Oh and likes Jason Statham to act in films, the title of which fits into one word! ' Carrier', ' Revolver', 'Accomplice', ' Adrenaline', 'War', 'Confrontation', 'Bone 'Chaos'Chaos', 'Chaos', 'The Expendables','The Defendant''''The Defendant''''''The Defendant'''''' And of course 'Mechanic'.
The film by Simon West is a remake of the eponymous film with Charles Bronson, though with some discrepancies in the plot. But the main plot canvas remains unchanged, because the key figure is Arthur Bishop (Statham) - a hired killer working for a certain 'Organization'. He is distinguished by high professionalism, because each of his orders is like a natural death of a person, and not a contract murder. His next case forces Bishop to kill a man with whom they were friends. And after a while, on Arthur’s doorstep, the son of the murdered Steve McKenna (Ban Foster), who also wants to become a mercenary, appears. The duo of heroes begins training, simultaneously fulfilling orders ' Organizations', gradually getting close to those who could deceive them.
Regarding the fighters with Jason Statham, it is probably not necessary to write something new, because in them Statham appears in his usual image and always plays off the same guy. His story may be different, but Jason is always the same. Pain and mercy are unknown to him, his face does not express emotions, he always goes ahead. Each of his shots is clear and in business, each shot is exceptionally strong.
In ' Mechanics' his abilities, his skill was pumped even to a higher level, because here Statham is a hardened killer who can pull off a case of any complexity. It is difficult to argue that his hero should be that way. As for the character of Foster, he, as befits a student who is taught the basics of murder by an experienced teacher, acts as a kind of naughty puppy with his own character, but at the same time forced to obey commands.
Simon West, who directed this film, declared himself as a man versed in militant craft (' Air Prison', ' General's Daughter', ' Laura Croft', ' When a stranger calls'), saturated the plot ' Mechanics' action to the maximum. Most of the adrenaline scenes are performed magnificently for their genre. Thanks to this, the film has acquired the features of a really dynamic and constantly holding a hand on the pulse of the viewer of the film, due to which it is really interesting to watch.
But despite this, the picture did not collect too much at the box office, even not exceeding the cost of themselves twice. It is possible that 'Mechanics' it was difficult to compete with the released in that year ' Mission Impossible', ' Source code', ' Living Steel' and other action films. There's a lot to see, though. Fans of Statham will like Statham himself, fans of the sharp plot will be pleased with the juicy and bright action, and lovers of country music will probably be fascinated by the musical accompaniment.
The film deserves the attention of the audience (although you may disagree and say that this is another movie with the unkillable Jason), if only because this action movie is well shot and edited. There is nothing superfluous in it that would make you bored or wonder ' why is it necessary here?' because 'The Mechanic' is a solid drive.
But look at you. I do not impose my opinion on anyone.
Director Simon West is famous for such cult films as ' Air Prison', ' Laura Croft' and here he once again took on the role of director, filming a remake of 1972 'Mechanic', and the main role was played by the famous British Jason Statham, who quite confidently established himself as one of the main stars of the militants.
In the story, Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a mechanic or hired killer who performs tasks on request, he is a professional in his field, performs all tasks skillfully and most importantly quietly and silently, because it is not difficult to kill a person, the height of skill is when everything is done imperceptibly and arranged as an accident. This is what attracted me to this film, even though the plot is not new and similar films have already been shot, but it was still interesting for me to watch how brutal Statham commits silent murders. But he also has his own principles and feelings, although he has almost no friends, Harry’s disabled (played by Donald Sutherland) is his only friend, and when it turned out that Harry was involved in one of the plots, Arthur had nothing left but to kill him, but everything turns out to be not as simple as it seemed at first. Harry has only one son, Stephen (performed by Ben Foster). As always, Ben played his character well, a little nervous, a little twitchy with periodic feelings of aggression, in some shots of the film I even thought that Ben outplayed Statham. Their tandem looked interesting, especially when Arthur taught Stephen his art.
'Mechanic' - a strong medium action movie from the master of his craft Simon West with the cool and harsh Jason Statham.
Militants, in which we are skillfully made to worry about seemingly negative heroes - thieves and even murderers, or just criminal authorities, are already numbered in the hundreds, and one of the best such bold projects in Russia is still undeniably considered "Brigade", and of the most successful Hollywood fighters, where gangsters are represented by positive heroes, we can cite the example of "Robbery in Italian", in which, by the way, the same actor starred in the film, which will be discussed on this page. Liam Neeson, specializing mainly in the roles of defenders of justice, but starring in films of different genres; starred exclusively in action films and thrillers, not disdaining thrash like "Adrenaline", where he, as in "Mechanics", played a killer, but the story was much more rigid and intended exclusively for the audience of 18+; quite often plays bad guys, whose images are presented in such a way that the viewer has to worry about his character, and not only from the banal sympathy for the famous actor. Even his sharply negative character in “Furious 7” smoothly switched to the side of “our” in the eighth part of the super-blockbuster, in the final of which only the phrase of the main character of the type “welcome to the family!” was missing, which means that Jason in most roles plays those who are attractive to the viewer. In "Mechanics" his hero, despite the criminal activity , appears before the viewer principled man, who will never go to meanness.
So, Jason Statham's character Arthur makes a living by murders that he commits perfectly without leaving evidence, and the opening scene shows the murder of a man in the pool who, as it turns out, was a drug lord, which suggests that Arthur may only kill villains. But he receives an order to kill someone who is his friend, and Arthur tries to save this man, by the way, who is disabled, and at the meeting, when Arthur intended to take the friend to safety, he persuaded Arthur to kill him so that there would be no problems. Arthur is forced to kill a disabled man, after which he learns that his son is mired in debt and forced to leave, but Arthur is ready to take him in. The guy doesn't know yet that his new patron is his father's killer. He asks Arthur to turn him into a killer, just as his father taught Arthur. The professional initially refuses, but when he sees a guy beating up someone he suspects of killing his father, he begins to teach him how to do things wisely. He says you can't kill out of revenge. The first task, which requires patience, is to portray a regular cafe for three weeks, sitting there with a newspaper and a dog. After teaching the hot guy the basics of a simple profession, Arthur for the first time gives him the task of killing a man - a weapons dealer who supplies guns to everyone who pays. He is gay, and he loves Chihuahua dogs very much, that is, the newly-made killer these three weeks lured him to himself, and it is very easy to kill him - to sprinkle poison into alcohol, but at the crucial moment the guy gets lost, which almost cost him his life and something very important. The next object of liquidation will be the founder of the sect - an oligarch and a moral debauchery.
