The Mechanic

With The Mechanic, a remake of the Charles Bronson classic Cold Breeze, Jason Statham once again shows his fans his best badass side. The Crank and Transporter star plays hitman Arthur Bishop, a master of his craft, in the latest action thriller from Simon West (Con Air). But his latest job has the loner doubting his profession. For his mentor Harry (Donald Sutherland), of all people, is his next target. And Harry, who is supposed to be a traitor, insists that Bishop carry out his assignment as well. But from now on, the mechanic is plagued by remorse. When Harry's son Steve (Ben Foster) shows up and wants to apprentice with Bishop to get revenge on his father's killers, the pro goes for it, knowing full well that he could be digging his own grave. But he has no idea what problems Steve will bring with him...

The Mechanic is not intelligent head-scratcher, nor does it try for a second to be. Simon West (Tomb Raider) has directed a slick action thriller that plays entirely to lead actor Jason Statham's strengths. With petrified mime he may fight on skyscrapers, jump from bridges, chase his pursuers with cars, deliver wild shootouts and incidentally also satisfy an attractive prostitute. The whole thing is fast-paced, especially the fight scenes should absolutely satisfy action fans.

With Ben Foster (Death Train to Yuma, Hostage) Statham was also given an interesting partner to the side. Steve's first steps as a professional killer are a contrast worth watching to Bishop's perfectly calculated professionalism, which is especially noticeable in the entertaining opening sequence. Admittedly, the whole thing has little to do with logic and is not particularly original, but a certain entertainment factor is definitely present.

The clearest weak points are noticeable in the script. The dialogues sometimes reach too deep into the cliché box and the characters remain colorless genre templates throughout. As soon as West tightens the action screw, this is hardly noticeable. But in the quieter moments, which can be described as character-oriented, these weaknesses are quite noticeable in a negative way.

Who likes Jason Statham's films because of the fight sequences and the action guarantee, will also get their money's worth with The Mechanic. However, if you also hope for originality, interesting characters and good dialogue in action films, your adrenaline levels are unlikely to be pumped up here.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp