OK, “Boat Hard” probably would have been too on-the-nose as a title.

Still, it’s tough to get past the fact that there is no mutiny in “Mutiny,” a Jason Statham action vehicle floating into theaters this week. Like 1992’s “Under Siege” and other violent romps that have come since, “Mutiny” is, essentially, “‘Die Hard’ at Sea,” with Statham’s Cole Reed a stowaway trying to best a nefarious captain — whose crew is entirely loyal to him.

Setting our naming gripes aside, “Mutiny” is a rather enjoyable theatrical affair, one full of crowd-pleasing moments of over-the-top violence and that, at just over an hour and a half, doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Action-movie heavyweight Statham is front and center as Cole Reed, a former Royal Marine commando and London SCO19 specialist firearms police officer who now works as the bodyguard and driver for Bangkok-based shipping tycoon Tibu Campallo (Ramon Tikaram, “Pennyworth”).

Theirs is no ordinary employer-employee relationship; Cole saved Tibu’s life five years earlier, and Tibu considers Cole a member of his family — a pseudo-son. They play chess — Cole is the much better player — and Tibu gives Cole an expensive watch, just as he does to his actual son, Kameron (Chaneil Kular), on a celebratory night.

The festivities are tied to Tibu’s pending sale of his lucrative business — something he is doing, he tells Cole, to allow Kameron to follow his dreams, which reside outside the world of shipping. After the gathering, the car in which Cole is driving Tibu home is ambushed by men who include local cops — men who meet Cole’s wrath but who first accomplish the goal of killing Tibu.

Out for vengeance, Cole follows a trail that quickly leads to a ship about to leave Thailand. Cole is an unseen passenger, while Angie Ellis (Annabelle Wallis), a probationary employee of the shipping company, is an authorized last-minute addition. However, it’s clear the ship’s captain, Marko Madsen (Roland Møller), isn’t pleased about this unexpected element.

While the ship is on the move, both Cole and Angie, a short time apart, discover a horrifying secret and, soon enough, the pair are working against the captain and crew to rectify the situation.

Best known for the 2005 remake of “Assault on Precinct 13” and the relatively well-received 2023 Gerard Butler jam “Plane,” director Jean-François Richet has built a reputation for orchestrating high-stakes action in confined spaces, and that particular skill is on full, effective display in “Mutiny.” With Angie’s help, Cole takes out a couple of bad guys here and there — all with extreme prejudice — as the duo must frequently find new short-term hiding spots.

The screenplay, by Lindsay Michel (“Sandpiper”) and J.P. Davis (“Plane”), refuses to get bogged down in anything unnecessary to the movie’s core mission — even while working in a tragic contemporary issue.

Ultimately, there’s just something right — and downright comfortable — about Statham playing a character who offers simple one-liners between punching and even machine-gunning villains in the face. More often than not in recent years, movies starring the beefy Brit offer varying degrees of guilty pleasure — with “The Meg” (2019) and “The Beekeeper” (2024) standing out as prime examples. “Mutiny” isn’t quite up to their level, but it’s stronger than the two most recent Statham-centric flicks, 2025’s “A Working Man” and this year’s “Shelter.”

As for the supporting players, it’s also nice to see Wallis (“Peaky Blinders,” “Tag”), whose Angie could have been developed a little more. (The single mother is desperate to get home to Los Angeles to be with the best daughter in the world, but that’s about all we get.) And Møller (“Atomic Blonde,” “Skyscraper”) manages to make Marko a slightly above-average villain, the Danish actor giving off vibes vaguely similar to the late Alan Rickman’s oh-so-memorable Hans Gruber in “Die Hard.” (Cough, “Boat Hard.”)

We won’t say how their final confrontation goes, but, as you’d expect, “Mutiny” saves its best kill for last. (Well, technically next to last, as the movie’s final piece of deadly business brings us back to the then-mysterious scene from the opening moments.)

Landing in the dog days of the summer movie season, “Mutiny” may not be the action movie of your dreams, but you’re unlikely to rebel against it, odd title and all.

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'MUTINY'

2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for strong/bloody violence, and language)

Running time: 1:35

How to watch: In theaters Aug. 21

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