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Doing exactly what he does best, Jason Statham delivers the body count numbers that matter in this re-imagined and re-tooled 1972 Charles Bronson action revenge flick. The action is bloody and high-spirited and the dialogue is low, making room for some pretty hair-raising action set pieces that speak volumes in edge-of-the-seat antics. The logic of the original story is there, just understated to such a level that, at times, the picture rolls out with a true assassin’s pace – stealthily.
Written by Lewis John Carlino (who wrote the original) and Richard Wenk, The Mechanic tells the story of a very dangerous man who fixes other men’s “people” problems and then disappears for awhile off the coast of New Orleans, presumably around St. Tammany Parish where he waits for his next assignment. He’s cool, quiet, and only shares his real name, Arthur Bishop (Statham), with some New Orleans prostitutes, but, hilariously enough, they never believe him; finding faith in names like David. He survives through murderous detachment.
Seemingly, the only thing Arthur connects to is his vinyl collection which he lovingly wipes with a dust cloth before placing its warmth upon the record player. His newest assignment, which he questions only momentarily, is going to lead him into a strange new world where he agrees to mentor the hot-headed son, Steve (Ben Foster), of his own recently murdered mentor, Harry (Donald Sutherland). Together, the two work to fix other people’s problems until they get close enough to the truth about Harry’s murder.
After opening with a violent and fairly humorous action piece (ala 007) that sees Statham mirror swimming with a corpse, The Mechanic, directed by Simon West, quickly finds its groove as something a bit more than a simple re-tooling job of a minor action film from the 1970’s. Consider the talent involved with this film: Statham, fresh off The Expendables, is the action hero badass, Foster provides the needed emotion of a son struggling with his father’s death, and Sutherland the gravitas that comes with his understanding of what this movie is as an action flick. He’s the leftover from the era of revenge flicks; the dinosaur of the cast, if you will. Still, he’s dangerous and wonderfully accurate with his performance here – even if it is somewhat too brief.
Statham and Foster dominate the film with cool tension and solid handling of their characters – even if this is genre material; it’s still quality. The high-roofed exploits that come into play during the apprehending of one of their targets is lively and suddenly dramatic, with a near-death and silent two-person fall from the top of a high storied building. It’s edgy and perfect. Precise, too, like most of the action sequences throughout The Mechanic.
While there isn’t dialogue a-plenty in this film, there is enough chemistry and general badass tomfoolery between Sutherland and Statham and then later, Statham and Foster, to fully understand just the type of movie this isn’t trying to be. Sometimes it’s good to let other films provide the thinking. And it absolutely and wonderfully achieves that B-movie mark; making room for a sequel should this pull in the right number of pre-Super Bowl crowds.
It might be familiar territory, but The Mechanic won’t leave you disappointed with the service he performs.
MPAA Rating: R for strong brutal violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity.
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