MovieChat Forums > Chaos (2005) Discussion > Good film spoiled by one bad actor

Good film spoiled by one bad actor

posted 16 years ago by lewispknott
71 replies | jump to latest

If you have nothing better to do then this movie is a great way to kill an hour and fifty minutes, plenty of good action with lots of explosions and
shoot outs and all in all a good job by the cast.

But...

Can't help feeling this movie could have been taken up a notch if a different actor other than Jason Statham had been cast. I've seen a few of his movies now and while I accept that the type of movies he makes are never meant to be high brow or intellectually challenging he has proved time and time again that he is no actor. His attempt at an American accent is plain embarrasing but he's a brit so at least he tried but the acting is so wooden and rigid and one dimensional. He is a truly terrible actor.

[–] alpeaston 16 years ago

When I watched this on DVD I thought, “Jason Statham did this for a payday." ; because his heart did not seem to be into it.

The accent was awful; he could never pass as an American.

His acting was so non-emotional I thought "Did he really want to do this movie?"

And I liked him in Crank and a few others but here he really sucks in this one. However, in all fairness I thought the other actors sucked as well. This movie could have been a lot better had the director told his actor to act instead of read through their lines while on their "Mark"!

[–] pmdawn 16 years ago

I like Statham, but I'm sick of his latest movies, they all feel the same (bank robbery, coppers, and the same old stupid 'plot twists'). I'll be brave and watch Dungeon Siege, that's how much I like him. At least with that one I know what I'm getting into.

So, while I don't think he is a bad actor, he's ruining his 'career' with these *beep* movies. Maybe he's more interested in the money than good roles.

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 16 years ago

I have seen both THE BANK JOB and CHAOS.... Did you? Because I have no idea what you are talking about. Yes, both films center around a bank robbery.... that's all they have in common. THE BANK JOB was based on a true story, a period film and was a thriller. CHAOS was a mystery thriller with some action. The films plots and characters were completely different. I think in both those films Statham was trying to expand his range. CRANK, TRANSPORTER and the upcoming DEATH RACE all fit his action star persona, but there's nothing wrong with trying different things.

And if you would prefer him doing Dungeon Siege... God help you.

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 16 years ago

He wasn't trying to do an accent. He was playing a Brit in the US. And Phillippe and Snipes were great. I also thought Statham was trying to give a different performance than his usual shtick. I think your attack on the director is immature, laughable and off base. Were you there? Is that what he did? I think not.

[–] hoov-4 16 years ago

I agree with you. I mean I'm not a critic or anything but I was entertained by this movie and felt Statham represented himself well. So did Phillippe and Wes Snipes. I enjoyed it.

[–] anniegoose10 13 years ago

Thank you DonkeyKongKing for this great review.

I also enjoyed this movie, have watched it at least 5 times now, and enjoy more and more each time that I see it.

Statham, Snipes and Phillippe were all excellent in it.

[–] rabbilively 16 years ago

Call me blind, but I'm pretty sure Statham wasn't trying to be an american. A line popped out at me when he said "the English is terrible in this country." Not entirely sure this explains the british accent, but it's good enough for me. Jason Statham is a bad ass, even if he can't act to save his life.
"The names Ash; housewares."

[–] r2626 14 years ago

To alpeaston-What is an American accent? Are you referring to a Texas accent, or a Boston accent, maybe someone from Georgia or perhaps Minnesota? Could it be that you meant someone of Native American heritage? Just exactly what is an American accent?

Help stamp out and do away with redundancy

[–] lonmonster 14 years ago

There is a neutral American accent. It's how words from an American dictionary should be pronounced.

[–] r2626 14 years ago

I didn't know American was a language.

Help stamp out and do away with superfluous redundancy

[–] lonmonster 14 years ago

You're amazingly terrible at arguing. Point out where I said American was a language.

[–] r2626 14 years ago

An American dictionary would indicate an American language. There are no American dictionaries that I know of.

Help stamp out and do away with superfluous redundancy

[–] lonmonster 14 years ago

Quit arguing on the internet and find a better library.

[–] r2626 14 years ago

Good advice, you should follow it.

Help stamp out and do away with superfluous redundancy

[–] gmansi 13 years ago

"When I watched this on DVD I thought, “Jason Statham did this for a payday." ; because his heart did not seem to be into it. "

GREAT!

