Blu-Ray Review: Jason Statham, Ben Foster Keep ‘The Mechanic’ From Breaking Down

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CHICAGO – We have seen dozens of movies about hit men caught in dangerous situations. There is something that fascinates us about men who take the assignment to kill someone and just pack up and wait for the next job. Inevitably, the movies tell us that these men will pay the price, whether it be a job gone horribly wrong or an attempt to leave a profession that doesn’t come with a pension plan. The latest entry in the subgenre is the Jason Statham vehicle “The Mechanic,” a film that works reasonably well as a rental but falls a bit flat with a disappointing final act.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

It’s rare to say this because the action genre is so typically based on anything but actual character, but it’s the central performances by Statham and the great Ben Foster that keep “The Mechanic” interesting. As for the plot, we’ve seen it all before, and the action is uninspired and generic as well. Most damagingly, the final act feels bizarrely truncated as the movie rushes to an abrupt ending just as it should be getting interesting. Despite the disappointing finale and relatively generic script, Statham and Foster find the edge beneath the surface of these characters and keep the film from breaking down completely.

The Mechanic was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 17, 2011
Photo credit: Sony Home Video

Arthur Bishop (Statham) is a mechanic, a hit man who takes any assignment with no questions asked. His goal is to get the job done and draw as little attention to himself as possible. Get in. Kill. Get out. His world is turned upside down when his new assignment is to kill his mentor, a wheelchair-bound man named Harry (Donald Sutherland). His boss (a typically-slimy Tony Goldwyn) convinces him that Harry had gone bad and, without doing nearly enough research, Bishop takes his word for it.

The Mechanic was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 17, 2011 Photo credit: Sony Home Video

After killing Harry, his mentor’s son Steve (Ben Foster) approaches him because he wants to learn the same trade that dear old dad never imparted to him. Without nearly enough questions (plot holes in the script for “The Mechanic” are regularly caused by what seems like a desire to rush the running time instead of explaining character motives), Bishop takes on Steve and teaches him how to become a deadly assassin. Of course, everything has to come full circle in the final act.

There’s a lot going on plot-wise in this remake of the Charles Bronson 1972 hit but West and his screenwriters seem almost in a rush to get to the final credits. The best scenes involve the dynamic between the laid-back Statham and the out-of-control Foster, as their very different styles make them interesting partners in murder. They’re good enough here (and there are a few interesting action scenes) that “The Mechanic” is worth a rental but it won’t rank too high for fans of the bald action star or those who loved the original.

As for the Blu-ray release of “The Mechanic,” the video is solid (Sony almost always delivers in that department) and the audio is strong but the special features are remarkably scant. I guess early-year action movies that disappoint at the box office don’t get A-list Blu-ray treatment but Statham fans deserved better.

Special Features:
o Deleted Scenes
o Extended Scenes
o Tools of the Trade
o MovieIQ

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com