Reading one of the negative reviews of “Mechanics”, I imagined a thrash action movie in the style of “Adrenaline”, because the author described the film as a full set of murders and vile scenes, and resented the presence in the cinema of an 11-year-old girl who can hardly take anything out of such a film. It's not really that gloomy, I'll tell you. Of course, at the age of 11, maybe you really shouldn’t look at noble killers, or else you’ll want to do the same (see episode 14 of our series “The Travellers”, where the village boys watched the view “Once Upon a Time in America” and decided to become gangsters, using a local alcoholic as a pass to the train where they began to steal), but 18+ will be too strict a restriction. “Mechanic” is not a thrash, but a quite good American action movie with an exciting and tense plot, a minimum of blood and cruelty, a moderate number of special effects, and ground for worrying for a person who chose the wrong path (we are talking about the ward of the main character). It's a great movie for fans of the genre.
"The Mechanic" - this is quite a good action movie, which are many in the filmography Jason Statham. It is not something outstanding, but it is quite watchable and capable of captivating the viewer for its entire hour and a half duration.
The plot in itself is not something incredible, but nevertheless quite good. Arthur Bishop is one of the assassins of an organization that accepts orders for the elimination of individuals for round sums, while most murders are performed very thinly and disguised as accidents. Agent 47 is just crying on the sidelines. The narrative gives exactly one predictable plot twist, the rest is just an action that almost does not develop the plot.
With the visual part of the film is all right - a good action pleases, suitable for action film director, in general, there are no special complaints. Well, more for a film of this genre is not necessary.
Result: "The Mechanic" is a nice one-off action movie for the evening. Yes, there is nothing special about it, but all the key components of the genre are in place. A positive review and
This film once again proves the simple truth about the projects involving Statham: “I watched two, so I watched everything.”
The film is good quality, there is nothing to say. There's action. Lots of expensive cars, please. Lots of stereotypes about tough killers. But cinema is what is called without a soul. We've all seen it hundreds of times and in a cooler performance. Tired of ...
The main character Bishop is uninteresting and completely stereotyped. Personally, I could not sympathize with him. Steve is Bishop's student. He's more interesting. But still unsolved. It is easy, but it is not easy.
Jason Statham did a great job, albeit very simple. Ben Foster liked the role of psychopath Steve. The short-lived role of Donald Sutherland pleased the eye.
A movie without a soul. Watch only ardent fans of films with Statham or in the absence of other options.
6 out of 10
Simon West's film belongs to the category of militants who leave a pleasant spectator aftertaste with their correspondence to the genre and happily avoided excessive simplification and primitiveness. To do this, a classic set of conditions was needed: a simple plot: on the one hand, without excessive pretentiousness and excesses, and on the other - at least with minimally twisted intrigue; interesting characters and a successful set of actors for them with a couple or more (depending on the script) charismatic main figures; finally, the entertainment provided by competent staging of fights and action in general, decent special effects closely related to them and the professional work of the operator.
All these conditions the creative team of the film provided almost in full. Except that the intrigue almost reached, for which I shot the tape two points. Almost the same impression left me removed after this West the second "Unstoppable". There were also slight flaws that did not spoil the overall picture. At the same time, even more recent "Medalon" with Nicholas Cage West frankly failed, with "Mechanic" it is not close to put.
The main key to the success of the latter was, of course, Jason Statham - the persona for a modern action film is not that classical, but perhaps canonical. In movies like this, Jason feels even more comfortable than a fish in the water. This is not an exception to "Mechanic". And the hero Statem prescribed quite sane and interesting. With a strong desire to find fault, you can point to some parallels between his character and Leon from the picture of the same name, but in my opinion, they are very approximate and conditional. Personally, Arthur Bishop attracted me primarily because he almost equally works not only with his fists, but also with his brains. Watching how he studies everything to the smallest detail, calculates options, analyzes, checks in advance almost every movement, and most importantly, how he reacts to unforeseen circumstances when he has to use all his ingenuity and ingenuity, having only a couple of seconds for this, is a real pleasure. Well, for hand-to-hand combat and shooting, you can be calm initially: one name of the actor here serves as a guarantee. Well, principledness, coupled with the honesty of Bishop, cannot but cause respect. In short, it's a hero.
Ben Foster in the role of Steve McKenna makes him a good duet. Ben skillfully played his completely unpredictable character, from whom you do not know what to expect in the next second and so throughout the film. It is difficult to calculate his actions even for Bishop who ate more than one dog on this, and this adds to the picture of intrigue and tension until the very end.
I really liked Donald Sutherland. He played a very talented, albeit relatively small, role. And one of his scenes with Bishop will honor even a very strong drama.
In addition to these three, it is worth mentioning Tony Goldwin, who played Dean. It was also a good character.
As a result, a good action movie with light plot flaws.
"Mechanic" is a very excellent and restrained action movie with an admixture of a thriller. One of Simon West's best movies, one of many great roles as Jason Statham, and one of Ben Foster's really good roles. Speaking of the latter, Ben is very well accustomed to the role of a hired killer. Hot-tempered, strong-willed, but still cold-blooded, he becomes a partner of the Mechanic performed by Jason Statham.
There's not much to say about the movie. The plot is thought out to the smallest detail, the actors, every single one, pleased, even a small role of Donald Sutherland.
