The Mechanik (2005)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Dolph Lundgren

Writers:

Bryan Edward Hill (screenplay)
Dolph Lundgren (story)

Release Date:

2 November 2006 (United Arab Emirates)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They took his family. Now he's out for revenge.

Plot:

Nick Cherenko used to be a Spetznaz (Russian Special Forces), but now he lives peaceful with his wife and child...

Plot Keywords:

Vengeance | Revenge | Ex Soldier | Murder Of Family | Death Of Family

Cast

Dolph Lundgren	...	Nikolai Cherenko
Ben Cross	...	William Burton
Ivan Petrushinov	...	Aleksandr 'Sasha' Popov
Olivia Lee	...	Julia Abramoff
Raicho Vasilev	...	Achmed (as Raicho Vassilev)
Assen Blatechki	...	Yuri
Antony Argirov	...	Serie
Valeri Yordanov	...	Alexi
Dejan Angelov	...	Pavel
Ivaylo Geraskov	...	Leo (as Ivailo Geraskov)
Hilda van der Meulen	...	Alina Cherenko
Naum Shopov	...	Vanya Cherenko
Atanas Srebrev	...	John Ridley (as Nasko Srebrev)
Levana Finkelstein	...	Mary Abramoff
Nikolai Sotirov	...	Victor Chertoff

Also Known As:

The Russian Specialist (Canada: English title) (DVD title) (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, some sexuality and drug use.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

Russian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14A | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-15 | UK:15 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company:

Höger Human Service Medien & Personal GmbH

Trivia:

Director of photography Ross W. Clarkson won Gold at the 2006 Queensland A.C.S (Australian Cinematographers Society) Awards, and an award of distinction at the National A.C.S. Awards for this movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nikolai escaped with the bike, he escapes alongside a canal. In the next shot he is clearly driving that same road in reverse, only the camera's point of view is different. All the buildings are the same.

Quotes:

William Burton: What's your plan?
Nick Cherenko: Kill Them All.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Making of 'The Mechanik' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Do I

Fixing the killing machine...

Dolph Lundgren stars as Nick Cherinko, a former Russian super soldier (I think it is the same character in Red Scorpion!) who this time uses his special skills for vengeance when his family is wiped out by Russian mobsters however this is just the first fifteen minutes as Lundgren wastes literally no time in delivering payback and it is when he finds out that the mobster lived that it becomes apparent that he must return back to Russia and even the score. Rescuing a girl in the process is just secondary to satisfying his blood thirsty rage. I must admit that I enjoy a certain style of actioner, mainly the type in which the action is big, brutal and solid. Of course I was mildly surprised by Lundgren's last movie The Defender due to it's good action and solid story however I generally don't rent straight to video movies because I got burned way too many times, however when this came on TV I saw it and was VERY impressed with it. The Russian Specialist is a throw back to the Charles Bronson days when the heroes dispensed ruthless justice and walked away with an ending that was happy for everyone but them. Certainly there are some minor flaws and the main one being that Lundgren has softened his accent so much he no longer can pull off that great of a Russian accent. Also Ben Cross (Best known from Chariots Of Fire) is somewhat out of place in this movie but i'd be lying if I didn't enjoy this brutal throwback to the classic revenge actioner. So this one is worthy of a rental. In fact I may go onto Amazon and see if I can find a cheap DVD of this to add in my collection. (The last Lundgren movie I bought on DVD was Bridge Of Dragons)

* * * out of 4-(Good)