Review: The Mechanic (2011) TH

He can do more than just fix cars

(Warning, contains some spoilers.)

Jason Statham plays an assassin named Arthur Bishop who's able to get in and out squeaky clean as he focuses on the job at hand without distraction. His only friend, Harry Mckenna, played by Donald Sutherland, works in the same covert business he does. A hit is put out on Harry and the company they both work for wants Arthur to personally take care of it.

The job was successful by making it look like carjackers but came with some suppressed anger afterwards. In the original '72 version Charles Bronson's character gets actively pursued and gives in because he sees a potential companion like himself who can keep up from being a long time loner and introvert. Instead, here, Arthur sticks around to instead help the man's son Steve Mckenna (Ben Foster) learn some responsibility and how to get away with revenge for "those" to blame through the best way he knows how to teach him: as a "mechanic" who covertly kills without a trace being left as to who did it or what really happened. Steve Mckenna in the original didn't pose as much of a threat as he was cocky, unemotional and cared nothing of his father, except here Ben Foster plays the character as an emotional wreck who wants vengeance. If anybody said they would have left the son alone, moved or killed him secretly knowing that you took his father's life and that he's a loose canon, raise your hand. It seems unlikely that a professional like Bishop would leave any loose ends untended and I'm not sure why they changed this important element in the story.

His trainee has a lot of work to get to pro status with his bad habits of sabotaging what he has, making impulsive decisions and taking unnecessary risk for no other reason than because he can--everything that Bishop isn't about, as he checks his emotions at the door and goes in with stern-faced calculation. Yet, that doesn't stop the mentor from taking his reckless trainee out on his own jobs possibly as a little pay back to the company for making him kill the closet thing he had to a friend. What ever happened to the trainee's want for revenge for some carjackers, who knows? Again, some of the transitions of the story in the remake were changed and cause this to lose a sense of purpose. In a one in a million chance (more like a cheap writing ploy) Bishop spots someone of interest who has ties to a past mission after escaping from a less than smooth job himself. What a small world we live in that you just sit down at the bus station and so happen to see the one man that's relevant to you without even having to make an effort. Must have been born with a third eye. The company is getting fed up, along with the trainee Steve beginning to put two and two together about who really killed his father if it wasn't inevitable enough. However, this is the Mechanic they're dealing with, you know, that cinematic guy who's faster, smarter and quicker on his feet than anyone or anything. Yeah, yeah.

This has a decent amount of over-the-top action and more bullets are managed to be fired than most westerns. The filmmakers were trying to sell the audience that this could be you taken under the wing of a hired gun. It beats the 9 to 5 job, you get drunk, sleep around, fire weapons, go out on high octane missions and, best of all, there are never any cops around and you get away with it. Did I mention all your opponents have terrible aim and you don't get shot despite only a short amount of training? Yep, just that simple. Ben Foster's character has some room to work with but not enough to be on par with "Hostage." It's still more than Jason Statham's role in how it feels like an out-of-the-box version of other modern action films. Not to mention his very own "The Transporter," which holds steady as the superior film with just as basic of a story and probably as much exaggeration, but much more fluidity and no silly deus ex machina writing tricks to distract.

This includes jumping off high things, property damage, candid wounds and blood spray--though it's not enough to save it in the end as there's very little that sticks, not even a charismatic villain to remember this by as they're cardboard personalities make it easier to murder them without growing a conscious. As a purely logical movie this remake doesn't entirely work. Check out "From Paris with Love," "Unstoppable" or "Faster" if you need a recent action fix that keeps it basic and unmuddled, while still balancing entertainment. Or I'd recommend just sticking with the original '72 version which pans out more fluidly even if it's a more gradual experience.

Director: Simon West (Con Air, Tomb Raider, When a Stranger Calls 2006)
Starring: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland
Website: IMDB

Review: The Mechanic (1972) TH

You won't find this mechanic in the phone book

This is an early '70s crime/action/thriller, so there aren't going to be an insane amount of edits and the picture is going to be more focused on fleshing out the story than giving motion sickness or temporary epilepsy. It includes some extended shots to make the viewer feel more at home than cutting right to the chase and moving from temporary place to place. There are zoom ins, interconnected shots, bell bottoms and side burns for that contemporary time stamp that it can't escape, though that doesn't take away from it being an effective character driven piece that still holds up today.

The audience is introduced to the inner working of a "mechanic": someone who disposes of bad guys by making it look like an accident. Charles Bronson easily sells the part as Arthur Bishop with his rugged and tough looks, as well as a sarcastic and reserved outlook. Like he's perfectly capable of giving out harm at any time, but also has a certain amount of measurement and philosophy to what he does to make a system out of it. Bishop is a loner who doesn't show his emotions, which includes not speaking for the first fifteen minutes of the film and only first to his friend Harry (Keenan Wynn) who's having some trouble with the organization they work for. Harry knew Arthur's father well and he wants him to speak on his behalf to smooth things over, though the organization still makes their final decision by sending him a hit packet on Harry.

