as a box office draw, the majority of his movies – including many of his most commercially successful – have a negative score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. This makes any Jason Statham movie with critical acclaim really stand out. And yet, beyond being impressive in isolation, a closer look at Statham’s “best” film to date reveals two distinct attributes that could, if exploited, help him become even more successful.

Spy Proves Jason Statham Is Better As A Supporting Actor

With a 95% “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Jason Statham’s best-received movie to date is by far and away the 2015 action-comedy Spy. Starring Melissa McCarthy, the film is an irreverent send-up of many of the most well-worn tropes in the spy genre. McCarthy plays a bumbling agent who, despite appearances, excels at fieldwork, proving pivotal in a dangerous mission to bring down a major terrorist threat. Yet what’s most surprising about the film is that, despite his long-established action credentials, Jason Statham is relegated to a supporting role – a part he excels in.

This is the first and primary truth about Jason Statham’s career that Spy reveals. Contrary to his usual screen persona of a robotic and unstoppable killing machine, he is perfectly employed as the ultra-masculine Ford – hilariously flouncing off in protest when McCarthy’s Susan Cooper is selected for a mission ahead of him. Throughout the narrative, he shows up to put a spanner in the works, ruining well-laid plans with an ill-timed display of machismo. The fact that he is so effective in comparatively small doses demonstrates the wider truth that Statham is at his best when he doesn’t have to carry a film on his own.

Many Of Statham’s Best Movies Have Been As A Supporting Actor

For all his success as a leading action star and reputation for playing brooding, dangerous, and highly-skilled lone wolves, most of Statham’s best films have seen him take a back seat as part of an ensemble. Whether it’s in Spy, Furious 7, or earlier action hits like The Italian Job, it’s a trend reflected across his highest-rated movies that Statham films succeed when he plays a supporting role. This sits uncomfortably with the perception of Statham as a charismatic leading man. Nevertheless, a closer look at his most critically successful films makes the reality undeniable.

Even in successful films where Statham has top-billing, such as The Bank Job and The Expendables saga, it’s notable that he is still just part of a collective. Purely taking critical scores into account, his best-performing solo venture is 2024’s The Beekeeper – the only movie where he has unequivocal top-billing in his top-10 highest-rated films. Even in a project like Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, he still shares the limelight with Dwayne Johnson.

Interestingly, this situation continues a trend established early in Jason Statham’s career. Hits like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch both featured Statham in a more peripheral role, rather than leading the cast. In stark contrast to the more mixed critical reception to popular Statham leading man projects like The Transporter and The Mechanic, these movies have been almost universally well-received, further highlighting the discrepancy between his ensemble and solo work.

Statham Thrives When He Doesn’t Take Himself Too Seriously

The second interesting truth that Spy highlights – alongside other of Statham’s biggest hits – is that the actor’s best movies often lean into his less-serious comedic side. Except for Jason Statham’s villainous turn in Furious 7 and tense performance in The Bank Job, well-received Statham films like Snatch, Lock, Stock, Hobbs & Shaw, and the Crank movies all benefit from his ability to poke fun at the tropes that have defined much of his career. As the ludicrous Rick Ford, Jason Statham’s performance in Spy is the embodiment of this trend.

By contrast, many of Jason Statham’s least critically and commercially successful movies suffer from a sense of humor failure. Panned projects like the ill-fated Statham/Guy Ritchie collaborationRevolver and Uwe Böll’s In The Name of the King all take themselves far too seriously – even without factoring in their other flaws. All this suggests that, if Jason Statham is picking projects based on their chance of critical success, his best move is to look at ensemble projects with a gently comedic edge.

Why Jason Statham Won’t Always Play To His Strengths

The trends throughout his career confirm that more light-hearted supporting roles offer Jason Statham’s best option for critical success. However, while this reality has been evident from his earliest roles, there is no chance that the superstar will stick to what has brought him his greatest success. Although his films haven’t always been a hit critically, he has had huge commercial success with his solo action movies, firmly establishing himself as one of the genre’s leading lights. Considering his reputation in the genre, he’s unlikely to abandon action films to pursue more critical consistency.

It’s also crucial to note that, while his best films feature comedic ensembles, Jason Statham has had critical success by himself. The Beekeeper, for instance, was hugely popular with both critics and audiences, while Statham also had success with the Guy Ritchie project Wrath of Man. With another solo action venture in the pipeline for 2025 (the Sylvester Stallone-written Levon’s Trade), Jason Statham will continue to have a high profile as a leading man. Despite this, however, it’s still worth noting the career truths highlighted by his success in Spy.