The Mechanic Blu-ray delivers stunning video and audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
Jason Statham, Ben Foster and Donald Sutherland star in this remake of Michael Winner's 1972 action thriller. When his best friend and mentor Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, professional hitman Arthur 'The Mechanic' Bishop (Statham) sets out to wreak his revenge on those responsible. When Harry's son Steve (Ben Foster) asks if Arthur will take him on as an apprentice, the two look set to become the deadliest duo in town, but complications arise as the young student starts to outstrip his master.
Sure The Mechanic is another remake (see The Mechanic, Charles Bronson, 1972), but more than that it's really just another excuse
to make a flashy Action movie with no real purpose behind it other than to entertain easy-to-dazzle audiences with, what else, gunplay, hand-to-hand
combat, and explosions, oh, and to make the studio some money. Both worthy endeavors, but it would be nice if the end product weren't just so
routine. The Mechanic is a teacher-student Action movie that has no lessons to teach except to serve as a good example of how a routine
script can be turned into a slicked up standard Action movie that's got nothing on The Professional and only wishes it were half as good as Luc Besson's
genre standard-bearer. There's no real difference between this and some invisible direct-to-video Action flick except for a bigger budget and a bit more
technical savvy. The movie is nothing more than a few bland twists and turns tossed in between bursts of gunfire, the plot serving as little more than
a bridge
to take the film from one polished action scene to the next.
Open fire.
Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham, Crank) is a high-value hitman who's proven his worth time and again,
just recently pulling off a daring assassination -- made to look like an accident -- of a high-profile Colombian drug lord. Arthur meets with mentor,
the wheelchair-bound former assassin Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland, Space Cowboys) to talk shop, but it turns out Harry is Arthur's next
target. He meets with his employer, a slick businessman named Dean (Tony Goldwyn, Ghost), to confirm before pulling off the job. Arthur kills his friend,
making Harry appear as if
the victim of a carjacking. Soon thereafter, Arthur happens upon Harry's depressed and angry son, Steve (Ben Foster, Pandorum), who haphazardly vows to avenge his father's death by
murdering carjackers. Arthur saves Steve from his own stupidity and chooses to train him in the art of assassination. As student learns from
teacher -- as victim learns from killer -- will Steve piece together the truth behind his father's death and get his revenge on the same man who is
training him to kill?
The Mechanic isn't a terrible movie by any means; genre overexposure and general fatigue from the same old routine is its
biggest
enemy.
The film has all the basics covered, but in a world where there are just so many movies that look exactly like this one, well, the basics just don't
really
cut it anymore. The Mechanic aims not for the lowest common denominator but doesn't set its sights much higher. Technical competency
abounds, but so too does a sense of sheer repetitiveness that plagues almost every scene in the movie, beginning with the obligatory "hit on a
random
bad guy to prove the lead character's value as an unstoppable killing machine" all the way down to the "trick" ending that anyone with half a dozen
or
more of these sorts of movies under his or her belt can see coming several reels away. Aren't Action movies supposed to have some life to them?
The Mechanic is on life support throughout, waiting for a shot of adrenaline that the action scenes alone cannot provide. The film feels
hollow
and cold to the touch, and even though the script cobbles together a fair enough story that at least puts the action scenes into a context, there's
just
no heart and no purpose to any of it.
Nevertheless, Action fans who want only another installment of "blow stuff up real good" will be rewarded by stuff blowing up real good. Jason
Statham plays pretty much the same character he always does, running around all tough guy-like, playing it cool and proving he's a natural-born
deadly weapon, proficient with his fists, guns, and a wrench, oh, and don't touch his prized phonograph. Statham really is a treat to watch even if
the supporting materials aren't worth much; he's got his routine down so well that even plopping him into one movie after another that are all
pretty much distinguishable by title only are at least worth a watch if only to see this modern master of the Action genre at work, and providing the
bulk of his own stunts at that. Ben Foster plays a gritty, revenge-driven, rough-around-the-edges would-be assassin with a scruffy edge who
allows his character to slowly but surely mature into a stoic, efficient killer who might be proficient with a gun but who needs to understand the finer
nuances of the hitman lifestyle if he's to survive the game. The juicy dynamics that define the very essence of the Arthur-Steve relationship,
however, are never explored to their fullest extent; this is a story ripe for some wonderful psychological underpinnings, but Director Simon West,
who's shown great skill in crafting a few notable Action movies
over the years -- Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider -- proves in The Mechanic that he only
seems to care about the superficial. While the nitty-gritty of the story might not be fully explored, West does once again prove that he hasn't
lost his action touch. This is a visual tour-de-force and a structurally sound picture; it just has no soul.
