The Mechanic (2011)

Follows an elite hit man as he teaches his trade to an apprentice who has a connection to one of his previous victims.

Director:

Simon West

Writers:

Richard Wenk (screenplay), Lewis John Carlino (screenplay),

Stars:

Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Tony Goldwyn

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Statham	...	Arthur Bishop
Ben Foster	...	Steve McKenna
Tony Goldwyn	...	Dean
Donald Sutherland	...	Harry McKenna
Jeff Chase	...	Burke
Mini Anden	...	Sarah
James Logan	...	Jorge Lara
Eddie J. Fernandez	...	Lara's Guard (as Eddie Fernandez)
Joshua Bridgewater	...	Car Jacker
John McConnell	...	Vaughn
Christa Campbell	...	Kelly
Joel Davis	...	Husband
Mark Nutter	...	Mr. Finch (as Mark Anthony Nutter)
Ardy Brent Carlson	...	Bell Hop
Lara Grice	...	Mrs. Finch

Storyline

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a 'mechanic' - an elite assassin with a strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets. It's a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and Bishop is the best in the business. But when his mentor and close friend Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached. His next assignment is self-imposed - he wants those responsible dead. His mission grows complicated when Harry's son Steve (Ben Foster) approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop's trade. Bishop has always acted alone but he can't turn his back on Harry's son. A methodical hit man takes an impulsive student deep into his world and a deadly partnership is born. But while in pursuit of their ultimate mark, deceptions threaten to surface and those hired to fix problems become problems themselves.

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Plot Keywords:

assassin | apprentice | death | mentor | deception | 

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Taglines:

Someone has to fix the problems.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

CBS Films [us] Official site [ar]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 January 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

El especialista

Filming Locations:

AeroPremier Jet Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£921,554 (UK) (28 January 2011)

Gross:

$29,113,588 (USA) (1 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Films, Millennium Films, Chartoff-Winkler Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Simon West:  Dean's henchman who gets impaled by the garbage truck driven by Arthur.

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Goofs

During Harrys' escape from his office, he sticks scissors in the outlet to kill power to the floor. In reality all this would do is trip the circuit breaker the outlet is wired to, not the entire floor.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Arthur Bishop: What I do requires a certain mindset. I do assignments; designated targets. Some jobs need to look like accidents. Others must cast suspicion on someone else. A select few need to send a clear message. Pulling a trigger is easy. The best jobs are the ones nobody even knows you were there.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.1 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"SHAKE (YO MAMA)"
Written by North Mississippi Allstars and James Mathus
Performed by North Mississippi Allstars
Published by North Mississippi Music (BMI); Shorty Brown Publishing (ASCAP)
Courtesy of ATO

User Reviews

Your basic Jason Statham Action Flick

I never seen the 1972 original of the same name starring Charles Bronson. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen a Charles Bronson movie in it's entirety. That's not hard to believe since I was basically raised on comedy and horror films -- action films just never found their way into my late night film festivals. That being said, I enjoyed this new "mechanic".

Arthur Bishop (Statham) is a professional hit-man. Since we can't call them hit men, we call them "mechanics", because they fix problems and stuff. Steve McKenna (Foster) wants to become a mechanic and asks Arthur to help train him because he knows his father (Sutherland). Only, Steve seems to be in it for all the wrong reasons -- for him, it's all about revenge.

There is nothing really original or new to this story. It's an action movie, folks -- there's plenty of bullets, blood, slaps and kicks. The story's not that confusing, it's pretty easy to follow -- I wanted to say more about Statham, Foster and Sutherland -- but I can't because then that would give away everything in the entire movie. It easily held my attention throughout and watching guys like Statham fight is just plain cool. It chugged along just like any action movie should and resolved all the story lines along the way.

If I could change anything about the movie, it would probably involve a little bit more mystery and intrigue -- there just wasn't enough of it in the movie. Well, that and more Mini Anden (rawr!). More reviews at www.soveryterry.com Final Grade: B-