[–] sewall-683-294946 11 years ago

Apparently, you weren't listening closely. When he's interrogating Gina, he says "The grammar in this country's terrible", making it clear he's not American.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ProfessorMovieMovie 10 years ago

by
alpeaston
Sun May 4 2008 12:24:20
IMDb member since January 2007

When I watched this on DVD I thought, “Jason Statham did this for a payday." ; because his heart did not seem to be into it.

The accent was awful; he could never pass as an American.

I know your post is quite a few years old but I just have to point out that Statham's character was not meant to be American.

At one point during the interview of the bank robber's girlfriend she says, "I didn't do nothing!" to Statham's character who then replies, "It's 'I didn't do ANYTHING'... jeez the grammar is bad in this country". This statement more than tells us his character is not from the USA and most likely from the UK given the accent Statham used for this character.

Did you miss that part?

And, seriously, what made you think Statham was ever trying to pass for an American from the US, Canada or even Mexico (and YES, Canada and Mexico are part of America... think about it or look it up before you try to correct me on this fact) at all in this movie. He made no attempt to use anything but an accent from the UK. That was fairly obvious if you were paying any attention at all to the movie.

How did you miss that?

If an idiot were to tell you the same story every day for a year, you would end by believing it. HM

[–] Alteregome 7 years ago

Correction...Canada is NOT part of America! Canada IS part of North America! There is a big difference between the two! I'm Canadian and would never say that I'm from America (as that is commonly referred to as the US). I would happily say that I'm from North America though, which is a correct statement.

(quote)You wanna kiss me? Someday. What's this someday *beep* (/quote) (love9)

[–] Royalcourtier 9 years ago

Statham's accent may have been bad, but still 100% better than any American's attempt at a British accent. I do not recall seeing one American actor who could convincingly play any role other than an American.

[–] impulsation 16 years ago

Did you not hear him comment on the grammar being "terrible over here" when talking to the woman who used double negatives? Of course his American accent was piss poor, he was talking normally you bloody tit.

[–] frankenfingers 16 years ago

I think the line is "the grammar is terrible in this country" which doesn't necessarily suggest that the character isn't american. Also, there are definately points in the movie where it's obvious he's trying to affect an american accent.

I n A b s e n t i a L u c i s T e n e b r a e V i n c u n t

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 16 years ago

it never says he's american or foreign. The film takes place in 24 hours. It skips alot of the chars. bio b/c it wasn't important to the story. I read that line about the grammar and later when he says, in the car, "these guys are driving me mad." (which is an english expression) as an Englishman living/working in the US. I think all the haters will find a negative in anything.

Statham is not daniel Day Lewis. He doesn't disappear in his roles. He sounds and looks the same. Maybe for his american pics he tries to reduce his accent (as opposed to Lock Stock, snatch or bank job where he's supposed to be english).

Connery (hunt for red october's scottish/russian accent anyone?), eastwood, mcqueen, arnold - none of them ever masked thier accent or lack thereof. I mean, people are going nuts b/c they can't fathom an english guy who works for the Seattle police, but Arnold as a seattle cop in KINDERGARTEN COP or as a Govt agent in TRUE LIES didn't bother anyone. What about Richard Harris with a brittish accent as the roman leader in GLADIATOR? Or Joaquin Phoenix's American accent in Gladiator? Or Russell Crowe's austrailian accent in Gladiator?

Statham is Statham. You like him or you don't. But all this debate on his accent is pointless.

[–] Joyful51485 15 years ago

Arnold in Kindergarten cop was actually supposed to be foreign. He mentions being from elsewhere and when his partner paraded as his sister, she put on an accent. So I'd say it was preeeety obvious he wasn't supposed to be American.

OBAMA WON!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 14 years ago

And I used him as a perfect example that it's not uncommon for a foreigner to work in the U.S. I wasn't suggesting Arnold wasn't foreign. I used him as an example. The posts have basically been saying "because Statham sounds Brittish, he couldn't possible be an American Cop." I'm saying even though he clearly has an accent, he can be a US cop.

[–] Joyful51485 14 years ago

Then I'd suggest making your original post clearer, because that's not what it sounds like you said.

RIP 2009. Bad year for Celebrities. Now Haiti too

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 14 years ago

I think my comment was pretty clear. I suggest you re-read.

The first part was discussing actors with accents.

The second was discussing Arnold with a thick accent working for govt as he did in KC and TL. Same as Statham in Chaos.

[–] Joyful51485 14 years ago

Sorry to tell you, it's not.

