“EXPLOSIVE THRILLER”
Starring: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Tony Goldwyn and Mini Anden
Directed by: Simon West (Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, Con Air)
MPAA Rating: R for strong brutal violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity
Genre: Action, thriller
Running Time: 1hr 32min
Release Date: January 28, 2011
Distributed by: CBS Films
By John Delia
Explosive, vicious and exhilarating, all the things that men like in a film are jammed into the 92 minutes of The Mechanic. The no-stop assassin drama kept me on the edge of my seat while bombs exploded, bullets flew, death defying stunts performed, knife fights, well you know what Crank was like, but count on double here. If you want to up your testosterone levels, then this is your kick-ass thriller.
The Mechanic’s plot surrounds Arthur Bishop (Statham), a hired assassin who makes a very good living knocking off drug lords and political dictators. He lives a very dangerous life but the perks are great. His hideaway in the New Orleans Bayou has all the amenities one could ask for and he manages to spend nights with some exciting girls. One day he gets assigned a hit on his very close associate Harry (Donald Sutherland), a job he cannot refuse or put his own life in jeopardy. At the funeral he runs into Harry’s son Steve (Ben Foster) who tells Arthur that he wants to get his dad’s killer. Thus starts an unusual bond, one that takes them on a cringing death ride.
Statham plays his brilliantly usual tough guy who’s relentless on getting his score no matter what it takes. I am a huge fan of his and he has never let me down on the screen. Here he makes me even more devout. Ben Foster expels a nasty persona as Steve making a great sidekick to Arthur. You can see in his face that every fight Steve gets into more fuel gets added to his hatred.
That said how could the two stars go wrong under the direction Simon West (Con Air, Laura Croft: Tomb Raider).  The man has a mind of a maniac creating one brutal scene after the next. I was amazed at how real the action looked, explosive the story rolled out and the intrigue that was woven within.
The Mechanic is rated R for strong brutal violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity. Although the target audience is males, I could see a lot of women in the audience getting thrilled by it as well.
FINAL ANALYSIS:Â A killer an action thriller. (B+)