The arrogant son named Steve (Jan-Michael Vincent) could care less of his father's passing as he was a "pusher, pimp, thief, arsonist" and precedes to be as cocky and spoiled as he was before with raging parties and no sense for responsibility. A close woman called him and said she's going to kill herself for his attention and sympathy, though instead of showing concern he arrives with Arthur to watch with morbid curiosity. This sets up the ground work and with some active pursuit on Steve's part, including doing adrenaline junky type activities together, Arthur sees that he might have it in him to do the impassive line of work he does as a mechanic and takes him under his wing as an associate and possible companion.

They patiently study their target's habits and wait it out for the perfect opportunity by finding a hole in their security. They plan one way and the job goes another, leading to the organization being a little worried that Steve is on board without their permission and in turn this leaves a possibility that he might ruin what's supposed to be covert operations in the shadows, not a motocross chase during broad daylight and where witnesses can see. To smooth things over they end up in Rome, Italy to do a "cowboy job," which means their target needs to be immediately taken out at whatever the cost, accident or no accident. From what starts out as a training and character development piece with partnership in the making turns into a climactic finale with a heated shootout with car chases and explosions when the characters get pushed against a wall. If that wasn't enough a twist happens, where one of them has an ulterior motive, but like a calculated game of chess so might the other.

The cinematography, music and pacing are all well timed out. More times than not the camera and music are doing more talking and sharing than the players. It gives the film a solid backdrop and a particular atmosphere with extended strings and intermittent piano to make it intriguing and put all the clandestine operations into their respective places. This has some relating factors that include skipping the court system to see deserving bad guys immediately receive justice like "Dirty Harry" ignited just a year prior. It shows someone live the high-life, make their own hours, kill with purpose, sleep with escorts without consequence, though all at a cost of not having a productive social life with some consistency and true relaxation for what's around the next corner. Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent put on interesting performances though not all of the co-stars are very notable, with some that instead perform like caricatures of their type. There is also some misplaced dry humor when most of the film is rolling with a more serious structure. This has an abrupt ending but then again it's a cold business and closes the curtains more accordingly than, say, "The Italian Job," which ended up in the air.

Director: Michael Winner (Chato's Land, Death Wish, The Sentinel)
Starring: Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn
Website: IMDB

Review: Faster (2010) TH

Flexes like a bodybuilder, stings like a bullet

"Faster" treads fiercely and also gives way to a certain poetic license. Call it a simplistic, unmuddled revenge film that's affected by savage grace. It's reminiscent of iconic westerns about a loner with demons in his closet related to a past traumatic event that's now come full circle.

The look and feel carries a tone from the distinctive tint to some of the unpolished locales and shady characters. The pace is set with jarring, off-center camera angles, to being more of a slow burn with subtle panning to get its message home. This is truly a basic action film that exaggerates as it does inject plausibility. The mechanics help drive this forward, because without 'em there wouldn't have been much to see that already hasn't been done before.

The theme is as simple as a silent type (Dwayne Johnson) fresh outta lockup with strict purpose: to systematically hunt down targets that are revealed in flashbacks. A few hazards are thrown his way, but with his height, bulk and fearlessness there's not much to stop the juggernaut from rolling because he's, you guessed, "faster." He's got an old school vibe: muscle car, six shooter and scars to show his battle wounds. A Batman type (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), that isn't afraid to break the law, gets hot on his trail to stop him with his new school gadgets and playboy looks, as well as the confident detective (Carla Gugino) and her unwanted shady looking new partner (Billy Bob Thornton) with a continual scruff and look of "user" on his face.

For the most part, the characters aren't hardened stone throughout as the filmmakers show evolution from their intended course. One could say they "grew" from the initial outset, while others, like in real life, remain unchanged. Dwayne Johnson's character is a man's man who is talented behind the wheel and when needed for action is unflinching. He purposely expunges nearly all emotion but takes on the role of intimidation with his pulsating neck and commanding biceps of authority.

The movie has testosterone flowing through its veins with point blank executions and car chases. There are layers but nothing that would peel back the onion like a strict drama. This has some artistic, never-used-in-real-life dialogue sprinkled about that feels forced to fit in some areas, like they came from a practiced writer instead of from different people with different personalities. "Faster" is an effective cinematic experience that balances grit and candid entertainment while still pausing to smell the flowers that might have gotten some petrol and blood on their pedals.

Director: George Tillman Jr. (Men of Honor, Notorious)
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Gugino, Maggie Grace, Tom Berenger
Website: IMDB