With actor Jason Statham’s new giant-shark movie, “The Meg,” in theaters this weekend, we’ve looked back at the action star’s filmography to see which of his movies are the best — and worst.
Turns out, he’s been in a lot of bad movies, at least according to critics. But he’s also one of Hollywood’s most consistent leading men in action movies, and is synonymous with the genre.
We ranked all of Statham’s movies based on Rotten Tomatoes critic scores, and broke any ties with audience scores. We didn’t include movies where he is listed in uncredited roles on IMDb, and his 2005 movie “Chaos” didn’t have a critic score.
Below are 38 Jason Statham movies, ranked from worst to best according to critics:
38. “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” (2008)
Freestyle Releasing
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 4%
Description: “A man named Farmer sets out to rescue his kidnapped wife and avenge the death of his son – two acts committed by the Krugs, a race of animal-warriors who are controlled by the evil Gallian.”
37. “Turn It Up” (2000)
New Line Cinema
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 8%
Audience score: 28%
Description: “Turn It Up is an explosive contemporary drama about a gifted musician’s struggle to rise above the crime-plagued urban streets and realize his dream. Diamond (“Pras” of the Fugees and Mystery Men) is unwittingly drawn into the world of drug-running by his childhood friend Gage (rapper Ja Rule, Backstage). The sudden death of Diamond’s mother, and the untimely pregnancy of his girlfriend, force Diamond to make hard choices about his life and the people around him. His estranged father (Vondie Curtis Hall, Eve’s Bayou, Gridlock’d, T.V.’s Chicago Hope) re-enters Diamond’s life looking for reconciliation. Diamond devotes himself to his music and finds support and true inspiration in unexpected places.”
36. “13” (2011)
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 8%
Audience score: 34%
Description: “A naïve young man assumes a dead man’s identity in order to join an underground game of Russian roulette. He finds himself embroiled in an underworld labyrinth of power, violence, and luck. The stakes are high, but the payout is more than he can resist. His only collateral is his life and however long his luck can hold. Are his odds any better than any other player in this most deadly game?”
35. “The One” (2001)
Sony
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 14%
Audience score: 51% (100,699 user ratings)
Description: “In a stunning dual role, international action star Jet Li portrays Gabriel Yulaw, a police officer confronted with a sinister form of himself escaped from an advanced, parallel universe and intent on killing Gabriel. His alter ego’s hunt culminates in a fateful battle between good and evil that changes Gabriel’s perception of reality and forces him to examine the evil hidden within himself. The One features riveting martial arts and innovative special effects.”
34. “War” (2007)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 14%
Audience score: 51% (293,169 user ratings)
Description: “FBI agent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) is obsessed with avenging the murder of his partner by the notorious assassin known only as Rogue (Jet Li). Jack’s persistence pays off but leads him into a newly ignited war between rival Asian gangs. As Rogue manipulates the situation, Jack’s true colors and wrath come to life. The true war is between two rivals who think they stand for good and evil.”
33. “London” (2006)
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 14%
Audience score: 60%
Description: “This twisted and obsessive love story follows Syd (Chris Evans), a strung-out, wealthy 20-something whose life is about to go from meaningless to futile. After a massive binging and drug spree, he awakes to the news that he is about to lose his “one true love” London (Jessica Biel) forever: Syd’s ex-girlfriend is moving from New York to Los Angeles. Syd has one more chance to win her back, tonight, at her going-away party. Syd stocks up on cocaine and goes off to the party with Bateman (Jason Statham), a young English banker/part time drug dealer he’s just met. Throughout the evening, however — punctuated by regular drug breaks in the bathroom — we discover that Syd’s relationship problems involve more than friction with his girlfriend. Is there a light at the end of his tunnel?”
32. “Revolver” (2005)
Sony
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 16%
Description: “Jake is a hotshot gambler who always wins. When he wins a game against with Macha, a crime boss and casino owner, he puts out an order for a hit on Jake. Jake winds up being protected by two brothers who have their own vendetta against Macha.”