Let me explain the title of the review. The very concept of the film is very similar to the series of games "Hitman", which has already been tried a couple of times to film, and in many respects not quite successful. And in this picture, the main character is given tasks to kill people, either make everything look like an accident, or make everything clearly, for example. Maybe that’s why the film is good, unlike Hitmans, because it’s not a direct adaptation.
It is said that Statham movies are the same in everything; if you have seen one, you have seen everything. It has some good reason, but if Cards, Money, Two Guns, Italian Robbery, Adrenaline and The Spy seem the same to you, then ... you should probably switch from cinema to theaters or the like. Personally, I like Jason as an actor, I was waiting for the second Mechanic, and therefore I decided to remember the plot of the first part.
There are two ideal moments in the film: the prologue, a mission that introduces us to Bishop’s profession and style of work, it is shot beautifully, unusually and interestingly; and the epilogue, the film ends almost perfectly, albeit somewhat aimlessly. Between the two dots is the main plot, which is not so good. In his defense, it is worth saying that the screenwriters tried to write an interesting story, it is not too banal, not too straightforward and not devoid of grace, but ... so predictable and far-fetched that to call the plot strong language does not turn. First of all, because most of the key events are the result of random coincidences in the relations between the main characters, and the coincidences are extremely unprofessional with their work.
Plus, I am tormented by doubts about the fact that an extra-class killer can be trained in a couple of weeks from a street bully, shooting with him in the woods. I understand that training, psychological training, etc. could remain behind the scenes, although in the plot there is no hint of this, Foster’s hero did not even serve in the army, that is, it is not quite clear where he learned to shoot. The problem is that between the acquaintance of the characters and the joint mission takes about a month and a half. For them, Foster’s hero turns from a loser bully with the makings of an alcoholic into a professional killer, only not much inferior to the “best of the best”.
However, I am not inclined to find fault with the plot and criticize the whole film for it, because, it is banal, I got pleasure from watching it. Shot beautifully, in places spectacular and spectacular (meaning “Jason Bourne”, not “Transformers”, of course), there is even a pretty girl. Plus, as usual, I will raise the score by one point for the age rating, which I consider a mandatory attribute of militants. Now, don't get me wrong, I know about budget issues and things like that, but if a person is killed in a movie -- I want to see his blood, because without it, murder isn't going to be murder, as censors believe, it's just going to stop looking good and get annoying. In general, there is nothing mandatory to view, but it is worth seeing once, and on the second part, while in absentia, but I recommend going to the review.
7 out of 10
How much is mixed in this tape, and how many twists of logic have to endure the viewer. The film is so pathetic and deliberately brutal that it would have to disperse to quotes on the boy’s public... Wait a minute, and that’s what happened!
However, all brutality is artificial and false, and pathos is false.
First of all, what we have as the main character. A hired killer living in a beautiful secluded house laden with explosives perfectly performs any tasks given to him by a certain “Company”. However, just in case, the viewer is explained how disgusting and bad the victims are - it is all all drug lords, sect leaders, rapists-murderers, arms dealers, etc. He is inventive, intelligent, agile and strong, can adjust the plan on the move and calculate his actions several moves ahead with jewelry accuracy. He is not caught off guard and not deceived - he is ... "drum roll" ... mechanic!
Oh, how pathetic and brutal at the same time! Minors and hoots of all ages should, in theory, come with boiling water from the “coolness” of our protagonist, but it is worth a little reflection, and then it turns out that our shirt-guy is not so cool!
When he receives an order to kill his own boss, as well as part-time his loved one, and what is there - the only friend, our genius of multi-walkers suddenly jams the brain, and he is unable to realize that, in fact, everything around is crying about an obvious setup! After all, you have to kill one of your customers. The first you know little, and only get money from him, the second you almost like a father, you know him as peeled. But no, for a mechanic, such obvious logic is too complicated.
It would seem that he shut his conscience and killed an old man with a disability (uh, hard), but no – he had an antisocial son, and now our cold killer is tormented by conscience and finds a red brazen problem at his fifth point. Of course, I do not know all the traditions of hired murder, but it seems to me that such events do not take the first drunk with serious violations of social activity. In the course of the film, it played a cruel joke with the main protagonist more than once or twice.
Having defeated the main villain in an incredibly sophisticated way - having grinded all his security guards with a sports car, a bus and a garbage truck, while destroying the city floor, our valiant mechanics release a pair of automatic clips into the evil scoundrel, and he, being such an evil, wicked scum, can finally say to them only "DIE!"
As a result, we have a completely flat, dry, fragmentary plot. The originality of it is zero, the murders are mostly carried out by idiotic shooting, followed by dissolution in the crowd, oh, how original, and all the guards are so stupid that they can not suspect a healthy Neanderthal with the eye of an executioner in the murder of his boss. The actors try to mow under the “cool”, emotionally unemotional guys, “stoically doing their job”, but it turns out fig – rather, you feel the helplessness of the writers and their complete incompetence.
“Experiential choice comes with experience, and stupid choice leads to it.”
The tenacity of the invincible hero of the militants Jason Statham could envy any advanced production. The unwavering Briton does not tire of sending dozens of screen enemies to the next world year after year, thereby captivating a grateful audience that feels nostalgia for a good action, gradually receding into the past. Statham’s films do not have special sophistication, and this is not necessary, because viewers want to see the established image of the actor on the screen – a short-spoken retired military man who earns a living by dangerous work and never retreats from strong moral principles that withstand any attacks from the heroes’ detractors. Of course, this monotony Statham periodically annoys and sometimes even drives into slight nostalgia, especially if you remember his atypical roles in such wonderful films as “Big jackpot” and “Robbery in Italian”. However, when Jason comes across a good script, and the shooting is led by a proven professional, then he can safely forgive the rejection of experiments, enjoying a great male story in which compromises are not welcome. One of the most attractive films of Jason Statham era of the 2010s is quite rightly considered "The Mechanic". Traditional in concept, the action movie has a number of advantages, thanks to which it can be distinguished from other similar Statham tapes, which in itself cannot but please.
