By: debbie lynn elias
Mega explosions, massive amounts of perfectly executed elaborate heart pounding stunts, non-stop edge-of-your-seat thrill ride excitement. Pulsating score. Nail biting tension that just mounts with each target kill and with the thickening plot. Simon West has helmed an exhilarating moviegoing experience! What film am I talking about? It can only be one – the first great action thrill ride of 2011 – THE MECHANIC. My only complaint is that the film ended! And folks, I am already looking for a sequel which I am assured by producer David Winkler is “ready to go” depending on the box office.
It is wonderful to see this great resurgence in action films that has been occurring the past few years, but not just “action” films – action films that also employ some smarts and brains within the characters and the plot lines. Last year we had RED, HARRY BROWN and THE EXPENDABLES as three great examples of action films that harken back to true action but smartened up and with more tech happening. 2011 now starts off with THE MECHANIC which is already my #1 guilty pleasure of the year.
Described by director Simon West as a man “who’s so cool at what he does, he’s so good at it, I want to see him do it again”, Arthur Bishop is a mechanic. No, not the kind that tinkers with your car, but the kind known as a very well paid elite assassin, and I do mean, very well paid by Dean Sanderson and the board of a large financial consortium who have particular reasons for needing certain individuals eliminated. Given the nature of the beast, Bishop follows a strict code of conduct with total detachment and isolation from the world and other people but for an occasional liaison with his favorite New Orleans call girl. His one contact and friend is his mentor, Harry McKenna. But circumstances arise which place Bishop in a very delicate and dangerous predicament. Harry is killed and his son Steven is looking for revenge on those responsible. Having always acted alone, Bishop is now faced with keeping Steven safe and taking him under his wing or, or letting him continue with his rage-filled vendetta. As comes as no surprise, Bishop does take Steven under his wing as Harry had done with Bishop, but the unusual pairing leads to dire consequences for all concerned as deceit, lies and a crisis of conscience take hold.
Jason Statham IS THE MECHANIC. Best known for his work in the “Transporter” series and most recently, “The Expendables”, Statham is the epitome of an action star. No one but Jason Statham can I ever see playing Arthur Bishop in this film. He is mesmerizing. Statham has this incredible brooding intensity and focus that we see time and again, but then he brings this great sense of consciousness and humanity to the package. As Bishop, he is initially ice, but when the tables turn, Statham softens his resolve for just a moment and you see a pained look, a softened look of admiration and respect and love. A priceless sequence and moment in the film. He had me tearing up watching much as he did in “Transporter 2″ and his relationship with his young charge. Statham then easily handles the shift from the lone warrior to mentor and teacher to Steven, a very redemptive act that then propels the film to a higher level. But what makes Jason Statham, Jason Statham, is his natural athletic ability and the fact that he does all of his own stunt work. Yes, folks, that is Statham jumping 50 feet off a bridge into a moving river. That is Statham jumping off a 30 story building – and not just once, but multiple times. That is Jason Statham doing actual driving without benefit of a camera car rig attached to it. He looks invincible and when you speak with him, his confidence and enthusiasm make you believe he’s invincible – just like his character.
According to West, “[Statham] insists on doing his own stunts. He won’t do green screen. He won’t even drive a fake car. We have to go out on the road and drive. He wants to drive the car. Some of the time we stick the camera on the car and he just drives himself. He is an expert at all that stuff. He can drive cars, boats, jet skis. He’s fearless. [For the jump], I could barely stand on the top of this building. 450 feet tall with nothing around it and he’s running around the edge of the it and then hanging over the edge and then jumps off the edge 450 feet on a cable that’s about [indicating about 1 inch diameter] and just free falling down. I knew Jason would that because he’s fearless at that stuff. But I was at breakfast with Ben and he said, ‘Jason’s gonna do the big jump himself. Well, I suppose I better do it as well.”
Ben Foster’s metamorphosis from the caring young solider in “The Messenger” into this ungrateful screwed up son Steven who turns into a vengeful killing machine is mindblowing. You have no sympathy for Steven. His disregard for his father’s house and belongings, and his preoccupation with dad not leaving him any money, sets the entire emotional palette for the character. While you see distinct changes in Steven under the tutelage of Bishop, there is always that edge of untrustworthiness that Foster gives the role. Brilliantly played. And yes, Ben Foster also did the majority of his own stunts as well, including jumping from the 30 story building with Statham. And no, he did not tell his mother until he was back on the ground.