31. “Ghosts of Mars” (2001)
Columbia
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 21%
Description: “From John Carpenter, the master of horror behind 1998’s hit John Carpenter’s Vampires and classics like The Thing and Halloween, comes a sci-fi thriller full of explosive action and bone-chilling suspense. Natasha Henstridge (Species) is Melanie Ballard, a headstrong police lieutenant on Mars in the year 2025. Humans have been colonizing and mining on the red planet for some time, but when Ballard and her squad are sent to a remote region to apprehend the dangerous criminal James “Desolation” Williams, played by Ice Cube (Three Kings), they discover that he’s the least of their worries. The mining operations have unleashed a deadly army of Martian spirits who take over the bodies of humans and won’t stop until they destroy all invaders of their planet.”
30. “Killer Elite” (2011)
Universal
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 25%
Description: “Jason Statham (The Italian Job), Academy Award nominee Clive Owen (Inside Man) and Academy Award winner Robert De Niro (Raging Bull) star in Killer Elite, “one of the best action thrillers of the year!” (Richard Roeper) When two of the world’s most elite operatives — Danny, a retired contract killer (Statham), and Hunter, his longtime mentor (De Niro) — go up against the cunning leader of a secret military society (Owen), their hunt takes them around the globe from Australia to Paris, London, and the Middle East. As the stakes rise along with the body count, Danny and Hunter are soon plunged into an action-packed game of cat-and-mouse where no one is what they seem. Based on a shocking true story, it’s an explosive, no-mercy thrill ride where the predator ultimately becomes the prey.”
29. “Wild Card” (2015)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 31%
Audience score: 29%
Description: “Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal professional skills and a personal gambling problem. When his friend is beaten by a sadistic thug, Nick strikes back, only to find out the thug is the son of a powerful mob boss. Suddenly, Nick is plunged into the criminal underworld, chased by enforcers and wanted by the mob. Now, Nick has one last play to change his fortunes…and this time, it’s all or nothing.”
28. “Mechanic: Resurrection” (2016)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 31%
Audience score: 40%
Description: “Arthur Bishop [Jason Statham] returns as the Mechanic in the sequel to the 2011 action thriller. When the deceitful actions of a cunning but beautiful woman [Jessica Alba] force him to return to the life he left behind, Bishop’s life is once again in danger as he has to complete an impossible list of assassinations of the most dangerous men in the world.”
27. “Expendables 3” (2014)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 32%
Description: “In THE EXPENDABLES 3, Barney (Stallone) faces off with an old enemy and must fight old blood with new blood, bringing in a new era of Expendables who are younger and faster. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in The Expendables’ most personal battle yet.”
26. “Mean Machine” (2002)
Paramount
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 34%
Description: “Vinnie Jones is Danny Meehan, a football superstar who had it all: the money, the fast cars and the super model girlfriend. But now he’s all washed up and when he’s put inside for punching a cop things go from bad to worse. The football mad commissioner organises a one-off game — the wardens against the inmates — and he’s got to turn a bunch of out-of-shape reprobates into a winning team.”
25. “Transporter 3” (2008)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 39%
Description: “Frank Martin puts the driving gloves on to deliver Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of a Ukranian government official, from Marseilles to Odessa on the Black Sea. En route, he has to contend with thugs who want to intercept Valentina’s safe delivery and not let his personal feelings get in the way of his dangerous objective. Starring Jason Statham, Robert Knepper, and Natalya Rudakova.”
24. “Parker” (2013)
FilmDistrict
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 40%
Description: “Parker (Jason Statham) is a professional thief who lives by a personal code of ethics: Don’t steal from people who can’t afford it and don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it. But on his latest heist, his crew double crosses him, steals his stash, and leaves him for dead. Determined to make sure they regret it, Parker tracks them to Palm Beach, playground of the rich and famous, where the crew is planning their biggest heist ever. Donning the disguise of a rich Texan, Parker takes on an unlikely partner, Leslie (Jennifer Lopez), a savvy insider, who’s short on cash, but big on looks, smarts and ambition. Together, they devise a plan to hijack the score, take everyone down and get away clean.”
23. “Death Race” (2008)
Universal
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 42%
Audience score: 60%
Description: “Welcome to the Death Race, where hardened convicts and smoking-hot navigators race tricked-out cars in the most twisted spectator sport on Earth! Sentenced to the world’s most dangerous prison for a murder he did not commit, Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) has only one chance to get out alive – win the ultimate race to the death.”
