By Claran Lambert/tr news editor
Jason Statham loves starring in movies full of action and start with the word “The.”
Photo courtesy CBS Films
The Mechanic is no exception.
Within the first five minutes of this action-packed thrill ride, Statham’s character, Arthur Bishop, completes the first kill of the film by drowning a suspected druglord in his own pool and then fooling the guards by moving the man’s arms as if he were alive and swimming.
In the film, Bishop is a mechanic, a man who fixes problems and sometimes makes them look like accidents. In his downtime, he likes to listen to Franz Schubert and sex up beautiful women.
His best friend and handler, Harry, played by Donald Sutherland, is killed, and Bishop decides to train Harry’s son, Steven, played by Ben Foster, who has his eyes on vengeance and wants to learn the tools of the trade.
Throughout their training, Steven proves to be more a hassle than a partner. At one point, he almost gets them killed by a security team. However, Bishop seems to like the energy that Steven brings to the table.
Eventually, their employers turn on them, and they are forced to take the fight to the company.
No, seriously. The two take the fight to them. Bishop even tells the bad guy to save the gas because he’s coming for him.
Statham is nothing less than hardcore in this film. His fight scenes are more realistic than those in Crank or The Transporter series, and his stoic character makes the intensity all the more entertaining. He also shows his charm when it comes to his “special friend” whom he sees after a hard day’s work.
Foster, however, channels his crazy cowboy from 3:10 to Yuma and adds a bit of sarcasm with just a hint of charm to play Steven. He has serious anger issues, and the way he takes care of his mark shows he likes to play rough. In one scene, instead of making a quick, clean kill, Steven chooses to fight a 6-foot-7, 300-pound mechanic and beat him to death savagely.
The two work well as a team, Bishop and Steven as well as Statham and Foster. They play off each other, and although they don’t talk much while working, they communicate in a unique way.
The filmmakers, however, believe that action means quick camera movements and fast fight scenes, making some of the best scenes difficult to watch, much less enjoy.