Your exact quote:

Connery (hunt for red october's scottish/russian accent anyone?), eastwood, mcqueen, arnold - none of them ever masked thier accent or lack thereof. I mean, people are going nuts b/c they can't fathom an english guy who works for the Seattle police, but Arnold as a seattle cop in KINDERGARTEN COP or as a Govt agent in TRUE LIES didn't bother anyone. What about Richard Harris with a brittish accent as the roman leader in GLADIATOR? Or Joaquin Phoenix's American accent in Gladiator? Or Russell Crowe's austrailian accent in Gladiator?

RIP 2009. Bad year for Celebrities. Now Haiti too

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 14 years ago

If you say so.

[–] Joyful51485 14 years ago

I do, but you've obviously decided what you said makes perfect sense. That's fine. Just don't be surprised when people misunderstand you if you don't work on your clarity. Something as simple as making a new paragraph would have worked wonders.

RIP 2009. Bad year for Celebrities. Now Haiti too

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 14 years ago

And might I add... of the hundreds or so people that scanned these boards, you are the only one who was confused and thought I suggested something about Arnold that I didn't. Nothing in my post did anything other than highlight that foreigners with accents work in the US.

Something as simple as reading the whole post, instead of a line or two also works wonders.

[–] Joyful51485 14 years ago

I'm the only one who responded to you, so that's not really something you can say. I read the whole post, and you were not clear. I think I need to address your post again.

You go straight from addressing Arnold into talking about people who are SUPPOSED to be natives of the countries they are portraying, but the accents are all wrong. The 'What about...' is a direct connector to the sentence before it, the sentence addressing Arnold, Like I said, something as simple as new paragraph would have done wonders or a removal of the 'What about...'.

I think you need to keep in mind that something might make perfect sense to you in your head, because you know what you intended to say. But to someone, who is not in your head, unless you CLEARLY say what you mean, there is a lot of room for misunderstanding. You need to learn to put together a proper statement, separating ideas and not leading from one separate concept straight into another as if everyone will clearly see it as such without proper detail included. And work on your spelling...

RIP 2009. Bad year for Celebrities. Now Haiti too

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 14 years ago

Sweetie, the people who didn't respond understood what I was saying. Only you, who didn't, mentioned something. Very rarely on these boards would someone reply to simply say, "Hey I understand what you're saying in case there's someone out there who doesn't."

You highlighted one post out of several that had been made regarding Statham's accent previous to your reply. If you followed the whole topic, the whole conversation you would not have been so easily confused. You're like a 5 year old jumping into a conversation mid-way and not understanding what's being talked about. Instead of trying to "trump" someone, try following the whole conversation first.

And tanks phor korrecting mi pselling on online anonymus iternet chatbards. Yourre sooo smarted.

[–] Joyful51485 14 years ago

Ohhhh... so you're psychic now. Can read minds through internet screens? Uh huh... Whatever you say.

You're clearly not worth responding to anymore. Learn how to write properly, that's all I have to say.

RIP 2009. Bad year for Celebrities. Now Haiti too

[–] Sweet_and_Lowdown77 14 years ago

Learn how to read and comprehend and I'll work on my spelling

And stop going back and editing your comments after people respond. Live with what you wrote, SWEETIE

[–] raymondunc 9 years ago

Girls,

I hope y'all got that out of your systems. Straighten out your panties, pull down your dresses and learn to get along.

Life is like Wikipedia: There are no Facts, Just Popular Opinion

[–] Padwanna 15 years ago

I think the line is "the grammar is terrible in this country" which doesn't necessarily suggest that the character isn't american. Also, there are definately points in the movie where it's obvious he's trying to affect an american accent.

No, but it certainly strongly suggests that Statham wasn't an American. And given that he was speaking in his own London-boy account, it's certainly more plausable that he is not an American.

Padwanna

---
The internet has the ability to turn sane people into ranting fools!

[–] AntonioDaniels 16 years ago

To put it pretty simply: you weren't thinking clearly if you thought Statham was playing an American born cop.

[–] nsobuck 16 years ago

I've been a fan of Jason Statham since "The Transporter". I felt he did a good job in "Chaos" as did Wesley Snipes and Ryan Phillippe. Also, it was clear to me that Statham was not trying to do an American accent because he lambasted someone in the film for bad grammar remarking that the grammar is bad over here. This is the type of film that Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson would have excelled in. Since they are no longer with us, thank heaven Jason Statham is.

