Top 5 reasons Jason Statham kicks ass

Like Chuck Norris crossed with James Bond and a touch of Bruce Willis, Jason Statham is awesome. He’s the biggest butt-kicker in the movies right now and his films — while sometimes bordering on plotless — offer viewers a thrill-a-minute action extravaganza.

With his latest flick, “The Mechanic,” where he plays a hitman, coming to theaters tomorrow, amNewYork looks at the top 5 reasons why Statham kicks ass.

The ‘Transporter’ trilogy
The premise of a “Transporter” movie is pretty simple. It’s right there in the name. Frank Morgan (Statham) has to bring things from one place to another. Occasionally, he has to drive on two wheels between two tractor-trailers and then kill some people with some awesome kicks. Most of the time, Statham is just bringing stuff from place to place. But he does it awesomely.

‘The Expendables’
Playing Sylvester Stallone’s right-hand man Lee Christmas, Statham shows off another side of his coolness as a knife expert. He cemented his status as the heir apparent to the title of our favorite action hero acting alongside some of the biggest names in the genre.

‘Death Race’
An easy way to get credibility in the action world is through producer and director Roger Corman, who gave early roles to actors such as Jack Nicholson, Charles Bronson, Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Sandra Bullock and many other actors. Statham stars in this prequel (or remake, depending on who you ask) of one of the most famous films Corman produced, “Death Race 2000.” Of course it involves fast cars and big weapons.

‘Crank’ and ‘Crank: High Voltage’
“Crank” is on the list for pure insanity alone. Statham plays Chev Chelios who is injected with a poison that will kill him if his adrenaline level drops. In the even more insane sequel, “High Voltage” — which deserves about four exclamation points — Chelios’ heart gets stolen and replaced by a battery-powered one that he has to keep charged long enough to find his real ticker.

‘The Bank Job’
Statham is not just about driving fast and kicking hard. “The Bank Job” was a throwback heist movie that focused on Statham’s acting chops instead of his karate chops, and was one of his best reviewed films.