The Mechanic (2011)

Title: The Mechanic (2011)

Director: Simon West

Cast: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland

Review:

So Jason Statham is trying his best to establish himself as THE action star of his generation, cause let’s face it, there aren’t many of those hovering around Hollywood, I mean not to the level of past action stars like Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Bronson and Norris. What actor’s are currently trying to establish themselves as the new generation of action stars? Well, let’s see, there’s The Rock (a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson) who has decided to work for Disney now making films like Race to Witch Mountain (2009). I get it though. He’s trying to do what Schwarznegger did when he started to make comedies like Twins (1988) and Kindergarten Cop (1990). But come on, Tooth Fairy (2010)? That’s pushing things a little too far; almost too far. He is attempting to make a comeback to action with films like Faster (2010) and Fast Five (2011), but is it too late? The Rock still has to prove himself in my book; he still has to make that ‘great action film’ that will place him on the legendary action star status. Same goes for Vin Diesel, but again, with the possible exception of the Riddick films (which I love) none of his films are half as good as the ones made by the good old guys. And there in lies the problem with all these new action stars. They are just not making good films. Or even memorable ones. Statham I can respect a bit more because, right from the very beginning, he hasn’t stopped making action films. Statham’s got the persona, the looks, the attitude, the cool of an action star. Because an action star’s got to have the cool, there’s no denying that. Yet, I don’t feel Statham has made that great action film either. So here comes The Mechanic, a remake of Michael Winner’s The Mechanic (1972), yet another attempt of Statham’s to solidify himself as this generations action star. How was it?

Story is all about a hired killer called Arthur Bishop. Arthur is methodical in his killings; he makes them look like accidents, and he is in and out like the wind. No one knows he was even there. In Arthur’s own words: “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.” But one day he is asked to kill his mentor, the man who taught him everything about being an assassin. Unfortunately, one of his own rules is to follow the orders of his superiors no matter what, so he does it. And here comes the complication, Steve his ex-mentors son (not knowing that Bishop killed his father) befriends Bishop and wants to learn all about being an assassin. So Bishop, out of guilt decides to take the young dude and teach him everything he knows. Will Steve ever know that it was Bishop who killed his father? It's this question that drives the film, and makes the Bishop/Steve team an uneasy alliance. One thing I will say about this film, I enjoyed the chemistry between Statham and Foster's characters. Many go as far as to say that Foster steals the film from Statham in some ways, and as far as the acting goes, I have to say I agree. 

I see what Statham’s trying to do by remaking a Charles Bronson film, and I get it. Just by doing a remake of a Bronson film he is trying to associate himself with Bronson’s now legendary legacy. I mean for those not in the know, Bronson was the ass kicker of his day, the silent type you didn’t want to mess with or you were going to pay, especially if you were a criminal. I mean, Bronson’s the guy behind Death Wish (1974)! Statham’s just trying to get some of that Bronson attitude rub off on him. Or maybe he just wants his name mentioned along side Bronson’s in every single review for this film in this way saying ‘I’m this generations Charles Bronson, how do you like them apples?’ Which is all fine and dandy, I mean trying to be the next Bronson isn’t a bad thing, but if you want to be Bronson, then goddamn it don’t water down the remake. Though to be honest, in these politically correct times we live in, the watering down of action/horror films shouldn’t surprise anyone. It’s a common thing these days. Face it my friends, action/horror films just aren’t the same these days. One look at action films of the 70’s and 80’s and you’ll see what I mean. Take one night and watch Death Wish (1974), Robocop (1987), Total Recall (1990) and Lethal Weapon (1987) and tell me you don’t see the marked difference. To use a tired phrase, they just don’t make them like that anymore. Was The Mechanic a victim of the watered down American action film?

 Well, in some ways yes and in some ways no. Statham’s character is still a killer, but he only kills ‘bad guys’. He kills drug dealers and evil religious leaders who take advantage of their flock. He kills gangsters and hitmen, and you know how it goes with killing hitmen, “no matter what you do to them, you don’t feel bad”. So Statham plays it safe like that. Another marked difference between this film and the original is that Bronson played his mechanic as a guy feeling the ravages of age, he knows he is getting old, he knows that his days are numbered so he is looking for someone to accompany him on his missions and ease his workload. On the remake Statham is practically The Terminator. He is untouchable, nothing is going to happen to him because he is Jason Statham and nothing touches him on his films. He reminded me of Chuck Norris in Invasion U.S.A. (1985), you know, totally indestructible. There is no vulnerability to Statham’s Bishop. Contrary to the original, this film plays by Hollywood’s rules: Nothing happens to the good guy, and above all things, the good guy cannot die. But here’s something that Bronson knew while making his film: he knew he wasn’t playing the proverbial good guy, he was a bad guy, playing by his own rules. You play a game of death, you expose yourself to death itself, you are always living under the assumption that you might bite the bullet at any moment. Statham mechanic doesn’t have that vulnerability. He is a killer, yet he lives in a mansion, he lives without a conscience apparently because he looks so calm and happy whenever he isn’t out there killing. Come on dude, you’re a killer. And your training a young lad in the ways of assassination, grow some fucking attitude, take some risks with your character. Surprise the audience. As it is, the film holds no surprises. Statham is indestructible, a killer with no conscience for his actions. For all intents and purposes, he is a robot. Indestructible action heroes can be fun to watch in cheesy action flicks, but this film plays it dead serious, there’s no fun to be had here. This wasnt supposed to be the kind of film that had the indestructible action star, this was to be the one about the troubled, angst ridden protagonist, trying to face issues of his own mortality.   

The most cliche scene you could put in your action film: The protagonist walking away from an explosion

But don’t get me wrong; in spite of this remake being a bit different then the original, it’s still a decent action flick with some cool action sequences. The fist fights are pretty intense, one takes place inside of a bus, I liked the closed quarters fighting in those scenes, there’s also a cool fight on top of a building which will give some watchers vertigo. It didn’t seem like they were using a lot of CGI in those sequences, kudos to them for that. Simon West the director behind Con Air (1997) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) delivers a slick looking action flick that is technically superior to the original, but lacks any of the balls that Bronson’s film had. The original mechanic was a more cerebral film, it even dealt with existentialist issues. Can we live in society under our own rules? Can we live in our own mind and ignore the world we live in? And what are the consequences of living by our own rules in this world? These were the questions pondered in the original yet completely ignored by the remake. The remake is just another action film. The original was bleak, dark and void of a happy ending. Sadly, this new Mechanic is playing by Hollywood’s rules rather than its own, but still, you know, watchable.

Rating: 3 out of 5 

Ben Foster says: "I can walk away from explosions too!"

Pandorum (2009)

Title: Pandorum (2009)

Director: Christian Alvart

Cast: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Antje Traue

Review:

Don’t know about you guys, but lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about the “end of the world”. There has been a recent slate of films where the films main premise and main theme is that humanity either has already ended, or is about to end. This recent fixation with “end of the world” movies probably stems from the coming of the year 2012. Some people out there actually think the world is going to go caput on that year. It could also have something to do with the economy, and how life isn’t really as easy as it used to be. My take on it is that every generation eventually ends up thinking that the world is going to end during their time. The sometimes chaotic nature of life can make us think that way. One look at sci-fi movie posters from the 50’s will let you know what I’m talking about, back then, people were just as obsessed with 'the end of life as we know it' as they are now. So many movies back then exploited this angle, this fear that the human race will one day disappear from existence. Truth is, time keeps going, the planet keeps going, and so far, so do we. My advice is to take it easy, soon it will all blow over, well get old and realize there was really nothing to worry about. Or maybe a giant meteorite will wipe us out and we wont even know it. In the mean time, we got some movies to watch. Like Pandorum, a film that also explores this notion.

On Pandorum, we are presented with an interesting premise. Planet Earth as we know it ceased to exist. It’s not specified how (“it was probably nuclear!”) but planet earth and all of humanity disappeared from the cosmos. