7 best movies to watch if you like A Working Man

2025 action-thriller A Working Man has re-ignited the appetite for stories about quiet men with violent pasts who pick up their tools of war one last time to rescue the innocent. The film centers on Jason Statham’s Levon Cade, a construction foreman and ex-Royal Marine.

He follows a lineage of cinematic vigilantes whose deadliest skill sets hide behind blue-collar humility. A Working Man mixes brutal hand-to-hand fights, Eastern European mafia villains, and a personal stake that bypasses bureaucratic red tape, placing it in a sub-genre that audiences never tire of revisiting.

For the viewers of A Working Man who left the theater craving more tales of ordinary paycheck earners who reveal extraordinary lethality, the following seven films deliver the same adrenaline rush. Each film follows an ordinary worker who turns into an investigator and avenger, mixing patience with brutal action.

Disclaimer: The following movies are ranked in no particular order. This article solely contains the writer’s opinion.

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Taken, John Wick, and 5 other must-watch movies for fans of A Working Man

1) Taken (2008)

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/20th Century Studios)

Former CIA field agent Bryan Mills has retired to Los Angeles to rebuild a relationship with his teenage daughter, Kim. When Albanian sex traffickers abduct Kim while on vacation in Paris, Mills has 96 hours to act.

He uses his very particular set of skills to hunt the kidnappers across Europe and bring her home alive. Director Pierre Morel’s lean thriller turns Liam Neeson into an unlikely action icon and redefines the “dad on a warpath” template that A Working Man now continues.

Taken excels in showing how spy techniques translate to civilian streets, as Mills forges alliances with old colleagues and methodically works up the criminal food chain. This step-by-step approach mirrors Levon Cade’s dismantling of the Bratva pipeline in A Working Man.

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2) John Wick (2014)

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/Lionsgate Movies)

Legendary hitman John Wick, long retired to a quiet suburban life, loses his wife to illness. When Russian mobsters steal his vintage Mustang and kill the puppy his late wife left him, Wick is pushed over the edge.

He re-enters the criminal underworld, igniting a one-man war against New York’s most powerful syndicate. Director Chad Stahelski’s stylish action film redefines action cinematography, yet its emotional engine is identical to A Working Man: grief weaponized.

The puppy, Daisy, is the final gift from a spouse who wanted Wick to rediscover humanity. The Continental Hotel’s structured criminal world parallels the Bratva’s hierarchy that Levon maps, and Wick’s “gun-fu” combos echo Statham’s construction-site fights where nail guns replace traditional weapons.

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3) Nobody (2021)

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/Universal Pictures)

Hutch Mansell is an overlooked suburban dad with a dull office job until two burglars break into his home. Suppressed rage resurfaces, revealing a former “auditor” for three-letter agencies.

When he antagonizes Russian drug lord Yulian Kuznetsov, Hutch arms his retired FBI agent father and brother to protect his family. Director Ilya Naishuller’s film grounds its mayhem in middle-class ennui, and Hutch’s daily routine mirrors Levon Cade’s, camouflaging lethal muscle memory beneath normalcy.

The film embraces family teamwork, with Hutch’s retired FBI agent father joining the fight from his retirement home. This is akin to Levon entrusting his daughter, Merry, to his blind comrade, Gunny, in A Working Man.

Also read: 7 best action movies based on true stories

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4) Homefront (2013)

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/Open Road Films)

Former DEA agent Phil Broker moves to a sleepy Louisiana town with his daughter to escape past bloodshed. When she defends herself against a school bully, Broker incites the wrath of the boy’s meth-dealing family, led by the ruthless Gator Bodine. Broker must weaponize his rural homestead to keep his child alive.

Written by Sylvester Stallone, Homefront transplants special-ops expertise into backwoods battlegrounds. Broker’s takedown of bikers in a bar echoes Levon Cade’s barroom interrogation, illustrating how trained reflexes turn everyday spaces into arenas.

The villainous Bodine clan’s meth empire parallels the Bratva’s human-trafficking pipeline, and Broker’s climactic siege on his own barn makes similar use of improvised explosives.

Also read: 5 best movies of Sydney Sweeney

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5) The Transporter (2002)

The Transporter (2002) (Image via Apple TV)

Frank Martin is a former Special Forces operative who lives by strict rules while transporting shady cargo across the French Mediterranean. When he breaks his own code by opening a package and discovering a bound Chinese woman, he sets off a chain of consequences.

He pits himself against human traffickers and must weaponize his BMW and improvised tools. Director Louis Leterrier’s thriller launched Jason Statham’s career. It also prefigures his role as Levon Cade, as both men adhere to a strict code until conscience overrides it.

The film’s fight scenes celebrate improvisation, with Frank using bicycle pedals and fire hoses as lethal tools. This focus on resourcefulness is a key parallel to how Levon repurposes construction equipment in A Working Man.

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6) Wrath of Man (2021)

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/Amazon MGM Studios)

Patrick Hill, a mysterious armored-truck guard, displays uncanny marksmanship during a robbery, hinting at a hidden past. Flashbacks reveal Hill as H, a crime boss whose son was murdered during a heist.

Infiltrating the security company, H orchestrates an elaborate trap to identify and execute every robber involved. Director Guy Ritchie’s nonlinear heist thriller reunites Statham with the cold stoicism that defines Levon Cade in A Working Man.

Both protagonists bury grief beneath ordinary uniforms, using their day jobs as cover for reconnaissance. The film’s structure, which replays the same event from multiple vantages, mimics Levon’s detective work of piecing together clues to find his target.

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7) Safe (2012)

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/Lionsgate Movies)

Luke Wright is a former NYPD elite operative who sinks into homelessness after Russian mobsters murder his wife. When he saves a gifted Chinese girl, Mei, from Triad enforcers, he discovers she memorized a numerical code to a safe containing $30 million.

Wright declares war on the Russians, Chinese, and corrupt police factions to keep her alive. Director Boaz Yakin’s urban chase thriller features another Statham character on a downward spiral.

Wright’s fall from decorated cop to cage fighter parallels Levon Cade’s drift from Royal Marine to construction grunt, as both men are punished for doing the right thing. The film's core is the protective bond between Wright and a gifted child, which mirrors Levon's paternal drive toward Merry in A Working Man.

Also read: 9 most popular James Gunn movies: ranked from best to worst

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The enduring appeal of films like A Working Man lies in their promise that competence still matters in a world drowning in red tape. Whether the weapon is a father’s love, a hitman’s code, or a bodyguard’s guilt, each protagonist weaponizes specialized knowledge once thought retired.

The seven movies above provide the same satisfying mix: grief and skill focused on saving an innocent, leading to intense action and justice. For viewers who walked alongside Levon Cade through Chicago’s concrete battlefields, these stories offer more paths to handmade justice and redemption through action.

Edited by Riya Peter