The plot of the film introduces us to the “mechanic” Arthur Bishop (Statham), an outstanding specialist in his field. You should not look for a hero in any workshop or behind an industrial machine. Bishop is engaged in the fact that he eliminates the necessary object for a considerable amount of money. He's a top-class professional killer, playing by the rules of brutal business and never reneging on contract. When Bishop accepts an order, he will do anything to fulfill his obligations. There is no other choice in his profession, otherwise he will have to be targeted. A successful career of the hero never meant the elimination of loved ones, but the next order becomes too difficult for him, because Arthur was ordered to eliminate Harry McKenn (Donald Sutherland), a longtime friend and mentor who, according to the assurances of Bishop’s employers, is involved in unacceptable fraud. Bishop does his duty, but he is not going to put up with it. The hero takes Harry's son, Steve (Ben Foster), as an apprentice, intending thereby to repay the deceased comrade for the good. However, Arthur and Steve’s uneasy relationship could explode at any moment, if the boy learns that his mentor was involved in his father’s murder. And Bishop’s employers are not very satisfied that their best killer flirts with such an ambiguous personality as McKenna’s son, because this can negatively affect the quality of work performed.
“The Mechanic” was the first experience of cooperation between Jason Statham and one of the most popular Hollywood directors, Simon West, whose reputation was undermined by a series of annoying commercial failures. Nevertheless, West did not lose a strong grip and with considerable enthusiasm took up cooperation with Statham, which was very far-sighted. “Mechanic” allowed the director in the future to receive many offers from major studios, and the actor recorded another remarkable image, although similar to the previous, but still remarkable. Simon West is known for his talent as an action storyteller. He does not want to over-extend the story. He always tried to correctly alternate high-quality combat scenes with moments of calm, which do not drive the viewer into a stupor, but on the contrary allow you to learn something new about the heroes of the film. With the action and overall dynamics of the film West coped just brilliantly. “Mechanic” looks in one breath, forcing you to follow the adventures of the newly formed team of assassins. The staging of shootings and a chase with a rather modest budget causes, if not delight, then respect. The camera work is also commendable: no important detail escapes the lens, we see everything that Arthur and Steve conceived from different angles, and this suggests that the stunt directors had nothing to hide - they coped with the task perfectly, having done a serious job. Excessive newfangled shaking is absent, which only adds to the operator Eric Schmidt points for a firm adherence to classical shooting techniques, as a challenge to the definitely unsuccessful finds of modern cinema.
Where Simon West's firm hand is felt, and the flaws are overshadowed by Jason Statham's all-conquering charm with "The Mechanic," everything is fine. Problems begin when the film needs to explain certain motivations of the characters. Take at least Steve McKenna performed by Ben Foster. The guy thought out a perfectly understandable story, from which we understand that he was never spoiled by his father’s attention. The hero lost his mother early, the father did not have time and desire to spend time on raising his son, and he in turn began to roll down the slope, squandering the considerable potential of a diligent student and athlete. Steve himself reminds us more than once that his father fell out of his life for many years, not even wanting to call, let alone something more. However, when Harry McKenna leaves our world prematurely, Steve suddenly awakens an inexplicable love for him, as if he took care of him and cared for him from an early age to a full-fledged personality formation. Anger due to lack of attention suddenly disappears somewhere and there is a feeling of revenge for his father, who is difficult to call a close person from which side not to approach the problem. And this misunderstanding of Ben Foster’s image doesn’t go away until the end. Explanations of the essence of the character of the hero never comes, but what Simon West is trying to create on the stingy material, is extremely superficial.
The Mechanic is somewhat disappointing even when the main characters start a joint collaboration. Instead of revealing Arthur’s true rapprochement with Steve, we focus on a couple of moments of preparing the guy for a difficult job, throwing the latter into battle after a couple of weeks of training together. No doubt, the hero of Statham perfectly trains the ward, but we do not have time to understand the true essence of their relationship. We do not observe any special silent severity, and the stingy drama of silent men is very weak. “Mechanic” should not gush emotions, but in the arsenal of filmmakers could be more different methods of full disclosure of characters. And this part is still worth noting that Simon West underperformed, focusing on maintaining tension, but not strong drama.
In the end, I want to say that despite the obvious mistakes in the presentation of the main characters to the audience with the necessary deepening into personal motivation and general representation of images, "The Mechanic" pleasantly pleases with the dynamics of what is happening, resourceful action and the composition of performers led by the ambiguous Ben Foster and as always charming Jason Statham. The film easily keeps the audience at the screens periodically surprising some plot twists, which, although you can predict, but they still cope with the task.
1. The plot is typical for an action movie. A typical professional killer working for the state receives an order for his friend, safely executes it, torturing himself from the inside. However, the friend is left with an unintelligent son, whom the killer decides to take as a student. (0)
2. The acting in this film is nothing special. Except that it is worth noting, as always, the cool Stetham. (1)
3. The musical tracks in the film are also unimpressive. It's mostly fight and action scenes, and there's no one else in the movie. (0)
4. Visually, the picture certainly looks. A bunch of explosions, spy lotions, spectacular murder scenes - all that a real fighter needs. (2)
5. Morality, of course, is zero. The only thing you can learn from the tape is that some people are not able to change, no matter what happens in their lives. (0) .
The next product of entertainment cinema under the label “Jason Statham” contains almost no elements that could distinguish this film from fellow genre. The exception is the soulful music of Schubert and the incomparable emotional scene in the parking lot performed by Donald Sutherland. You can also look at the retro machine.
It would be unfair not to mention the thoughtful interior of the main character's house. Arthur's home can be called bachelor in the best sense of the word: concise design borders on noble simplicity, practicality coupled with accuracy. Nothing superfluous - just what is necessary for the dirty work of the extra-class killer.
