What an intriguing name for a title of a movie: The Mechanic. Simon West’s new film The Mechanic is a remake of  a 1972 by the same name with Charles Bronson made during the height of cold war.

You kind of sense that The Mechanic will have a fair bit of action. You bet there is more than fair bit of action. At times it was a little too brutal and I found myself closing my eyes. At other times it felt like I was watching a video game because of the slick plot, the well-crafted and choreographed fight scenes and the absolute mechanical way in which Jason Statham played the role of Arthur Bishop, the protaganist. Statham’s emotional reactions are reduced to a bare minimum and he speaks in that low, unhurried voice that might appeal to some. For a moment I thought how would the film be different if George Clooney has been cast as Arthur Bishop?

In the opening shot of The Mechanic you see  a private jet pull into a hangar and the passenger transfer into an SUV and drive to a villa, and in the next shot this unidentified passenger is seen swimming in a swank heated indoor pool. By now you get an inkling that the villa’s location is somewhere in South America. Watching over the swimmer are a couple of well-armed guards. The swimmer spots an expensive watch at the bottom of the pool and reaches out to grab it. Suddenly an unknown hand snakes around his neck and chokes him to death right under the the watchful eyes of the guards. While the household deals with the unexpected death of the master, the assassin quietly makes a quick exit and out of the country back to the US, and to his stylish home in  bayous of Louisiana. We are a few minutes into the film and so far not a word of dialog is uttered. The entire narration is via visual images.

That neat hit job is the handiwork of Arthur Bishop (Jasaon Statham) knows as the mechanic. “What I do requires a certain mind-set,” are the first lines uttered in the film by Bishop.  As he points out the best jobs are the ones where nobody knows even knows you are there. Bishop’s assignments are high-stakes ones that he executes in a methodical manner leaving no traces behind.  ”You are a god damn machine,” Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland) tells Bishop with just a hint of admiration in his voice. Bishop considers McKenna as his mentor. McKenna works for a firm that undertakes these high-stake assignments some of which are assigned to Bishop, who lives by the creed “Victory loves preparation.”

A wrinkle is introduced in the plot when Bishop is approached by one of the partners to kill McKenna. The reason? McKenna has been quietly fleecing millions off the company books. While Bishop is hesitant at first, he goes ahead with the assignment and kills McKenna. Another interesting wrinkle is introduced when Bishop meets Steve McKenna (Ben Foster) his mentor’s son, and decides to take him under his wing and train him. Steve is diametrically opposite to Bishop’s low-profile and methodical way of executing an assignment. Steve is high-strung, emotional and impetuous, who likes to tweak a well-laid plan on the fly. Accidentally Steve discovers that Bishop might have been the person that killed his father. You have to see the film to find out what happens next. Who gets killed, and who is saved? Can Steve outwit his mentor, just like Bishop outwitted his mentor McKenna?

Like I mentioned the actions scenes are very well choreographed and slick. The film is sketchy on dialogs. Sutherland sparkles in the film, even though he has a small role. Foster’s edgy performance in the film makes you sit up and notice him.

What you-the movie goer-require is a certain mind-set to watch the film. The Mechanic is for you if you like action, murder and intrigue with minimum amount of dialog.

The Mechanic released in the US on January 28, 2011.

Director: Simon West
Cast: Jason Statham, Donald Sutherland, Ben Foster
Cinematography: Eric Scmidt