'The Mechanic'

'The Mechanic' (R) (1 1/2 stars)

Writers: Richard Wenk and Lewis John Carlino
Director: Simon West
Starring: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Tony Goldwyn, Christa Campbell

I really like Jason Statham because he has a cool demeanor perfect enough to play a hit man. I like the "Transporter" movies and even the first "Crank" movie and he makes smart choices like "The Bank Job". Jason is so cool that I think he didn't realize that he was making something wrong here. It is not bad to remake a Charles Bronson movie because I am not a big fan of Bronson or really any of his movies. I didn't see the original 1972 film "The Mechanic" with Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent but I bet it wasn't as sleazy and nasty as this remake. I felt like taking a shower after this movie. I am usually not bothered by violence in movies but if the story has holes I can notice violence that is overdone like it is here. The story is pretty simple, Statham plays a hit man who is forced to kill his friend and mentor played by Donald Sutherland. Tony Goldwyn, in his "Ghost" bad guy mode, plays the man who gives Statham's Arthur Bishop the contract to kill his friend. Then after feeling used and guilty he mentors his friend's son Steve Mckenna played by the fine actor Ben Foster and they go after him.

The movie starts out pretty well with a nifty hit on a gangster in his swimming pool at his mansion. The set up with Sutherland is good and the actor brings something to the character that is not there. When Arthur finds out that Steve actually has a lot of violence inside and actually likes causing damage the movie starts to sink. Then there is a scene where Arthur and Steve have to kill a bad guy who likes men. Steve seduces the man and they go back to his house. What follows is a gruesome fight that goes on for an eternity. I have seen a lot of good fight scenes that were very bloody and violent but this one turned me off. Do we really have to make this bad guy a homosexual and does the scene have to be this cruel and ugly? Then later we get another religious leader/bad guy who molests teenage women. Add to that a scene where a stereotypically written black drug dealer gets beaten up and after he is unconscious he gets beaten up even more. I have seen bad guys like this in other movies but the writing here is so shallow. Another problem is half way through this movie I figured out what would happen by the end and I even figured out the twist ending or endings.

Statham is good here but I know he can pick better projects. I would take any "Crank" or "Transporter" movie over this ugly crap any day. Ben Foster is also good here and he is a great and intense actor and he has a great future, he just has to watch out for bad movies. Check him out in "3:10 to Yuma" and "The Messenger" and you will see one of our best young actors. I also find it kind of creepy that the only female character and I mean only one in this tripe is a prostitute. I know hit man characters can't have girlfriends because of the job but really? One of the characters has to have a mother or sister. So what you have here is a movie with bad, shallow writing, wasted actors and needlessly nasty, overdone violence. I have seen a lot of violent, entertaining movies about hit men but "The Mechanic" is not even entertaining on a minuscule level.