22. “Homefront” (2013)
Millenium Films
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 42%
Audience score: 61%
Description: “Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder and Kate Bosworth star in this action-packed thriller about how far one man will go to protect his family. Widowed ex-DEA agent Phil Broker (Jason Statham) retires to a quiet Southern town with his 10-year-old daughter and discovers that the idyllic setting is riddled with drugs and violence. When a riveting chain of events forces him to face off with psychotic local drug lord Gator Bodine (James Franco), Broker must retaliate using the fearsome skills he hoped to keep in his past.”
21. “The Expendables” (2010)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 42%
Audience score: 64%
Description: “Sylvester Stallone stars as Barney Ross leader of the Expendables a tight-knit team of skilled combat vets turned mercenaries. Hired by a powerful covert operator|the team jets off to a small South American country to overthrow a ruthless dictator. Once there they find themselves caught in a deadly web of deceit and betrayal. Using every weapon at their disposal they set out to save the innocent and punish the guilty in this blistering action-packed thriller.”
20. “Blitz” (2011)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 48%
Description: “Tough, uncompromising and totally un-PC London cop Brant (Jason Statham) joins forces with openly gay policeman DC Porter Nash (Paddy Considine) to hunt down an at large serial cop killer (Aiden Gillen). A fast-paced thriller set in contemporary London BLITZ reflects the challenges faced by a group of police officers working in a modern, multi-cultural society. A raw, gritty tale of moral ambiguity, outsiders and the sacrifices the police make to keep crime off British streets.”
19. “Redemption” (2013)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 50%
Description: “Jason Statham stars as an ex-Special Forces officer who comes home from the Afghan war a shattered man. Broke, homeless and lost in a haze of drugs and booze, Joseph Smith attempts to piece his life back together. But while employed as a collector for a local mob boss, he quickly learns the identity of a friend’s murderer and, bent on revenge, finds himself sinking deeper into a dark world of violence in this high-octane action-thriller.”
18. “Transporter 2” (2005)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 51%
Audience score: 58%
Description: “The best in the business is back in the game! Jason Statham returns in his signature role as ex-Special Forces operative Frank Martin aka ‘The Transporter.’ Now retired from his chosen profession of moving dangerous goods with no questions asked, he makes a living driving for a wealthy family in Miami, Florida. But when their young son is abducted, Frank must use his battle-tested combat skills to save the boy and thwart the kidnapper’s nefarious master plan.”
17. “The Meg” (2018)
Warner Bros.
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 51% (as of Friday afternoon)
Audience score: 60%
Description: “In the film, a deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.”
16. “The Mechanic” (2011)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 52%
Audience score: 51%
Description: “A talented hitman hired by the board of trustees of a large financial firm has a crisis of conscience when the firm orders him to take out his own protege.”
15. “The Transporter” (2002)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 54%
Description: “Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is the best at what he does: transporting dangerous or illegal goods with no questions asked. But his last shipment, a beautiful young woman kidnapped by international slave traders, brings deadly complications to his delivery plans. Now Frank must kick into overdrive in a nonstop action-packed fight to save his precious cargo – and his life.”
14. “Cellular” (2004)
New Line Cinema
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 55%
Description: “What if you received a call on your cell phone from a frantic stranger begging you to help save her life? Academy Award winner Kim Basinger stars as kidnapping victim Jessica Martin. A random wrong number on his cell phone sends Ryan (Chris Evans) into a world of deception and murder–and a race to save Jessica, a woman he knows only as the hushed, fearful voice on the other end of a tenuous cell phone connection in the action thriller Cellular.”
13. “Gnomeo & Juliet” (2011)
Touchstone
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 56%
Description: “In the animated comedy adventure “Gnomeo & Juliet,” Shakespeare’s revered tale gets a comical, off-the-wall-makeover. Directed by Kelly Asbury and showcasing both classic and original songs by Elton John, the film features the voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt as Gnomeo and Juliet, who have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. But with a plastic pink flamingo and thrilling lawnmower races in the mix, can this young couple find lasting happiness?”