The Mechanic rolls onto Blu-ray with a near reference-quality 1080p Blu-ray transfer. Only a few bouts of softness are all that mars this
otherwise pristine image. Fine detail is spectacular, evidenced right away in the Colombian compound where even the smallest of textures -- scuffed and
cracked tile, the intricacies of a statue -- are revealed with lifelike accuracy. This Colombian opening features a heavily tinted color scheme where
contrast has been boosted to off-the-charts levels, giving everything a blazing golden hue. The color palette settles down into a warm, but certainly not
wholly unnatural, appearance as the film moves along, but fine details remain extremely strong. Both Statham and Foster wear plenty of scruffy facial
hair that's very roughly and naturally textured on-screen. Clothing, facial pores, and other standrad elements are also very strongly detailed. Blacks are
spectacular and flesh tones are only as warm as the rest of the image. The
Mechanic is covered in a very fine but handsome layer of grain gives the movie a complete feel and a strong cinematic texture. The image is
abundantly crisp and sharp, and it's free of any kind of physical or digital artifacts. Sony's done another high-class job on this Blu-ray release.
The Mechanic features an expectedly powerful DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music is exceptionally delivered, playing with a big and wide
cinematic flair. A potent and authoritative low end, a strong midrange, and crisply accurate highs are the norm. Music enjoys not only a spacious
front-channel delivery, but a healthy surround support structure. Background ambience is pleasantly natural at all volumes, whether the light sounds of
a busy restaurant in chapter two or heavier, more robust elements at other junctures, particularly as heard during various action scenes. Speaking of,
gunfire is crisp, heavy, and fast but not excessively loud, and explosions are tight and powerful without sounding artificially over-pumped for the sake of
working the subwoofer harder than is necessary. Rounded out by expectedly clear and satisfying dialogue reproduction, The Mechanic
makes for another first-class Action movie audio presentation from Sony.
The Mechanic fixes up only two supplements of value for its Blu-ray release.
Deleted & Extended Scenes (1080p, 10:54): Alternate Ending to Opening Sequence, Diner -- Extended, In the Bar -- Extended,
After the Carjacking -- Extended, and Bishop Coaches -- Extended.
Tools of the Trade: Inside the Action (1080p, 7:48): Cast and crew talk up the movie's appeal as a Hitman movie, the work of the cast,
shooting some of the more daring scenes, and making some of the more dangerous stunts.
The Mechanic is a routine Action movie that's well made but structurally repetitive and thematically insignificant. The action is crisp, the
direction is smooth, the score is competent, and the acting is sufficient. Unfortunately, it all adds up to a big pile of flashy nothing. It's not even all that
watchable because it just drags on and on with that unshakable sense of déjà vu, except yes, viewers have experienced this movie before --
countless times -- and it all seems so pointless to sit through it again. As for Sony's Blu-ray, the supplements are few and the technical specs are up to
par: video looks great, audio sounds great. Is that all that matters anymore?
In its initial week of release The Mechanic bowed on top of the Blu-ray sales chart with a solid 47% of total package media sales coming from the HD format. Mechanic, a box office disappointment with a domestic total of just under $30 million, managed to displace ...
Jason Statham is a pure badass, and thankfully he knows it. You won't see him pulling a Tooth Fairy or a Jingle All the Way; nope, he knows who he is and not even an Allstate Insurance homage can water down the intensity that is Stathum.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced its release of The Mechanic on Blu-
ray on May 17. The action film tracks a hit man who is teaching an apprentice with ties to a
previous victim.
