Oscar-nominated screenwriter Steven Knight is making his feature-length writing and directing debut with Hummingbird, a dramatic-thriller starring Jason Statham as (what else?) a tough guy with a conscience. In this instance, Stath plays an ex-special forces soldier who goes on the run, rather than deal with the consequences from a court martial.

Stath’s character soon finds himself homeless and directionless, just struggling to get by on the mean streets of London at night. However, fate kindly intervenes and provides him the chance to start life over, by assuming a different man’s identity. Things seem to be going well… that is, until the need to pay an emotional debt inspires Stath to take on the city’s criminal underbelly single-handedly (as you can see in the trailer).

Rounding out the Hummingbird supporting cast are lesser-knowns names such as Vicky McClure (Line of Duty), Benedict Wong (Prometheus) and Siobhan Hewlett (Sherlock). Meanwhile, Knight is collaborating with high-pedigree talent behind the camera, including two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Chris Menges (who shot Knight’s script for Dirty Pretty Things) and Oscar-winning composer Dario Marianelli (V for Vendetta, Atonement).

Statham looks to get a fair amount of screen time to give his devoted fans what they want in Hummingbird (re: scenes where he pummels baddies), but otherwise this looks to be a unique installment in Stath’s filmography. Knight used action and thriller genre tropes to explore socio-political issues through his scripts for Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises, so his directorial debut is another chip off the same block (for him, anyway).

Hummingbird probably won’t gain the same degree of critical recognition as similar films previously written by Knight, if only because his directing skills are probably a ways behind those of Stephen Frears (Dirty Pretty Things) and David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises). Nonetheless, this could mark the rare occasion where Statham flexes his dramatic acting chops more than his muscles.