Well I gotta disagree with you on that, he’s as tacky as fly paper. He was Shatner-hammy in Snatch - and I loved Snatch - but at least the lines called for that smarminess; but his “acting” skills in movies like The One and all the Transporters basically involve him sneering, grumbling his lines, and then punching or kicking a guy with a frown on his face.
Let’s not talk about Gone in 60 Seconds and The Italian Job in which he was basically a non-entity, and if anyone has seen Ghosts of Mars, I hope you’ve already seen a hypnotist to rid yourself of that memory…
Not as bad as JCVD was (after Bloodsport, where he looked fairly innocent), not as silly as Stallone, but IMO Statham is better in roles like LS+2SB, Snatch, The Bank Job, and that nice little move Mean Machine, in which he’s the nutcase and Vinnie Jones is the straight guy (!) Just a little reminder of how backwards that situation is:
Possibly the greatest sports-related picture ever…
I thought his role was funny in Snatch, but then again, the movie was excellent. I wouldn’t say he’s much of an actor, but his movies are definitely entertaining.
My wife believes him to be the sexiest action actor on film today. She calls him a “real man”. Mind you, she is a full blown Western girl, with a love of testosterone males, and not metrosexuals (she gets very upset whenever I suggest shaving my beard).
As well, the dude can actually fight and is in seriously good shape (not hollywood good shape either):