The Mechanic

Hired smooth stylish hitman with a cold calculated demeanour that is all about the business. Until a chain of events lead him down the wrong path unable to turn back time.

Ends up meeting an associates son. Who eventually wants in on the trade to learn.

Eventually business continues with a few hiccups, yet other issues arise... Chilled, thought provoking style movie to like.

This was different than what I was expecting especially in the beginning where it wasn't your usual mindless Jason Statham action flick. For the first half (anyways) the car chases and cool choreographed fight scenes take a back seat, in fact there are large sections where Statham isn't even in it, he just narrates. Instead we get Ben Foster, which is no hardship.

Intriguing story once I got on board, revolving around an elite assassin who gets double crossed and then proceeds to teach his trade to an apprentice who had a connection to one of his previous victims. As things progress the body count rises, Statham shows his moves and things get awesome. The window washing stunt was excellent as was all the twisty double crossing. Great (explosive) ending. 5/24/14

I just got back from seeing a late night showing of The Mechanic. After having a long week, this film did exactly what I wanted it to do...entertain me.

Was the plot original? No.

Was the acting amazing? No.

But... Was the action good? Yes.

Was Jason Stathham in it? Yes.

Can you ask for anything else in an action film these days? It didn't label itself as a milestone of cinematic achievement. It was marketed as an action film, with good death scenes, mildly intriguing characters, and a simple plot and it delivered exactly on cue. Go see this if you just want to see some good action stars kick-butt for a couple of hours. 6/10

A typical recent Jason Statham outing, although there's less action to begin with than you might expect having witnessed the trailer. THE MECHANIC is a remake of an old Charlie Bronson flick about a hit-man who takes on a young apprentice and the escapades that they subsequently undertake. After a lifetime of jokey action stars delivering quip after quip, it's quite pleasing to see a film that takes a more serious tone than most, with Statham gruffer than usual and few opportunities for humour in the script.

The opening of the film works well, introducing the lead character in a way similar to LEON and including a nice-but-brief turn for Donald Sutherland whose presence really starts the ball rolling. Then into the mix we have Ben Foster (3:10 TO YUMA), playing another of his trademark volatile characters, and he brings some much-needed urgency and danger to the production. The story that follows has plenty of inventive moments and certainly keeps you watching throughout, although it's not until late on that the overall structure becomes apparent.

Simon West, who once made CON AIR and who has just finished work on THE EXPENDABLES 2, handles the action sequences well; although there's some use of the dreaded shaky-cam here, it's not over-utilised like in other movies, so at the very least you can still see what's going on. There are some good vehicle stunts, plus the requisite fights and shoot-outs, along with a climax that proves dramatically satisfying. THE MECHANIC certainly isn't anything more than a run-of-the-mill action flick but on the other hand it's a run-of-the-mill action flick that does tick all of the right boxes.

An assassin's abilities are tested when he takes on an apprentice, but things get complicated when he finds he's been used on his last job.

Entertaining assassin/mentor yarn which tries to avoid clichés. Donald Sutherland puts in a welcomed cameo but is missed throughout the rest of the film. Jason Statham is hit man Arthur Bishop, while he can do these roles action roles blind folded Statham is subtler and more complex than most previous parts he's played. Ben Foster gives a hard hitting performance giving an edginess and weight to the character of Steve McKenna and corporate bad guy Tony Goldwyn is notable.

Some logic aside the Mechanic stands head and shoulders above the mass of recent cheap and big budget flicks due to it's 1973 source material, smart writing and Simon West's gritty direction. The wonderful locations give it an air of realism and the soundtrack complements the setups.   

With some thought out character development, twists and well executed action scenes it's a pleasing above average hit-man thriller.