The Bank Job

The Bank Job (2008) starring Jason Statham.

Jason Statham grows on you. I used to groan at the sight of his balding head in a movie because I knew it would involve gangsters, heists, dynamite, guns or fighting. And in this case, I stand correct. This movie is about a handful of guys who rob a bank the old fashioned way: digging. They loot the safety deposit boxes and later find the contents -- dirty pictures of royalty and ministers, and a ledger showing payments to crooked cops -- get them in trouble with government and the thugs.

Jason Statham has replaced Bruce Willis and Vin Diesel as the next Balding Action Hero. What is it about him that appeals to the male population? Is it the kind of movies that he's in, i.e. the shoot 'em ups? No. It is more basic and simple. Jason Statham is popular with men because he is bald, as is Willis and Diesel. Every generation needs a Balding Action Hero. Why? Because men relate to him. Those whose masculinity is threatened by age or premature balding, they are reassured by the Balding Action Hero because in some subconscious manner, the image of him says to them: you can still be cool.