MFF Special: How Many Times Will Jason Statham Kick the Megalodon in The Meg?

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When the world first heard Jason Statham would be starring in The Meg the major question everyone had was “will Jason Statham spin kick the shark?” The question is valid, and I love how Jason Statham has become such a legend that it isn’t a stretch to assume he would kick a 75-foot shark in the face. We already know that he lands two push kicks on the Megalodon (thanks “Eat You” TV spot) so it won’t join his zero-kicking films The Italian Job, Snatch, Cellular, Turn it Up, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and 13. The question I have is how many times Statham will kick the monster. I took a deep dive into Statham’s career in order to give the world a number that will most certainly be wrong.

Sidenote: There is no way to know how many times Statham will kick the large beast. The final number comes from educated guesswork, more guesswork and a reference to Angelina Jolie punching a shark in Tomb Raider 2.

After going through every Statham film I own and could stream (or DVR), I scoured Burger Fiction’s incredible videos to come up with a number that I’m comfortable with. Statham has thrown 389 kicks in the 36 films included in the list (Collateral and Gnomeo and Juliet were excluded) and averages 10.8 kicks per film, which is surprising because I’ve built up his fighting prowess so much in my head I wouldn’t have been surprised if he threw at least 50 in his movies.

Below is the list of all his films according to number of kicks. From here, I am going to narrow down the films until we have a solid group to extrapolate the ideal number.

Most Kicks

1. The Transporter – 69
2. Transporter 2 – 54
3. Transporter 3 – 43
4. In the Name of the King – 25
5. Killer Elite – 22
6. Safe – 15
7. Homefront – 13
8. Furious 7 – 13
9. Redemption – 12
10. London – 12
11. Mechanic: Resurrection – 11
12. Wild Card – 11
13. Crank – 9
14. The Expendables – 9
15. War – 9
16. The Fate of the Furious – 8
17. The Expendables 2 – 6
18. Mean Machine – 6
19. Parker – 6
20. The Bank Job – 6
21. Ghost of Mars – 5
22. The Mechanic – 4
23. Revolver – 4
24. Crank 2: High Voltage – 4
25. Chaos – 3
26. Blitz – 3
27. The One – 3
28. Death Race – 2
29. The Expendables 3 – 2
30. Spy – 1
31. Snatch – 0
32. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels – 0
33. The Italian Job – 0
34. Cellular – 0
35. 13 – 0
36. Turn it Up – 0

Greatest kick ever.

It’s interesting that the Transporter franchise features 42% of his total kick count and I think the success of the first film cranked up his career into action overdrive. He had only thrown 14 kicks in his first six films and that all changed after Transporter, because he became an action legend who would throw 70 kicks in his next six movies.

What is the ideal amount of kicks?

I have a feeling The Meg will have a fresh Tomatometer score and be a massive crowd-pleaser, so. let’s take a look at his 10 highest rated movies according to their Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb scores being averaged together.

1. Spy – 82% – 1 kick
2. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels – 79% – 0 kicks
3. Snatch – 78.5% – 0 kicks
4. The Bank Job – 76% – 5 kicks
5. Furious 7 – 76% – 13 kicks
6. The Italian Job – 71% – 0 kicks
7. The Fate of the Furious – 67% – 8 kicks
8. The Expendables 2- 66% – 6 kicks
9. Crank – 65.5%- 9 kicks
10. The Transporter – 61% – 69 kicks

Sidenote: The average Tomatometer score for Statham’s filmography is 44%. I’m thinking the 100% The Meg gets will help.

These 10 films average 11.1 kicks per movie and almost exactly match the average for his entire filmography (10.8) I don’t see him kicking the shark 11.1 times, so I’m going to take some films from the the two lists to give us the final answer

1. The Fate of the Furious – (6 kicks) – I added F8 because it features Statham battling Uber Dwayne Johnson inside a prison. The scene features zero logic (which is awesome) and makes the two men look powerful, lithe and almost Replicant-esque . For instance, Dwayne Johnson’s character Hobbs is impervious to rubber bullets (zero pain) and has one of the weirdest jump/slide/land moments in the history of film.
2. Spy – (1 kick) – Statham is clearly in on the joke.
3. Mechanic: Resurrection – (11 kicks) – Statham is 100% invincible in Mechanic: Resurrection, and he is so good at killing people it matches up with his The Meg character. Why? In The Meg he is called to help battle a 75 foot prehistoric creature and he is cool with it (I think).
4. The Italian Job – (0 kicks) – Handsome Rob is all about driving and he spends most of his time in a car. From The Meg trailers it looks like we will get a lot of Statham on boats and submersibles.
5. The Expendables 3 – (2 kicks) – Statham and crew are tasked with rescuing some people from overwhelming odds. The Meg looks like an ensemble film and the odds are stacked against them.

Average number of kicks – 4

Are there other movies that feature people striking a large sea beast?

1. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life – (1 punch) – Awesome shark punch – You gotta watch this scene.
2. Deep Blue Sea – (7 stabs with a cross) – Greatest movie ever.

Average number of strikes – 4

I love this scene

Final Guess: 4 Kicks – It feels right and my random data proves it.

I can’t wait to kick this thing.

We already know he will land two, so he just has to kick the beast two more times to make this guess correct. I think it’s gonna happen.

How many times do you think Jason Statham will kick the Megalodon?

If you like this random post makes sure to check out my other data articles.

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