The Mechanic

The Mechanic may not have the critical praise or box office $ as movies like "Snatch", Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" "The Expendables"and the upcoming "Fast 7". But there is one thing it does rank as and that's one of his best pure, balls to the wall action films to date. In the last decade, Statham has consistently delivered hard hitting B Action films and if your a fan of the old school, 80's/90's R rated action, the mechanic is a must watch. For a brisk 90 mins, it manages to provide on some no holds barred, brutal and bloody action. It will remind you of the days when they made more adult oriented action without all that CGI and PG 13 but more fight choreography and realistic stunts and action. I think this is one of the most underrated and one of the better action movies within the last decade.Overall, this is a movie worth watching more than once and if your a fan of action and haven't seen this and your looking for a quick 90 min movie to entertain you without thinking too much, this is highly recommended.

7/10

Some things may not make sense and the storytelling may feel extremely fast paced, but you know what, in those moments where 'The Mechanic' promised to entertain you, it does it at its best. And don't get me wrong, cause I'm not a Statham's fan. I didn't like 'The transporter' cause the acting (especially the bad guy) was way too unreal. I didn't like 'Crank' either cause the directing was really bad. 'The Mechanic' is not a movie focused on the story but on the action, and that's where it shines. The action scenes are really sublime and they don't stop until the last minute. Actors also fit in an interesting story. Again, the director chose not to develop the story but to give an explosive experience, and I believe he achieved it. Don't look for a deep experience here and you won't be disappointed.

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.

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