The Mechanic – Review

Arthur Bishop (Bronson) strolls incognito through the city streets holding a large case. Eventually he enters a building and walks up some stairs, finding a dark hallway and going into a room. After popping the case on the bed, he opens it.

A gun?? Not yet. A large telephoto lens and a camera instead. Surveillance time. As Bishop studies his victim to be, he learns all he can about the man and plots out his life habits and timing. He monitors all the details and looks for his “in,” and the way to end this person’s life without at trace, making it appear accidental. Devious.

After a meticulous sabotage is completed, the contract will be over, and Arthur will move on to the next one, given to him by a large criminal organization that his deceased father used to be a part of. What complications sill hit the scene when he’s supposed to off an important player in that company? Certainly, a zillion new troubles aren’t incoming.

The Mechanic has an enthralling setup with a good moody and brooding star. It moves at the pace of its era, but modern viewers should be able to handle the pace for the most part as it is fairly short and moves along. The script has a decent premise and settles into its groove fairly quickly with an intriguing opening.

The classic direction features creative and well framed shots, moody music, crawling suspense and a 70s vibe. Hired killer films have their typical plot lines and outcomes, but this film feels quite grounded and presents some strong hurdles for its stoic and calculating protagonist. While the results aren’t all they could have been due to a few subplots I didn’t give a shit about, The Mechanic is an okay time.

“You know, falls from high places are very clean.”

There is a 2011 remake with Jason Statham that I liked quite a bit less, and it also had a sequel that was even worse. Despite liking the cast of the 2011 version, it didn’t use most of the best elements of the original.