Hummingbird (2013)
Certified: 16
Duration: 100 minutes
Directed by: Steven Knight
Starring: Jason Statham, Agata Buzek, Christian Brassington, Vicky McClure, Benedict Wong, Ger Ryan, Victoria Bewick
KRS release

Jason Statham will both delight and surprise his fans with his latest film, Hummingbird. It is not your typical Statham movie and, for once, action is not in the spotlight.

It shows an actor that is starting to spread his wings beyond the confines of the genre he is most associated with.

The film has a dark sheen to it, which presents us with a hell-on-earth scenario made up of homeless people. Statham’s character also seems to have a dark past of which he still carries the guilt.

The actor plays Joey, a Royal Marine veteran who has just returned home from a tour of duty in the Middle East. His character has been scarred deeply and he wants to be alone as much as possible. However, he befriends Isabel (Victoria Bewick) who has run away from home and is living on the dangerous streets. He decides to help her find shelter with a nun named Cristina (an excellent Agata Buzek).

Joey ends up working for the Chinese crime circles while at the same time seeking redemption and purpose.

This film deliberately highlights a hero figure that is not clean cut, refined and defined. There is the usual portrayal of criminal figures and the underworld but there is much more soul than one would expect. The characters and the interaction between them provide Hummingbird with various shades.

The film’s storyline is also not as predictable as that of usual action movies.

It’s a mix between drama and action, which veers more towards the former.

Chris Menges provides sharp cinematography in a film that is mostly shot at night and the atmospheric score helps demonstrate how much the London we see on screen is miles away from the postcards tourists buy.