The owner himself is quite suitable for his home: firmly built, confident, brutal and decisive. That’s just the character of Jason Statham is not restrained: all actions, whether it’s a skillful crackdown on the “object” or sex with an attractive “nocturnal butterfly”, Arthur performs with an absolutely unflappable expression. Real men don't show emotion? But they are also human beings!
And in order to demonstrate the human nature of assassins, the writers add such touching-looking little things as a collection of vinyl discs against the background of an ultra-modern interior or a cute dog. The characters also have feelings. Everyone has them.
The advantages of the picture should also include well-chosen locations, well-performed supporting characters (especially verzila-gay), technical equipment of the situation. But with the names of drugs confused, and the girls in the bar, there is no dispute, delight the eyesight, but meaningless from the point of view of the plot.
Otherwise, the film organically combines the shortcomings of this genre. There is a superman, invulnerable to bullets, falling from a height and common sense. His young partner, in which you can not immediately determine what is more in him: the special intelligence of the Parisian klochar or the recklessness of a gopnik from the outskirts of an ordinary Eastern European district center. Representatives of the mafia world, whose actions are as predictable as their faces are stupid.
The aforementioned undergrowth suspiciously quickly turns into a ruthless killing machine. However, his emotional range is still wider than that of a toothpick - and thank you for that. But the plot, alas, is straightforward, like an arrow, and does not even suspect that there is another way. There are a lot of inconsistencies.
Most of all, it is a shame that the conflict between teacher and student stated in the poster, if it took place, was so insignificant that it occurred as if in a parallel universe. The film’s meaning is diplomatically silent. True, all the attributes of a detective action movie are available: chases, shootouts, tracking, alcohol, girls, competitors, all things - in a word, brutal "boy" romance is obvious.
Based on all of the above, the film is recommended for viewing by personal fans of Jason Statham and hardly anyone else. Well, really, not the best example of the genre. Even though the operator worked well.
Stetham, who was very much liked after The Carrier, now does not cause any emotions. Every new movie has the same role, nothing new. And the feeling of deja vu is already quite tired. In the role of an insensitive thug, he is undeniably cool. But then the thought creeps in, is he capable of anything else?
The story is not original either. Even if you make a reservation that this is an action movie, which, in principle, is not characterized by a complex storyline, the film still remains bland. Not good, not bad, but fresh.
The only thing that at least brightens it up is Donald Sutherland, who even such a small role played a chic, so
3 out of 10
Those who watch movies and movies may not like this movie. They will find in it a lot of blunders, nuances and shortcomings, starting from the plot and directly to staging tricks. But since I don’t often watch movies like this, I can say that this action on the screen fascinated me. First of all, I was glad to be invited to the film by Donald Sutherland. His role is small but spectacular. And of course, Foster and Statham are different in their weight categories and life priorities. There is a contrast between two professional cleaners. Or rather, one professional, and the other intern, who learns this craft very quickly, just catches on the fly. What is one scene with a big guy, which this tenacious and seemingly feeble intern put, to put it mildly, on the shoulder blades. But the teacher (Jason Statham) told him to deal with the more sophisticated way. But that and the students, so that the teacher does not sleep, if to paraphrase the famous proverb.
"Mechanics" is distinguished by a combination of shooting with psychological moments. All on the case and all on the subject. Yes, you already know how this is going to end, but the process itself, in my amateur view, is respectful. Statham's hero is really a brutal guy and fits into what it was all about. Sometimes you can see the mechanics for a change. If you do not require something super-extra from the film and many more consoles, then an interesting crime film turned out. Of course, this is not Luc Besson and his Leon, but the same spectacle is very, very impressive.
As for the way Jason played, I didn’t have any doubts about his performance, nor did Foster’s. The guys deserve their fee. I thought so. Given the pleasant charge of vivacity after watching "The Mechanic", I can not but put the highest score. So be it:
Before us is another interesting variation on the theme of “Borne”: a super-killer in the public service is deadly, if not for the whole state, then certainly for his colleagues and superiors. But if in the films of "Borne" we were shown, mainly, the technical component of the process of destruction, in "Mechanics" we are also shown the human factor.
It seems to me that first we need to dwell on some nuances of the plot of the film. The moment that most reviewers of this film overlooked is the nature of the organization the film’s characters work for. Global Engineering is not a criminal organization, but quite the opposite – it is almost a law enforcement organization. The audience of this film is presented with the dangerous and difficult service of employees of one of the so-called "Private Military Firm". I think it would be appropriate here to talk a little bit about the phenomenon of “world order” like the Private Military Firm. One of the most famous companies of this kind is the American company Academi, aka Xe Services LLC, aka Blackwater USA, aka Blackwater Worldwide. The nature of the tasks carried out by this firm can be found on the Internet, but I would like to draw attention to the story of agent Raymond Allen Davis, who became famous for the murder in Lahore of two Pakistani intelligence officers and who was released from custody after the intervention of the US State Department. Employees of organizations like Blackwater have the “right to kill,” and they actually enjoy immunity not only in the United States but also in other countries. Of course, they better not get caught, but even if such an agent is caught red-handed, Uncle Sam will personally ask for him (and Uncle Sam asks very convincingly). In addition, the activities of such firms are beyond the control of the US government, both in the “production” and financial spheres, the latter, I think, is especially important. Unlike full-time employees of the CIA, the NSA and other special services, whose official salaries are determined and known (at least in principle), the amounts earned by the “private military” can be arbitrarily large, and, perhaps, therefore, among the employees of such companies there are many former military, CIA-shnikov and the like who preferred to do business rather than “selflessly” serve the Motherland.
