Blu-Ray Review: The Mechanic (15)

Let's face it, Jason Statham will probably never win an Oscar. If somehow, in the next few years, the Academy comes calling, I will gladly eat my words. Until then, I think we can at least agree that he is very entertaining to watch. His films are not normally overly cerebral, but what they lack in depth, they make up for in action sequences.

And thus we lead into The Mechanic, a 93 minute movie that showcases Statham's action man qualities. Here he plays an assassin (a well paid one by the look of his abode) who trains a young man (Ben Foster) in the art of killing, whilst also keeping a devastating secret from him.

And that's it to be honest. The plot is uncomplicated and the characters are never fully developed beyond a need for vengeance. Statham's Arthur Bishop kills people for a living and occasionally visits a beautiful prostitute. We are clueless to his background except knowing that at some point he met Henry McKenna (Donald Sutherland) who mentored him. How? Why? Director Simon West seems to think this information is unimportant, so chooses to divulge no further.  

Foster's character Steve is just a big a mystery; an angry young man with daddy issues. Foster is convincing as a damaged man with a need to prove himself.
I also spent most of the film thinking how much Ben Foster reminded me of Aaron Paul. That's not a criticism, just an observation.

The film is extremely short by modern film standards. Although this means that the viewer has no time to get bored, an extra 15-20 minutes would have been useful for the audience to see a bit more of the relationship between teacher and student. As it is, the viewer only gets to see Bishop teach Steve to fire a few guns, yet a few scenes later they are both scaling the outside of a tall building with ease and fighting off several bodyguards.

For an action film, the mood is quite chilled until the final 30 minutes when everything kicks off. It's this final third that makes it all worth while. As I said earlier, Statham is an athletic entertainer, dispatching the bad guys with kick ass moves and a sneer on his face. Statham finally stops mumbling through the exposition scenes, looking concerned at everything, and does what the fans have been waiting to see.


Because of its run time and final half hour, The Mechanic is entertaining enough without over working the brain. A sequel is supposedly planned and I hope the film makers decide to delve into the characters' histories.