The Mechanic review

Hit-man thrillers are a hard sell. By remaking 1972 Charles Bronson movie THE MECHANIC, director Simon West was always going to have his hands full. The original Mechanic was largely panned by the critics for choosing screen action over character development. With a bigger budget and better technology to get trigger-explosion-happy, can West really create a film of great substance? The answer is no. But  THE MECHANIC, for all its hammy glory, is exactly what an action movie should be.

The film follows the effortless killer Arther Bishop (Jason Statham), a hermit who ‘hits’ on demand. The executions are requested by an elusive company whose intent is never fully explained, but as usual, copious amounts of money is involved. Bishop is ordered to take out his employer and father figure, Harry McKenna (solemnly played by Donald Sutherland-who could do this role in his sleep).

In an instant, The Mechanic grows into unexpected dark territory as Bishop shoots his wheelchair bound mentor point blank in the chest. In the early stages of the film, things are enticingly offbeat for this style of movie. West chooses the ominious but idyllic backdrop of New Orleans for his main location and rather than the tired action-film score of System of a Down, he uses dirty Mississippi blues. The core plot arises as Bishop meets McKenna’s estranged son, deadbeat Steve (played by Ben Foster) who has a self-destructive drive for revenge. To keep Steve’s bellicose behaviour under control, Bishop takes him on as an apprentice teaching his entertaining and conveluted ways of helping others pop-clogs.

Although Statham is now a bonified action star (what with being in THE EXPENDABLES and all that) he is dwarfed by the raw, embittered performance of Ben Foster in this film. All the hardbolied cliches of Statham’s character glare like big guady neon signs. He is brutal, callous but he loves gentle pleasures of classical music, rebuilding a classic car and having classic anonymous sex with a beautiful woman. The essential padding is there to remind you that Bishop is not a machine, he’s a red blooded man who is just damned good at killing people. Foster’s character is not likeable, in fact, he’s a detestable, bratty runt, but he is believable. Statham on the other hand, has been attending the Christian Bale school of stupid voices, grunting his way through the movie.

The original Mechanic showed the hang-dog face Charles Bronson (who played Statham’s role) growing weary of his criminal lifestyle, an isolated old gunslinger willing to pass the bat. There was a tangible paternal link between he and his apprentice which, mainly because of their ages, does not exist between Statham and Foster on screen. They are more like bickering brothers fighting for their spot as the leading man.

But as Donald Sutherland said himself in a recent interview with THN “people who want to see an action film will have a wonderful time,” and he’s right. An odd homoerotic scene with Steve sees him take down a 350 pound man with his bare hands in a fantastic fight sequence. All well thought out assassinations make for suspenseful viewing, complete with Statham and Foster scurrying down the side of a building. Surprisingly, it even has bouts of funny, look out for one slapstick moment involving a woman, a garbage disposal and a big slab of steak.

The second half of the film moves at a furious pace and gets seriously heavy-handed with the explosions (if your into that sort of thing).Despite yourself, you start to care about the characters. The wonderful thing about this movie is that there is no clear cut division between good and bad.Is Bishop just a callous arsehole, or a misunderstood hero?  The audience is left confused about who they want to succeed, making The Mechanic all the more endearing.

Besides, anything that keeps The Transporter 4 at bay deserves some critical kudos.

The Mechanic hits screens January 28 2011. See the THN interview with starring actor Donald Sutherland here: http://bit.ly/fGqONg