A1 Movie Reviews

The Mechanic is a remake of the 1972 film starring Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent, with Jason Statham taking over the lead role as assassin Arthur Bishop. A true artisan in the ways of dealing death, Bishop works for a criminal syndicate and can either “send a clear message” or be so subtle that everyone believes the target’s demise was an accident. When asked to bump off his longtime friend and mentor (Donald Sutherland), Bishop’s lingering guilt guides him to befriend the dead man’s hot-tempered son, Steve McKenna (Ben Foster). Before long, he’s learning the tricks of the trade under the tutelage of Arthur, but it’s obvious that this friendship will not have a happy ending.

There’s a telling scene in the second half of The Mechanic that perfectly sums up its intentions as a movie. Bishop needs the location of someone who’s wronged him, so he storms into the suburban home of a henchman and holds everyone present at gunpoint. When the hired muscle refuses to cough up the information, our anti-hero grabs the man’s teenage daughter, turns on the garbage disposal, and begins inching her arm towards the whirling blades.

Will Bishop maim an innocent girl in his quest for payback, or will the henchman crack under the pressure and spill his guts? I don’t want to give away what happens next, but let me say this: If it was up to Charlie Bronson, the girl would’ve never needed to buy another long-sleeved shirt.

That’s because Bronson played the role of hitman Bishop in the original, a bleak production about the circular nature of violence and the ultimately empty life of a contract killer. He would kill anyone for the right price, and the notion of morality never entered into the equation. And he did it all with that same emotionless expression that the Death Wish star was famous for.

Jason Statham’s Bishop, meanwhile, is a kinder, gentler assassin. He’s the type of hitman that audiences can feel good about, especially since the criminal outfit he works for only seems interested in bumping off the scum of the planet. The film opens with the liquidation of a drug cartel leader, and it’s followed by targets ranging from a hitman who likes young boys to a religious fraud with a penchant for seducing and murdering female members of his flock. Seriously, whatever happened to killing journalists, politicians, and reform-minded judges?

And that’s the big problem with The Mechanic: instead of trying to say anything meaningful about the nature of Bishop’s chosen profession, the filmmakers–aka the studio suits who obviously interfered every step of the way–opt to concern themselves with box-office revenue and the potential for a sequel (the film’s waning minutes are a notable cop-out). After all, we wouldn’t want to offend or disturb anyone going to see an R-rated motion picture about those who murder their fellow human beings for a paycheck (or, in this case, envelopes stuffed with cash).

That, and the anticipated action sequences are presented with the same shaky movements and quick edits that plague most modern movies of this ilk. Take, for example, diminutive Steve McKenna’s brutal showdown with a 6’7”, 300-pound assassin. Filmed with a steady camera and plenty of wide shots, this could’ve been a fight to rival David versus Goliath. Instead, director Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) and editors Todd E. Miller and T.G. Herrington conspire to induce seizures in their audience. Thanks for nothing, guys.

Ben Foster does his best to bring intensity to his role as the grieving son with a perpetual chip on his shoulder, but most of his efforts are thwarted by the film’s insistence on constantly interjecting pointless gunfire, fireballs, and dreamlike sex scenes punctuated by hip-hop music. He does get in an occasional lick as a thespian, though, and his performance is worth a look for the moments where he alternates between murderous fury and teary-eyed resignation.

Jason Statham, on the other hand, plays the same character that he does in almost every movie. He’s got a balding head, intense stare, ribbed abs, and plenty of freakin’ guns. While I count myself among his fans, his role as Bishop has him on autopilot throughout. If you’re seeing this one because of him, you’d be better off grabbing a copy of The Transporter from your local video store (or any Guy Ritchie/Statham team-up not named Revolver).

Had this been done as an indie or foreign film, it might have managed to push all the right emotional buttons while delivering a healthy dose of inventive action sequences. Instead, we get a cookie cutter thriller that wants to lull the paying public into an idyllic fantasy world where bad guys prey on one another instead of the innocent. The Mechanic could’ve been something special. Instead, the finished product is beyond repair.