Big Screen Peter: The Mechanic

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis has agreed to use whatever it is you call his writing style to provide some measure of analysis to those folks who still go to a theater to see a movie.

review by Peter Lewis

“The Mechanic” is a new thriller from Simon West that stars Jason Statham as the title character. But erase all thoughts of everyday Goodyear Joe getting tossed into life threatening situations, a “mechanic” is an inventive word for an elite assassin. And if this is sounding all too vaguely familiar, it’s not a senior moment or deja-vu. Hollywood has given us yet another remake.

Charles Bronson starred in the original as Arthur Bishop. Statham, inhabits that persona once more, but the differences between the two characters, not to mention the film itself, are varied and numerous. Which is to say, we shan’t be exploring them today.

The premise of the film, like many thrillers, is excruciatingly simple. Bishop is the best in the business and finds himself in trouble, not by any of his own very deliberate machinations, but by the fairy godmother of all narratives: fate.

With his mentor the next target, he swallows what little remained of his connection to the world of honest human emotions and does the job like only he can. Simple, effective and, above all else, clean as a whistle.

Unfortunately, what happens before the end of the driving conflict is wholly unimportant. Character development is largely non-existent. Statham and co-star Ben Foster are treated to rapid-fire caricature.

As a result, the connections between events portrayed are simply not there. This forces the filmmakers to ask that the audience make jumps to various conclusions, not by skillfully relating the story, but portraying isolated incidents and assuming things add up correctly. They’re not so much cooking books a la Enron as they are hopefully asking if two + three really isn’t six after all. As they say, proximity only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

The motif of the “lone wolf” is common throughout cinema, but especially so in films like this. Where one’s world is tossed upside down, where one must fight not only for what is “right,” but also for their own survival. Yet, unlike most films, Bishop’s character is unreachable, a desolate island. Where characters like Bond or Bourne may rely solely on themselves for survival, they were also able to reach out toward someone or something else. And perhaps it is this sense of rampant moral and existential nihilism that is so disconcerting about “The Mechanic.”

At first glance, there may appear to be a sense of victory in the film’s ending. But at what cost does victory come? All chance for a connection, all chance for honesty has been eclipsed. Perhaps this start will bring a different, more open motif, but teaching old dogs new tricks is tough business.

As our new lone wolf sets off for a fresh life, by implication there is only emptiness before him: his nihilism is a self-perpetuating and self-fulfilling prophecy. This disconnection creates a void with the audience and no amount of slick stunts or big explosion can fill that void. Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism, at least it’s an ethos … dude.

• The Mechanic is playing at the Carmike 14 and the Malco Cinema 12 in Fort Smith, and the Malco Van Buren Cinema. Link here for time and ticket info.

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