Friday, January 28, 2011
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Friday, January 28, 2011
MOVIE REVIEW
The Mechanic
The American.
The Limey. No,
That’s Taken. The Remake.
Yes, Yes, Bingo!
Ben Foster as Steven and Jason Statham as Arthur in "The
Mechanic".
CBS Films
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday, January 28, 2011
Michael Winner's same-titled 1972 film with Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent has been
remade by Simon West ("Con Air"). "The Mechanic" stars Jason Statham and
Ben Foster in the roles occupied by Mr. Bronson and Mr. Vincent in the original.
Mr. West's remake opened
across the U.S. and Canada today.
Mr. Statham had a cameo at the start of "Collateral" (2004), carrying a list of
targets for Tom Cruise's character to dismantle in Los Angeles. In Mr.
West's new film, set in a different LA (Louisiana), the British action man takes
on Mr. Cruise's hit-man role full-bore. Stoic, focused and serious, Mr.
Statham is Arthur, who does what he's told, most of the time, by his stony,
dispassionate boss Dean ("Conviction"
director Tony Goldwyn). Arthur tells us drolly in the film's only bit of
narration, that as a mechanic his trade is killing. "Hits".
Dean instructs Arthur to eliminate several unsuspecting targets including Harry
(Donald Sutherland), a man he's known for years. Harry's wayward son
Steven (Ben Foster) teams up with Arthur to avenge Harry's death. The
killer is closer, of course, than Steven thinks. Meanwhile, Arthur
teaches Steven how to execute marks on cue. "Cleanly!", Arthur implores.
After an entertaining first 30-40 minutes "The Mechanic" devolves into hard-core
violence. (A look at the movie poster should surprise no one about the
violence to come, nor should the film's shiny-gun fetish flair.)
Mr. Statham and Mr. Foster have good moments in their
teacher-student roles, though I wanted more. Mr. Foster possesses a
percolating mischief in his work ("Alpha
Dog", "The
Messenger"). In some films his mischief explodes and sprawls.
Mr. Foster's abilities are perfect for the tone of this predictable drama.
He underplays Steven, letting loud explosions do the talking. At times you
sense Steven's always wanted to do something adventurous with his life, but was
foiled by his father. After Harry's demise, Steven lets loose like a man
released from serving 30 years in San Quentin. Mercy!
Mr. West's film is weighted by cliché and action/anti-hero genre trappings.
We've seen this updated "Mechanic" before in the recent films
"Taken" (2009) and
"The American"
(2010), among many others. The new film isn't as disciplined or as
measured as "American". It's a closer cousin to "Taken" in pace and visual
style: fast, lurid and Peckinpah-flavored.
Mr. Foster's Steven is a conduit for the film's events to wrap itself around in
end-run fashion. Steven is cardboard, but likable cardboard, as is Arthur,
whose rugged finesse is the order of the day. Mannered, Arthur's detached
calm befits the film's atmosphere. The harsh violence isn't cartoonish but
Mr. Statham makes the best of one very tense situation with a sight gag.
"The Mechanic" has attitude and is unapologetic about its energy and swagger.
Tough, lean and relentless, it has the bite of a brutalized pit bull.
Mark Isham's music score, reminiscent of John Barry's for the 007 movies, evokes
the secret agent, whom Arthur veers toward. Arthur's rough trade, but he's
living fairly high on the hog as an elite assassin. Martinis aren't his
game, but like James Bond he's not a deep, weighty figure. (The film's other music
choices were distracting, throwing me off the movie's beaten path -- discordant with the film's general
mood. The cheerier music is likely Steven's anthem.)
"The Mechanic" has little in common with its older cinematic brother. The new film lacks the warmth and camaraderie Mr. Bronson
and Mr. Vincent shared 40 years ago, as well as the depth of Mr. Bronson's title
character. Mr. Winner's original showed an avuncular, older Arthur plagued
by issues and scarlet red pajamas. Here, there's estrangement and tension
between Mr. Statham and Mr. Foster, and Mr. Statham goes the Johnny Cash route
as a man in black. Mr. Statham is more admirable here than in other
movies, playing the same "Transporter" role he has for years. The dynamic between the
new leads works in a film based on Lewis John Carlino's original 1972 story and screenplay. Mr. Carlino and Richard Wenk wrote the screenplay, which has more grit and punch
than its predecessor.
This surprisingly good film has a touch of "Crank" in one scene. Mr. West,
known for punchy, visceral films like "The General's Daughter",
makes a number of his new film's targets mostly white ogre-like males, including a parody
of a super-rich evangelist (Rick Warren?) "The Mechanic" has
personality enough to engage you with a few funny situations and a
stand-out one liner that had me laughing for several minutes. The
priceless line is worth the admission price.
"The Mechanic" is a funny, frenetic guilty pleasure. Not as good as it
deserved to be, but not nearly as bad, either.
With: Jeff Chase, Mini Anden, James Logan, John McConnell, Christa Campbell,
Lara Grice, Joshua Bridgewater.
"The Mechanic"
is rated R by the Motion Picture
Association Of America for strong brutal violence throughout, language some
sexual content and nudity. The film's
running time is one hour and 32 minutes.
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