The Mechanic: three stars
Rated: R for extreme violence, coarse language and nudity
I never saw the original 1972 Charles Bronson version of The Mechanic, and perhaps that's a good thing considering the track record remakes have in the annals of this column. The Death Wish movies I did see; had those films been produced today, I doubt they'd have spawned as many sequels.
Chuck is no Jason Statham. Indeed, the remake of The Mechanic is certainly geared toward my demographic, with plenty of blood and guts, more curse words than a Dr. Dre album, and just the right amount of nudity thrown in for good measure. And what's wrong with that? In my opinion, absolutely nothing. I love movies like this. They make me feel like a kid again, watching Rambo 3 for the first time and hearing Stalone utter the iconic phrase: "I'm your worst nightmare."
The story is about Arthur Bishop (Statham), a contract killer who works for a sinister corporation that specializes in making assassinations look like accidents. In reality, guys like this are probably paranoid loners, scared to step into the light for fear of being pinched. But Bishop is calm and collected, a hedonist who spends his free time fixing up a prized sports car; a man who believes a hooker isn't a hooker if you tip her. For a hundred bucks you're a john; for a couple thousand, you're a connoisseur.
Things go south for Bishop when he is contracted to kill his former mentor and close friend, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland). It gets even worse when Harry's son Steve (Ben Foster) shows up out of the blue wanting Bishop to train him in the mystic art of contract killing. "Look on the internet," Bishop says; "you'll find everything you need there." Sad but true.
All in all, The Mechanic is a solid action flick. It delivers a good amount of carnage every adrenaline junky is sure to enjoy.
ëTil next time! See you at the movies.
