We all know The Stath is a certified badass; that goes without saying. He can use such things as his shirt as a weapon, hell he can even use a hose to beat up a barrage of inept henchmen. But Jason Statham’s crowning glory is that fact that he always has a quip like the action stars of yesteryear.
One of my favourites has to be in The Transporter 3:
Johnson: “Frank, I’d like to offer you a position”
Frank Martin: “I’d like to offer you a position, permanently disabled!”
First time I saw the movie I roared with laughter and also cheered because it was the kind of old school one-liner I love.
Another fave is from Safe:
Bad Guy: “You’ve got some balls, Luke”
Luke: “Amazing I can even walk!”
Everyone thinks that Statham always has the scowl on his face (he does) but he also has that little twinkle in the eye like Arnie and Sly have when delivering the cheesy one-liners.
The Expendables movies give Statham some of the best lines like “Next time I’ll deflate all your balls… friend” or “I now pronounce you man and knife”.
To be an action star you just HAVE to be able to deliver the one-liner, usually after killing someone horribly.
Here’s a select few of his one-liners although frankly most of his best are missing, but it does have The Expendables lines.
So a tip of the hat to Jason Statham for keeping the one-liner alive and well.