CAST: Jason Stratham (Arthur Bishop), Ben Foster (Steve Mckenna), Donald Sutherland (Harry McKenna), tony Goldwyn (Dean Sanderson), Jeff Chase (Burke); DIRECTOR: Simon West; SCREENWRITER: Karl Gajdusek; GENRE: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense; DISTRIBUTOR: CBS Films; RUNNING TIME: 100 minutes
Technical Assessment: 3.5
Moral Assessment: 2
CINEMA Rating: Audience Age 18 and above
The mechanic in The Mechanic is Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham), a professional killer employed by a murder-for-money corporation that specializes in murders where murderers are untraceable because the modus operandi mislead and the killings don’t look like murders at all. Bishop is a cool criminal, competent in his field in that he leaves his heart in his freezer when he goes out to kill. He is assigned to kill his friend and mentor Harry (Donald Sutherland); he thinks it is a painful job but proceeds anyway—it’s just a job, and Harry is another killer anyway—all in a day’s work. The Mechanic is actually about the relationship between Bishop and Steve, a bum of a son who idolizes Bishop and pleads to be taken under the former’s wing to learn his trade. He learns fast, until the two practically become a team that kills for money during the day and spends the money on prostitutes during the night.
The Mechanic is a remake of a 1972 Charles Bronson starrer, and is reminiscent of The American of George Clooney. The mere mention of action he-man Statham as lead character should give audiences a clue as to the sound and fury in the movie. Directing is Simon West (Tomb Raiders) who follows in the footsteps of Michael Winner (who directed the Bronson version). Whether their movies are worth making at all is beside the point—these directors are accomplished technicians who have honed their skills to the extent of leading their audience to like noise and action as entertainment. The script by Richard Wenk somehow attempts to inject human meaning into this kill-or-be-killed movie, as when the white-haired, hangdog-faced Sutherland character on a wheelchair is credited with more dignity than it deserves.
It can be so disturbing to watch a movie about a killing corporation—a company that employs people to kill. With all the news nowadays about people getting shot at close range by assassins speeding away on motorcycles, one would think it’s not only in the movies after all, that people are hired to murder. If you are strong enough to separate the reel from the real, you may still find entertainment in The Mechanic, because technically it’s good. Substance-wise it’s not entirely bad as there’s the character Steve who acts like a meat-tenderizer for the whole story—watch closely what goes on between the teary eyed Steve and Arthur on the brink of a confession and you’ll know what we mean. But then the ending is inconclusive and leaves the audience to decide what will now happen to the mechanic. He is a genius at cheating death—he is victorious because he prepares for his victories. So, will his hardened heart finally lead to his turn around? Whatever you wish for him to become, remember that in a world that professes that Jesus is the Son of God, killers (even killers of killers) should never be revered as heroes.
