Make way for the cool hitman

The Mechanic (2011)
Certified: 18
Duration: 92 minutes
Directed by: Simon West
Starring: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Tony Goldwyn, Jeff Chase, Mini Anden
KRS release

This remake of the 1972 film The Mechanic, that had starred Charles Bronson, will satisfy all action fans. Directed by Simon West (Con Air) with aplomb and an unbridled sense of fun, The Mechanic never slows down and is one of the coolest films among the recent crop of actioners.

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a hitman who is very good at what he does. When he is given a job, he does not delve into the why of the job but carries it out in an efficient and clinical manner, earning the respect of his boss Dean (Tony Goldwyn).

For the first time, however, Arthur is confused about his next target – his mentor Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland). Dean demonstrates how Harry was a traitor and his actions had led to the death in South Africa of five other assassins all employed by the same organisation. Arthur decides to carry out the job and kills Harry, making it look like it was not a murder but a carjacking gone wrong.

Then he starts feeling guilty about it and so decides to help Harry’s son Steve (Ben Foster) who is hunting down his father’s killer. He starts to teach him the necessary skills to become a hitman; however, Steve becomes a different kind of hitman: he is reckless and cruel, seeming to enjoy the job too much. Soon he is given his first job: to get rid of fellow assassin Burke (Jeff Chase) and then Vaughn (John McConnell), which, however, ends up being a botched job. This makes Dean issue a hit order on Arthur and Steve and the bullets really start flying.

Mr Statham plays Arthur Bishop the way we expect him to and he once again shows why he makes for such a great action hero. The star of The Transporter and Crank sagas, plays it all so cool. Nobody bashes heads and breaks legs the way he does it on screen. His coldness and that aura of his is to be lauded as this is what probably is the staple of the modern action hero.

The film also benefits from the presence of Ben Foster whom I last remember as the villain of 3:10 To Yuma (2007). He brings a sense of madness and uncontrollable rage to the film and with it a sense of urgency that really gives the proceedings more scope. He simply has nothing to live for and that is an ingredient that makes his acting much more noticeable.

Under Simon West’s direction, The Mechanic emerges as a tight film, stylish and proud of its attitude. Mr West describes characters and personalities through a few well-edited shots and no unnecessary frills. He keeps the pacing fast, the action hard and frenetic and makes sure to leave the odd surprise here and there to keep us on our toes. In the end, it is the whole aura of the film, this sense of trimmed, no-excess manner of shooting that makes The Mechanic such a hard-hitting action movie.