(Long Island, N.Y.)Last
week I reviewed sophisticated art house film The King’s Speech. This week I review The Mechanic, which is neither sophisticated nor artsy, but it does have more explosions and a much higher body count. That’s gotta count for something, right?
Younger viewers might not be familiar with the glory that is Charles Bronson. A rather ugly, hard-as-nails man who often played characters that were cold, methodical, and ruthless to the extreme, he made a living churning out various action flicks up through the 1980’s. An especially good Bronson starting point for the uninitiated would probably be his masterpiece, Death Wish 3, which would hands-down win the title of best action flick of 1985 if it were not for the existence of a movie titled Commando, starring this little-known Austrian guy.
Anyway, the reason I’m schooling you about Mr. Bronson is that The Mechanic is actually a remake of his classic 1972 tale of a reclusive hitman that specializes in making his kills look like accidents. He takes on the son of one of his marks as a protégée and starts training him in the ways of offing folks. Tomfoolery ensues. And really, that’s it, but what the film lacks in depth, it
more than makes up for in its quiet, methodical approach to storytelling and its powerful atmosphere. Hell, there’s even no dialogue for, like, the first 20 minutes or so, just Bronson scientifically setting up and eventually carrying out a complex hit on somebody. It’s absorbing.
So, because Hollywood has not one collective idea within their collective heads, they have once again gone back to the well and done a total re-tread
of a film that was probably best left alone to begin with. But, this particular remake doesn’t offend me quite so much as the 10,000,000 released just last month. First of all, the 2011 version of The Mechanic stars Brit B-movie star Jason Statham, who pretty much reigns as top of the heap of today’s neutered action stars. In other words, if Bronson and Statham met in a dark alley, Bronson would be the one walking out, but compared to clowns like Dwayne Johnson, Statham gets the job done just fine.
Another reason I’m not too offended by this remake is the fact that, given the 39 year-long gap between this and the original, using modern film-making and storytelling techniques gives the tale of The Mechanic a somewhat fresh sheen. I’m not saying it’s better than the original – it’s not – but it does come across as somewhat worthwhile and entertaining, at the very least.
The plot is basically the same as the original: Arthur Bishop (Statham) is a professional assassin who is eventually hired to bump off his mentor, Harry (played by Donald Sutherland), which he does. That’s not very nice, and afterwards he’s kinda bummed about it, which is why he ends up taking Harry’s estranged, wanna-be hit-man son, Steve (Ben Foster), under his wing, teaching him the secrets of death and destruction. Of course, Bishop doesn’t really come out and say what actually happened to daddy, but you know eventually Steve’s going to find out what really happened, putting the two on a collision course to an epic showdown.
I
like The Mechanic. The first half actually tried to mirror the slow build-up of the original Bronson offering…well, as close as modern, ADD-addled film-making can manage, anyway. Suffice it to say, the action doesn’t really kick in big-time until the second half, and by that point, subtlety is tossed out the window in favor of action, action, and more action. It’s an odd mix; the 1972 version had its adrenaline-pumping moments, but the film itself remained slow-paced and firmly rooted in reality. The 2011 version tries this approach for a bit, but eventually says “screw it” and goes way over-the-top instead. Still, director Simon West (who gave us such “classics” as Con Air and Tomb Raider) keeps things from getting too out-of-control…for example, the editing of the action scenes actually ISN’T riddled with a bazillion cuts and edits per second; this man West actually allows us to SEE what’s going on! Madness!
Jason Statham is Jason Statham…really, why else would you watch a Jason Statham movie? He’s got a fair amount of charisma, he can kick a decent amount of behind, and he even manages to display some solid acting ability. He never strays from this formula, but that’s okay with me…it prevents him from doing
stupid things like making crappy children’s movies. No, no, Jason…just stick to killing people. We need at least one modern action star who resists the need to emasculate himself just to line his pockets with yet even more dough.
Donald Sutherland does the most he can with what amounts to a cameo, and Ben Foster seriously impresses with a rather edgy performance. I don’t know who this guy is or what other movies he’s been in, if any (I mean, I’m typing this on a laptop that has internet access, so I could easily open a
browser and find out…but, I’ll admit, I’m way too lazy to do so), but maybe, possibly, he could be a star in the future. Maybe.
So, while certainly not as good as the original, the 2011 version of The Mechanic manages to be one of the few remakes made in history that doesn’t completely fall on its face in comparison to its source material. It tries to ape the engrossing atmosphere of the 1972 version at first and partially succeeds, but eventually it just goes into loud ‘kaboomkaboompowpowblam’ mode instead and becomes your typical action flick, albeit a competently-directed one. Well worth checking out.