The character of the company "Global Engineering" in the film is clearly not defined, but it can be understood from some episodes, and at least two of the characters in this film are former military. About the activities of the company "Global Engineering" is directly stated in the lifetime obituary for Harry M. McKenna (11/09/1947 - ...), the contents of which can be read on the MacBook Air monitor. Almost unlimited access of the characters of the film to a variety of secret information - police files, medical data, bank accounts (even in offshore banks), the history of the army service, also suggests that we are not at all bandits. In addition, there is another purely cinematic hint of the nature of "Global Engineering" - photos of the victim hung on a dark board and removed to Schubert's music. This image is a direct reference to such a curious film as “Dossier on the 51st”. In the last scene of the film “Dossier on the 51st” to Schubert’s music, photos of the already deceased 51 are removed from the black board, and at the beginning of the film “The Mechanic” there is a very similar scene, which establishes a kind of cinematic continuity of these films. By the way, in "Mechanics" photos are removed under Andante con moto from Piano Trio No.2 in E flat major D929 Schubert. This Andante is the second part of the trio, and in the film the head of the player for some reason is lowered every time at the beginning of the record.
The necessary components of the militant itself – shooting, fights, explosions, etc., are made, in my opinion, quite at the level of similar paintings, but for me personally, the wonderful psychological portraits of employees of the Global Engineering company seemed very interesting. With stingy but expressive brushstrokes, we draw a whole gallery of images of people who, in theory, should strengthen world peace. Take, for example, the character of Donald Sutherland. Hereditary military, personally acquainted with the highest military ranks of the United States (for example, with the admiral of the 6th Fleet); having his idol of the 32nd US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; in the service of the Motherland became disabled, but continues to contribute to the world mission of the United States; living in an aristocratic mansion, but calmly looking directly into the eyes of death. Such a person can even command respect (he evokes it, especially in his killers). He is a snob who despises ordinary Americans who eat at fast-food restaurants. A man who committed suicide (or even killed) his wife and married a young woman. A cruel father who pushed away a son who needed his support. A heartless businessman who orders murders in different parts of the world for money. Other characters in this movie and worse.
Of the other psychological details I’ve been hooked on, I’d like to mention Dean’s wonderful “educational” conversation with his son—I wonder what kind of benefits such an upbringing would bring. And also pay attention to the fact that all the characters of this film are in deep secrecy and are always on guard. For example, the hero of Jeff Chase never drank wine from a glass, which could well be poison, he drinks only what he did not let out of his sight. Therefore, the idea of a “pure” murder was doomed to failure and, probably, the variant of the hero Ben Foster was the only possible one. By the way, the homosexual dossier is another common point between The Mechanic and the film Dossier on the 51st, I would even venture to call Mechanics a kind of continuation of this particular film.
9 out of 10
P.S. "Private Military Firm" became the object of cinematic attention and the creators of such films as "The Expendables 1-2-3", "Knockout" and, in a sense, "Mission Impossible 1-2-3-4".
(An experienced hitman with his inherent “deep psychologism” explains to the beginner that they are dealing with objects, not with people.) )
Gun on the couch, left under the pillow.
- I'm not really left-handed.
- Then you'll die.
(Severe prose of everyday killers-pros.)
Statham is not evolving as an actor. Even if it doesn't degrade. Let's hope he just didn't do his best in this picture. And where did his charisma, albeit not powerful, disappear? If in "The Carrier" he was a funny, rational strongman, not without a sense of humor, who sets his rules and breaks them exclusively in the name of beautiful strangers, then for his hero Arthur Bishop in "The Mechanics" he has only two facial expressions - concentrated and sad-focused, and he treats women exclusively as objects for the realization of sexual desires. All that was left was a machine to eliminate the wrong objects and train the right objects, although that may have been intended. And those cliches about killers listening to music on vinyl discs and restoring retro cars are already enough. It is strange that the creators did not develop this line and did not make Bishop a collector of rare paintings and a connoisseur of rare wines.
As a result, the young scumbag-sadist (but with principles) Steve, played by Ben Foster, completely outplayed his teacher Arthur. He's remembered. Evil, vulnerable and cruel, with beastly habits, doing his work deliberately dirty and bloody, enjoying the very process of murder, he is the clear antithesis of the neat Arthur Bishop (Bishop is a bishop in English, is this the irony of the creators?), for whom people are like pieces on a chessboard. Steve is more like a human being.
And it's all good. Soundtrack, fights, shootings, chases, explosions, jumps - there is nothing to complain about, there are memorable episodes. So if you go to the cinema just for that - the viewer will not be disappointed. Fascinated by the dynamics, you can not notice the inconsistencies of the plot and weak acting (with the exception of Foster).
Summarizing. Mechanical cinema. There's action, no soul.
Jason Stetham is already a massive trend in art. Films with his participation are popular, he has gathered a lot of fans who will watch every time his new monotonous tapes, where he performs only in one role. Most of his new projects are waiting impatiently because Stetham is a tough guy, it is ridiculous to miss a movie where he kills everyone left and right, especially if his films are essentially designed for an audience that does not mind just turning off the brain and just relax and enjoy what is happening on the screen mess. If you carefully examine the filmography of Stetham, you can see two notable films for his career, and both were directed by Guy Ritchie, who gave Jason the opportunity to break into the movies. “Cards, money, two barrels” and “Big jackpot” are very important in his career tapes, but someone and everything can call the same “Defender” or “Adrenaline” his best works. It all started with the worst “Carrier 2” where it was not so interesting to watch his roles. Further worse, only in Revolver of the same Richie he was able to somehow rehabilitate and show that he can not only play the same type of characters.
Speaking about the plot component of "Mechanics" we can say with confidence that it is not. This is confirmed by the beginning of the film where we are already hinted that Jason will kill anyone who interferes with him, and now he is a Mechanic, that is, a man who knows how to work quietly and secretly, earning a living by eliminating any person ordered. About the play of Ben Foster can only say one, nauseating and unusually ordinary to horror role. Nothing complicated or bright on his part was demonstrated. The guy was fooling around, and then what? One thing can be said about the creators of the film, they look good with Jason as partners in the film, but it was the game that was not remembered. Stetham is still the same, killing a couple of guys, he calmly walks around on the street, going to the store for shopping and moving freely without worrying about anything.
