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Is it worth $10? No
The premise of “The Mechanic” is simple enough: Professional hitman Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) takes on apprentice named Steve McKenna (Ben Foster). Steve is the son of Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland), Arthur’s wheelchair-bound former mentor.
Some years back, Harry chose Arthur as his pupil over Steve. This sent Steve into a spiral of rage, resentment, and alcoholism. When we first see Steve, he’s drunk. Then he gets drunk again, and again. Ben Foster spends so much time drinking in this film he’s lucky that he doesn’t have a bladder the size of a watermelon. And that sums up his character pretty well. He’s one of those underwritten characters where a single, noticeable shortcoming replaces actual character dimension and depth.
Statham’s Arthur Bishop is much more interesting. Good thing, since he’s the main character. The funny thing about Arthur is that we know very few major things about him, but we get a lot of little details. Bishop enjoys restoring vintage cars. He listens to classical music on vinyl records, which he carefully wipes with a soft cloth before playing. He has a prostitute named Sarah (Mini Anden), who he visits regularly. She’s the closest thing he has to a real friend, and she doesn’t even know his real name.
“The Mechanic” gives Statham a chance to flex his acting muscles a bit. He plays Arthur with his usual unflappable cool, and looks stylish and no-nonsense as always. However, he is also given scenes where he’s allowed to let a softer, more vulnerable side show through. Early on in the film, Arthur is given the unpleasant task of killing someone close to him. The camera lingers closely on Statham’s face as he points the gun at his victim. All of the conflicted thoughts and feelings that Bishop is going through are played wonderfully on that face. In particular, we can feel the weight of what he is doing crushing him just by looking into his eyes. It’s a powerful moment, and the film would have been better with more of them.
Instead, we get biolerplate action, stunts, and shootouts. None of it, with the exception of a scene where Arthur and Steve are hiding behind a mirror, are done with any real suspense. The end of each chase/fight/shootout is a foregone conclusion with no real sense of danger, even when scrawny Ben gets into a fistfight with a man twice his size.
Toward the end of the film there is a car chase that was so poorly shot, and edited in such a choppy way, that I couldn’t make sense out of it. Without a sense of space and an establishment of how the characters are positioned in relation to each other, it played like a blur. That was one foregone conclusion I was glad to reach.
“The Mechanic” is rated “R” for brutal strong violence. The body count is not particularly high in comparison with other action films, but a lot of the deaths are particularly nasty and bloody.
It’s a shame that a film that starts off so strong decides mid-way through to replace story with blood and violence. I can’t help but think how much better “The Mechanic” would have been if it had focused on the characters and their relationship, instead of veering off into carnage every 10 minutes.
The one bright side is that “The Mechanic” does show Statham’s development as an actor. Here’s to hoping his next picture allows him to flex more of his acting muscles—and give his actual muscles a rest.
Did you know?
Producers David Winkler and Bill Chartoff are the sons of Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff; Irwin and Robert were the producers of Charles Bronson’s “The Mechanic” (1972), and serve as executive producers for this film.
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UBFGUY
said:
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... I know there isn't much of a plot. I know it's a guilty pleasure. I know it's poorly acted. But I love watching Jason Statham movies. Lots of action, lots of ridiculousness, lots of good special effects and from the crowds I saw it with, a lot of satisfied customers. MORE Jason Statham! |
robosuave
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... This Movie was full of Suspense and Action. They had some great Car chase scenes i.e. going right thru the bus. It was awesome. |
yarok45
said:
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... Jason Statham is an amazing actor. In this movie he played hired assassin so convincing that I thought he was for real. Great special effects. He played similar charters in other movies. |
richtommer
said:
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... This movie was great. The special effect were phenomenal. The acting was campy as expected. This movie had me rolling on the floor laughing and I found it to be one of the best comedies that I have seen all year. Oh wait, this was supposed to be a suspense/action movie? Had action as you would expect from Jason Statham, and the suspense was accomplished (kind of) through expected slight of hand and twist of fate (thank you U2). I liked this movie!! |
pirucha
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... one more of those violent movies, where special effects are the main atraction for people that are so inclined. Although I liked the end that was homehow unespected. The acting overall was not bad, but some of the scenes, violent of course, were manufactured to show off the main characters. I'm sorry they got rid of Donald Suderland so quick. |
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