He's the industry standard.By John DeSando, WCBE's "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee"
"Revenge holds the cup to the lips of another but drinks the dregs itself." Josh Billings
Don't waste your time cruising the internet for porn because if you see The Mechanic, you'll have all you need: violence as porn that is. Jason Statham stars as a "mechanic" or hit man caught in a tangle of deceit and revenge coming right down the line from his place of employment.
Statham,as Arthur Bishop, reprising the role of the granite Charles Bronson in 1972, is indisputably the star, even with partner pro-tem, Steve, being played by the very competent Ben Foster. Statham's scowl, punctuated by a slight smirk now and then, is the industry standard for good bad guy.
Early in his career I saw Statham in a caf? at Sunset Plaza in Hollywood; I knew immediately the Transporter?-scruffy beard, balding dome, and signature scowl.
The two hit men, not much like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (though when Statham and Foster jump from a building I couldn't help think of that romantic duo), are connected by the assassination of Steve's father (Donald Sutherland), who was also Bishop's mentor. After a series of barely connected set pieces of explosions and bullets, Steve is ready to deal with his dad's murderer, and Bishop is there to teach and corral the blood-thirsty avenger.
Although I enjoy Jason Statham's screen persona, with the lack of originality and a plot even I figured out early on, I am merely amused by this film's formulaic violence.
John DeSando co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee, which can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com