Taught Stetham Foster how to kill, and the film becomes like the iconic Leon. Only instead of Natalie Portman, Ben Foster decided to learn how to kill people. But it didn’t work out so well, the ending speaks for itself. Speaking of the end of this creation, it was the best that was in the film, at least everyone put in their places, without torturing the viewer showed in the end all well, as I wrote earlier fooled the hero of Foster, and Ben Foster fooled. But no matter how the Mechanic was a passing, too stamped and useless film. The only good thing about the movie is the music on the record. Conclusion, a simple product for mass consumption and the Mechanic are just the beginning.
This genre of “movie with Jason Statham” has already been established. The content of such a film, as a rule, is something like this: Jason plays the role of a silent killer with a vague past and throughout the film shoots, hits the muzzles, participates in chases and seduces at least one lady. The above events are attached to an unpretentious plot and the film is ready.
The scheme is certainly not the worst, but it is worth admitting that over time it still became boring. It is obvious that Statham himself is not enthusiastic about such scenarios and his character is noticeable fatigue from the image, but it can be understood! After all, to perform from film to film the same, except that with minor variations, who wants to get fed up.
The story is not supposed to be a breakthrough. Everything seems banal, but if you wanted, you could still squeeze something out of it. Unfortunately, we decided to show everything that we have already seen. Yes, of course, they tried to touch on the topic of moral aspects in friendship and loyalty, but it does not carry any semantic load, because it is practically not disclosed. Throughout the viewing, I tried to remember which movie it reminded me of and by the end I realized that it was impossible to determine. There is a tracing of many militants, which you will not list.
“Fights, shooting, chases, explosion was cool, and the girl Statham in the film was quite nothing!” – that’s probably all that can be said about this movie, and really, except for the listed nothing in the film in fact. The plot is standard, the characters are cardboard, but everything exploded well. You can see, but not necessarily.
Remakes have different fates. Some are ineptly dubbing the original film. Others present a rather successful duplication. And there are those who perform the direct purpose of the remake. The old film is presented in a new way. There are a couple of facts and a general plot. But the action takes place in a different time and place.
The Mechanic is just such a movie. That was to be expected from director Simon West, the creator of good action films. It is now gaining strength again. I hope he succeeds. The film also benefited from the fact that one of the writers of the script was Lewis John Carlino. It's just a name. But it is in the credits of the original film. The same writer wrote the same movie forty years later. This is really cool!
The film complements the original. If Charles Bronson's mechanic was working now, what would it be? I guess that's right. Of course, I liked Bronson better. But I like Statham, too. And here he played well.
There's an overseas raid. The trip to Colombia was atmospheric and dynamic.
Interesting detail. Bronson, in his luxurious home, listens to music on a cassette player. Statham, in an equally posh dwelling, resorts to retro. Records with old tunes. An interesting contrast.
The hero's place of residence, New Orleans, Louisiana, I like. These rivers, swamps and hanging trees. Boats with high pickup trucks. And also impassable thickets in which you can shoot perfectly from all types of firearms.
Shooting and shooting are enough. So is computer graphics. But the fights are well staged.
Donald Sutherland played a small role. Which, by the way, has a great influence on the plot.
Ben Foster’s character is a little different than his original source. More emotional and poofy. He cares, though. This indicates not very high moral stability. And if he hadn't found the gun, the end would have been different. Do you think that works?
At the exit we have a spectacular action movie with a good atmosphere. A typical Statham film combines with the influence of a classic film and a talented director. And this is clearly good for the picture.
You probably knew the guys on that team.
- That's what Sebastian knew.
8 out of 10
And the fight goes on again. Again, the printing pipes of newspaper lines call the hero of Statham to his mechanistic work. Many people can kill, but to stage, transfer arrows, thematically perform the task only to him - Arthur the Bishop (Bishop). This time, the pupil must step over the corpse of his hitman teacher, wheelchair driver Harry McKenn. Professional charter is harsh and illegible - and the fire of personal feelings should extinguish a cold-blooded shot at point-blank range. But Statham's an insidious customer made a fool of the old Polish preference, and you have to make yourself respectable. And this can be done in the most reliable way - feeding lead.
And, it would seem, the task is far from Olympiad - who only Statham for his not very significant movie did not put face in the asphalt. And there are no rivals on this field - Bruce Willis has long been playing in the amateur pensioner league. That's just that normal heroes always go around, and here easy ways are not looking fundamentally. The main villains are not waiting for an optical sight in a back alley, but spies in the middle of the avenue with all the toothy retinue. And the awakened piece of conscience hardly eclipses the acquired reflexes.
The profession of assassin is one of the most beloved modern cinema. Emaciated by the orders of film studios around the world from the rising Japanese to the California sharks of business, directors have long been chasing cliches. As a rule, the hired killer should not be the first youth, brutal charisma and immobile facial muscles. There are small variations in the area of small weaknesses - someone protects little girls from the grimaces of the street world, someone likes to pet Chihuahua dogs. Of course, debugged over the years, the galvanized mechanism of murders in each particular film begins to fail, and this spot is the place for directorial implementation.
Simon West is familiar to our brother, primarily due to the adventures of Lara Croft. This picture, as well as others, stamped the director with a permanent seal of an artisan of militants. And this bread and butter West also works mechanically, without swinging at the author’s vision and innovative paths. Enough for a week of rental, small premium and new similar contracts.
In order for the people to go to the militant and bear the native dollar, ruble, yuan, it is necessary and enough to have one, occasionally two stars of the highest league of radiance and a couple of sonorous names in the credits of a lower level (well, or someone to persuade on a cameo). Here, hand in hand with Statham, work coarse-bearded Ben Foster, gray-haired Donald Sutherland and a number of fairly experienced residents of the middle-hand screen. This is more than enough for local success. Although the results of the rental asked for the improvisation of the plot. Well, you see, something from the DVD still digs up, the ends will tie.
Yes, to be honest, monetary bourgeois affairs are the tenth thing for us. The main thing is that Statham would be bigger. It came to the heart of the Russians, and the list of regional box office successes will last more than one year. And in place of this work will come a new killer movie, this field we do not walk over.
