Movie Review: The Mechanic

GRADE: A

Who do you call when you have a problem that can't be fixed by ordinary means? Apparently you call The Mechanic.
(Sigh) Man, where do I start? The Mechanic is an action-packed extravaganza of a movie starring Jason Statham as Arthur Bishop. This movie was great. As you can probably pick up from the themes of my reviewed movies, the hubby and I both love action thrillers. I actually called my brother today and told him to go see this movie. Why? Because it's got a lot of shooting, killing, and things blowing up. LOL! That may say something about my psyche but hey, growing up with two brothers kind of led me to a predisposition to love good old fashioned shoot 'em up movies.


The movie also stars Ben Foster as Steve McKenna. You may remember Ben from The Messenger, 3:10 to Yuma, or one of my favorites, X-men: The Last Stand. He did a great job in this movie. I don't think I really realized how good an actor Ben is. He did a great job portraying a tormented and angry young man who appears to be lonely and neglected. I love when actors are so believable that you forget who they are and what you've seen them in prior to the movie you're watching.


If there is a theme in this movie, it is that, "Victory Loves Preparation". Arthur Bishop is a controlled cold-blooded assassin with a strict code and professional detachment in all of his "jobs". This is in direct contrast with Steve McKenna who is a young, impulsive, and angry hot-head. These two had a wonderful onscreen chemistry together. It was really a pleasure watching them.


I didn't realize that this movie was a remake of a 1972 version starring Charles Bronson. Having never seen the older version, I'm not sure if this remake did the original justice, but I did enjoy the new 2011 version. Jason Statham seems to be the new go-to guy for action flicks. Every action movie that he has been in lately has been a pleasure to watch if you are looking for a lot of random things blowing up (LOL). The new version also stars Donald Sutherland as Harry McKenna, Arthur's mentor in the crazy world of being a contract killer.


In my opinion, this movie is a definite must see if you are a fan of action thrillers. I think the movie got mixed reviews from the critics, but both the hubby and I enjoyed it. It was one of those movies that you go to see and at the end of the movie, you sit there in the theater and say, "Dang, that was a good movie". We'll probably be watching it again on DVD when it comes out. Yes, we liked it that much.

"Victory Loves Preparation..."