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Steve (Ben Foster), left, and Arthur (Jason Statham) prepare to blast their way out of trouble in “The Mechanic.” |
If you took “The Mechanic” — an action-packed but superficial thriller — and combined it with George Clooney’s “The American” — a stylistically nuanced, but boring drama — you might get a near-perfect movie about a professional assassin philosophizing about his lonely life while engaging in ultraviolent, bloody battles in every other scene.
Simon West’s “The Mechanic,” a remake of a popular 1972 Charles Bronson crime drama, sputters along on the raw power of those graphically realistic action scenes and a plethora of howler tough-guy dialogue.
The best example: “I’ve put such a big price on your head,” Tony Goldwyn’s chief bad guy says, “that when you look into a mirror, your reflection is going to want to shoot you in the face!”
“The Mechanic” refers to Arthur, a highly efficient hit man played by “Transporter” star Jason Statham.
He starts off the movie by drowning a well-guarded drug lord in his own swimming pool right under the guns of his guards. (By starting this way, the film conveniently skips over how Arthur circumvented the heavy security at the drug lord’s compound.)
In a few quick scenes, we see that Arthur works for an international assassination group headed by the slithery Dean (Goldwyn), and that Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland) has been Arthur’s old friend and mentor.
One day, Arthur receives a shocking new assignment.
Yep. Harry. (Read more…)