[–] bekkeh_18 16 years ago

I love Jason Statham! haha, movie reminded me of Swordfish, but i have to say Travolta was a better bad guy :p

[–] AnfieldFox 16 years ago

Ever thought of using spoiler tags? Silly b!tch.

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[–] xinshen28 16 years ago

he wasnt even trying to put on an accent. he said 'the grammar in this country is terrible', which implies hes not native to america.

[–] rrpostal 16 years ago

If he was trying to do an american accent, it was woeful. But I never even remotely thought that he was trying. It was abundantly obvious that he had an accent other than american. I'm not great at picking out different UK or other accents, but he certainly was just acting as he normally does. Maybe slightly more subdued than usual but not trying to be native north american. I don't even get where you would think that.

[–] kellypi 16 years ago

jason statham is a great actor, try his guy ritchie movies. you know, the guy who made snatch. jason was in that and two others.

he spends a lot of time in the states now. maybe his english accent is intertwining with an american one. think about it. so which was he using? you dont know and neither do i but he can do a great american accent, try watching crank

[–] nuksmom 15 years ago

When I read the subject line I instantly thought the poster was referring to Wesley Snipes. Talk about one-dimensional! The last movie I saw with him in it where I thought he was doing a good job was "Blade" back in 1998.

Jason Statham brings a little extra oomph! to these roles. Of course, he's not going to make the transition from action star-to-Oscar-winner (like Tom Hanks)any time soon. And who cares if he doesn't?! Personally, I think he just knocks his performances "Out Of the Park!" Some may even compare him, as a refined Bruce Willis, when Willis made his Die Hard triology movies.

Happy Thanksgiving!
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[–] bestalexguy 15 years ago

One bad actor, and that is Statham? Every time I see Snipes' less-than-subtle grin I make an effort not to press stop. Which is good, because all the others played quite decently.

[–] giohell666 15 years ago

stratham could never be n bruce willis, but I really didn't think that he was forcing an american accent in this movie. He clearly was a brit who lives in the US. If you're not a native you would know that when you're from a foreign english speaking country and you move to the US your accent changes and your form of expression changes too. In a way you learn to adapt to your new way of life.

NUFF SAID!!!

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[–] jenniferles1000 15 years ago

No way Statham is awesome hes no De Niro nor does he claim to be but he does a good enough in his parts and has made some really good action films if you like that sort of thing which i do. If youre watching movies like this you dont expect the greatest actors in the world anyway look at Arnie, Willis, Van Damme, and Stallone none of these are great actors but are awesome movie stars.

[–] tstraton 15 years ago

Just looked up all of lewispknott's posts on this board. He's the guy that started this thread. THEY'RE ALL NEGATIVE! Seems he doesn't like anyone. Nuff Said.

[–] Philo-19 15 years ago

I had never heard of "Chaos" until I found it among the new release dvds yesterday. I was impressed with the combination of Snipes and Statham as the leads. Both have a muscular style of combat that would have been appropriate had they faced each other. But they did not.

I was worried when I saw that this "new" dvd was a movie dating back to 2005. It's never good news when an action picture has a delayed release on DVD. (Maybe it was out there and I just missed it.)

Because of that question of delayed release I watched it waiting for it to suck. I was pleased that it plays about as well as any other Statham film, and better than a number of Stallone flicks.

I get a little tired of the pseudointellectual reviews that refer to the quality of an action star's acting and/or claim that a movie plot tries too hard to be "smart". What I hear is the preening of an individual stroking his own ego.

If you want to see incompetent acting, check out Clint Eastwood's singing in "Paint Your Wagon". If you want a stilted voice over, listen to R. Lee Ermy in "Siege of Firebase Gloria". Both of those guys developed into competent, and at times, spectacular actors. Ah-nuld was perfect as "The Terminator" because he played a mechanical man. It's all a matter of casting. You don't expect from Jet Li, or Jason Statham what you expect from Olivier, Burton or O'Tool. One of my favorite films is "I Come In Peace". Dolph Lundgren can't act his way out of a wet paper bag, but I don't watch it for the acting.

Jason Statham is infinitely better than Dolph, Steven Segal, or Chuck Norris. I watch his movies for the action, and I am happy with what I see. If I want acting I will watch "Becket" or "My Favorite Year".

I liked "Chaos" and am glad it became the 2068th movie in my dvd collection.