What’s not to love about Donald Sutherland? As Harry McKenna he is solid, engaging, likeable and brings an early humanity to the cold profession of being a mechanic. And yes, Sutherland also does his own wheelchair stunt work. But then take a look at Tony Goldwyn. As we learned in “Ghost”, Goldwyn beautifully walks the double-edged sword of friend and foe and then when caught in his own web, gives the best frenetic panicked performances. He may have died by a shard of glass piercing him in “Ghost”, but as Dean Sanderson, getting pierced with the garbage truck arms and then blown to smithereens with gunfire – picture perfect. And the panic and fear Goldwyn expresses once he knows his number is up – ya gotta love it!
Based on the 1972 Charles Bronson film of the same name, with this 2011 THE MECHANIC, one endeavors to reimagine the ideas and methods of original writer Lewis Carlino while still retaining the core story and ethic that makes Bishop such an appealing figure. Screenwriter Richard Wenk was tapped eight weeks before shooting for this ominous task. “You start with the blueprint of the original. When Simon called me and asked me to come in and talk about this, the first thing we both said was that we want to stick with the structure of the original. You start with the world that they’re in and you make it as realistic as possible. The only thing that I thought was how do you do you take hit after hit after hit and keep making it interesting. . . If you really do this for a living, you have to make [the hits] look like accidents. You’ve gotta be smart. The only other real change we talked about, was making Ben Foster’s character a little more emotional than Jan Michael Vincent; less cocky. So you have this…kid who really didn’t have a relationship with his father, but the idea eats at him, and then this man takes him on as an apprentice and becomes his father figure. You start with those things and then build the characters.” Here, the characters are built methodically and intelligently. They are multi-dimensional with growth and in the case of Bishop, redemption, while Foster’s character of Steven, took on the shape of a very inquisitive kid, leading Wenk back to key moments in the original script. Paying homage to Carlino’s original story was important to Wenk and with that in mind, certain classic lines from the original were cherry-picked for inclusion here, such as the single most important one, “Do you know what a mechanic is?”
The result is exceedingly well crafted, meticulously detailed and intelligently written. The various methods of killing adds entirely new dimension to the story and the purpose of each character. None of those involved in these kills is by any means a street thug. To that degree, the film celebrates intelligent, thoughtful action and reaction, much of which is showcased through Bishop – particularly with the ending where his mindset and teachings all come to fruition. Characters are full and complete, multi-dimensional and very textured. There is much to be said for tacit strength and emotion.
Directed by Simon West, intelligence and action are the watchwords of THE MECHANIC. The relationships and players are quickly identified and established so the story hits the ground running and then just intensifies at an ever increasing pace. West knew he had something great on his hands when he told the stunt guys some of the kills and stunts that would be happening and he got a response of “Oh yeah, that’s cool. Then you know it’s cool because they’re like officers of coolness.” And when it comes to stunt coolness, there are few teams finer than that assembled here under legendary Noon Orsatti. Statham, who works and trains with Orsatti and his team [and who, let’s face it, he is part of the team], mandated they be brought in for the stunts and worked with them in developing, preparing and executing the stunts.
Eric Schmidt’s cinematography is superb as he captures the misty solitude of Bishop’s secretive life juxtapositioned against the vibrancy of New Orleans and the high gloss of big business. The lighting and lensing, particularly the framing for each, adds much to the tone of the film as does Richard Lasalle’s production design which is impeccable and telling, contributing to the tacit nature of the characters by speaking volumes visually.
But above all, let’s give kudos where kudos are due – Noon Orsatti and the stunt team – including Statham and Foster. Knowing the difficulty of stunt execution – from planning to performance – what Orsatti and his team have done here is amazing – particularly that 30 story drop that Statham and Foster did themselves as well as Statham’s bridge jump. Amazing. I bow to their technical prowess and skill with the planning of that climatic bus-garbage truck chase. Although not a new stunt by any means (the whole garbage truck thing has been done before in several films) but the precision necessary for the car crashes and bus-truck collision pushing cars through the bus…wow! And then we have hand to hand fights and gunplay and let’s not forget the explosives experts. Whew!!!
Capping the entire film is a pulsating, propelling, heart pounding score by Mark Isham. It just accelerated the excitement and energy of the already powerful storyline and action.
THE MECHANIC. It’s killer.
Arthur Bishop – Jason Statham
Steven McKenna – Ben Foster
Dean Sanderson – Tony Goldwyn
Frank McKenna – Donald Sutherland
Directed by Simon West. Written by Richard Wenk and Lewis Carlino based on a story by Lewis John Carlino.
