The Mechanic (2011)

The Mechanic is of Chuck Norris proportions! Its has a ton of bloody violence and intense action sequences, many of which are unbelievable. With that said, Jason Statham is the English version of Chuck, minus the legendary pop culture status. Statham has been in many action flicks over the last few years many of which stink. For example, The Transporter trilogy and Crank plus its unfortunate sequel. Now if you like stupid, unintelligent situations, plot sequencing, and character invincibility these are the films for you. To me, a great action movie makes you want to be that hero. Most action movies these days don't possess that. The Mechanic isn't much different, although it is a decent movie. It is also a remake of the Charles Bronson classic by the same name released in 1972. I haven't seen the original so I have no comparison to make.

The premise of the movie is action simple. Arthur Bishop (Statham) is a contract killer. He is employed by an unnamed organization led by Dean (Tony Goldwyn) and Bishops only friend and mentor Harry (Donald Sutherland). Naturally since Arthur is a killer he lacks the skills to make real human connections. So he has no real friends besides Harry and his favorite prostitute. One fine day in assassin land, Arthur receives the unfortunate task of killing a close associate. And soon there after Harry's estranged son Steve (Ben Foster) becomes Arthur's sidekick and assassin in training. Shenanigan's ensue!

Strengths: The Mechanic is a pretty good action movie. It is better than most Statham films and more realistic than most movies he is in. The addition of Ben Foster to the cast is a plus as he is one of Hollywood's finer young actors. Think Ryan Gosling without the Oscar nomination.

The movie is short and straight to the point. So where it lacks it makes up for with not wasting a lot of your time.

Weaknesses: The primary weak spot for me was character likability. I did not connect with anyone in the movie. I won't say who lives or dies, but all the characters in one way or another deserve death for their disregard for human life. As the film goer you basically feel like an outsider watching a train wreck in a snow globe. While that is good sometimes, it would be nice to know that at least one character was not a total sociopathic jerk. That's not the case with The Mechanic. Another main weak area is believability. Yes, I know that I described it above as more believable than most recent action movies, especially from Statham, but it still exaggerates a great deal. I will leave it at that.

Recommendations: This is basically a guy movie. Its bloody. Its violent. It has some nudity and the language is appropriate for a typical action film. It is not a kids movie, so parents attempt some common sense and leave the kids with a sitter. Its not even a good date movie. I did like it, but it is really only meant for a guys night out.