12. “Safe” (2012)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 57%
Description: “When a second-rate cage fighter, Luke Wright, is tormented by the Russian Mafia and wanders the streets of New York, he witnesses a young Chinese girl Mei, being pursued by the same mafia who want her for a priceless numerical code that they would kill for.”
11. “Crank” (2006)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 61%
Description: “When the hit-man Chev Chelios is poisoned by the criminal Verona, his friend and doctor Miles advises him that he must keep his adrenaline levels elevated to stay alive. Chev meets his girlfriend Eve and together they look for Verona to kill him.”
10. “Crank 2: High Voltage”
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 64%
Description: “You can’t keep a good man down. Jason Statham is back as Chev Chelios — this time to retrieve his stolen heart (that’s right, he’s running on battery power).”
9. “Expendables 2”
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 66%
Description: “The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal… Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) — with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard — are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time — five tons of weapons-grade plutonium, far more than enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way….”
8. “The Fate of the Furious” (2017)
YouTube/Universal
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 67%
Description: “Now that Dom and Letty are married and Brian and Mia have retired from the game — and the rest of the crew has been exonerated — the globetrotting team has found a semblance of a normal life. But when a mysterious woman seduces Dom into a world of crime he can’t seem to escape and a betrayal of those closest to him, they will face trails that will test them as never before.”
7. “The Italian Job” (2003)
Paramount
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 73%
Audience score: 80%
Description: “The plan was flawless. The execution was perfect. Charlie Croker pulled off the crime of a lifetime. The one thing that he didn’t plan on was being double-crossed. Now he wants more than the job’s payoff…he wants payback. Mark Wahlberg is electrifying as Croker in this “fast and furious action-adventure.”* Along with a drop-dead gorgeous safecracker (Charlize Theron), Croker and his team take off to re-steal the loot and end up in a pulse-pounding, pedal-to-the-metal chase that careens up, down, above and below the streets of Los Angeles.”
6. “Snatch” (2001)
Columbia
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 73%
Audience score: 93%
Description: “Pop violence provides the backdrop for this offbeat crime thriller. Frankie Four Fingers pulls off a massive diamond heist only to set in motion a chain of events that brings together small-time boxing promoter Turkish, big-time villain Bullet Tooth Tony and hard-as-nails gypsy Mickey O’Neill.”
5. “Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels” (1999)
Gramercy Pictures
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 77%
Description: “A streetwise card shark ends up owing a fortune to a powerful London crime boss, but in his scheme to get the money, and save his fingers, he’s a few tricks up his sleeve!”
4. “The Bank Job” (2008)
Lionsgate
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 79%
Description: “In September 1971, thieves tunneled into the vault of a bank in London’s Baker Street and looted safe deposit boxes of cash and jewelry worth millions and millions of pounds. None of it was recovered. Nobody was ever arrested. The robbery made headlines for a few days and then suddenly disappeared – the result of a UK Government ‘D’ Notice, gagging the press. This film reveals what was hidden in those boxes, involving murder, corruption and a sex scandal with links to the Royal Family – a story in which the thieves were the most innocent people involved.”
3. “Furious 7” (2015)
Universal
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 80%
Description: “Continuing the global exploits in the unstoppable franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of Fast & Furious 7. James Wan directs this chapter of the hugely successful series that also welcomes back favorites Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black. They are joined by international action stars new to the franchise including Jason Statham, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey and Kurt Russell. Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel and Michael Fottrell return to produce the film written by Chris Morgan.”
2. “Collateral” (2004)
Paramount
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 86%
Description: “Vincent (Tom Cruise) is a cool, calculating, contract killer at the top of his game. Max (Jamie Foxx) is a hapless cabbie with big dreams and little to show for it. Now, Max has to transport Vincent on his next job — one night, five stops, five hits and a getaway. And after this fateful night, neither man will ever be the same again.”
1. “Spy” (2015)
Fox
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 94%
Description: “Deskbound CIA analyst Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is about to become the world’s newest — and unlikeliest — secret weapon. When her partner (Jude Law) falls off the grid and another top agent (Jason Statham) is compromised, Susan volunteers to go deep undercover and bring down a deadly arms dealer. Loaded with wise-cracking humor, action and adventure, SPY is a mission impossible to resist!”