Tongues of flame lick a doomed gas station, a country house and a luxury car. Evil in the world is irrational, and no matter how many characters find their fate, the ratio of screen forces will not change one iota. The hero with minimal hair and maximum brutality is waiting for new pipes.
Arthur Bishop is a staff assassin of a secret organization that has spread its sphere of interests throughout the world. As befits the people of his profession, Bishop has neither a permanent name nor permanent attachments, except for a single comrade - a former colleague, confined to a wheelchair. However, it soon turns out that this friend is not as harmless as it might seem. The owners issue a new order, and the hero faces a difficult choice.
Not bad, rather cheerful action movie from the series “the killer and his brother, the killer”. The fantasy of the authors was where to turn, coming up with details of the next “liquidation of objects”, because the main principle of the office is to do everything “without noise and dust”. In fact, the plot for such paintings is standard - from corpse to corpse, and it is very good that the screenwriters did not have an unnecessary "outside". And then, sometimes, they will breed such a sentimental bum that you do not even know whether the assassin is in front of you, or the county tragic. As a result, the ladies still do not watch, because - a fighter, and the men spit, because - hoodlo with snot. Here, I repeat, it's not. Older parents do not die, unaccounted for children are not detected, and women, if they do, are of exceptionally light behavior. A man's movie. Clean.
And once so, it was not without the new icon of the genre - cold-blooded and brutal Jason Statham. As always, he is at the top, playing smoothly and strongly. Looks good and unfading Donald Sutherland in the role of disabled Harry. The character seems to be positive, but you understand that you can act rigidly and without ceremony. I wish I'd been in the picture for a while. As for Ben Foster, in principle, his hero is not bad either. Vicious, nervous and unpredictable. He seemed a little too small for such a job. On the other hand, why should a killer be powerful? He holds the rifle in his hand, and that's fine. But it can sneak up unnoticed.
The plot of the picture is quite dynamic, blunders and stretches, if there are, then within the permissible norm. Music and camera solutions do not strain, but only add “action”. So, if you are still not completely sure that killers are also people, or just want to enjoy a solidly made action movie – it is quite possible to look.
Professional The remake of a rather old eponymous film - "The Mechanic" by Simon West with Jason Statham - is a very impressive, memorable for many successful moments, an action movie with a slight touch of a thriller, which has good intrigue, successful plot moves and a variety of not boring action. There are only two things that interfere with all its charms: hulking camera work, which makes beautiful plot ideas not spectacularly presented by the action, but by shaking and shining at the most inappropriate moments for such a shooting, and completely ridiculous dialogues, after which it would be preferable to look at completely silent characters. And if with the first point on the face of a clear mistake in the choice of the operator, then with the second sincere bewilderment - to write in the script so much excellent action and plot moves, but so weak to prescribe the speech of the characters - it is really strange. And it seems that a good fighter does not need multi-layered phrases, swirling speech turns and marvelous color in the lexicon, but to issue primitive scraps of phrases, on the basis of which to build in the end allegedly the relationship of the heroes – does not cause respect. The rest is in order. Brutal appearance Jason Statham once again plays his adrenaline type, without changing and retaining all his steadfastness, charisma and color of the image, plays here a “mechanic” – a hired killer who eliminates people who are undesirable for money. His hero is a true professional in his field. And, having taken custody of the son of one of his own good friends (which he himself removed), he undertakes to teach him, making him a kind of receiver, and then begins a series of trainings and operations, cool, dashing and adventurous. In addition, the video is accompanied by very pleasant guitar melodies, on which almost the entire soundtrack is built here, quite original and coolly these string parts are combined with what is happening on the screen. From the original of the seventies, only the most basic details of the plot remained in the remake, plus several successfully arranged homages that complement the general details of these films. The filling is changed almost beyond recognition, removing all the shine and glamour, and focusing on the action, drive and brutality of the characters. To maintain closeness with the original film, it is possible to invite Mickey Rourke, who now looks just a copy of Bronson of those times, to the role of a young assistant, choose someone like Ben Barnes, but in this case it would be necessary to save a lot of elements, remaking the plot under the blueprint. Here the story is modernized, transferred to our days and modern criminal and social structures, the frame of the film is melted under the continuous dynamics of action and modern genre requests, well, the action movie itself has become tougher, bloodier and in all the charms of the rating R. Thus, the casting of the remake of Mechanics, which is difficult to combine with the original images, does not make a bad impression, and all changes are perceived quite even by successful finds of the plot and development of the shown story. As a thriller, the film intrigues and keeps in suspense many times, and as an action movie, it is firmly molded, saturated with action and simply cool! It really captures, really entertains and brings pleasure from viewing, although the visual part was not as expressive as it could be, and the speech of the characters causes almost one bewilderment, except that the only relevant voiceover recitation of the main character at the very beginning of the film, explaining what is going on and who this character Statham is. The original was leisurely, and the first 15 minutes and without a single word demonstrated the operation of surveillance, placement of explosives, and elimination of the next ordered. The remake with its prologue does almost the same thing, silently spends 10-15 minutes on a demonstration operation to eliminate, but at the same time in a much more dynamically mounted action, successfully thought out to the smallest detail of the operation in the spectacularly opening scene prologue. When the opening credit goes, it feels like we’ve just seen an amazing short film that requires nothing more than what we’ve seen, and the film itself ends up turning into an expanded and repeatable version, enhanced and improved. The aftertaste leaves a very pleasant one. With a variety of memorable scenes, the film stubbornly remains in the memory of equally pleasant memories, in addition to the prologue, it is impossible not to mention a stunning descent from a skyscraper, an impressive meat scene with a sink, an episode with an arms dealer, and much more. “Mechanics” can be safely watched and revised, and even if it is not particularly famous and cultic, it has very good chances to become a long-running franchise or at least get a sequel. This is not a masterpiece, this is just a very good and exciting action movie, quite well revealed its potential. 7 IS 10 Original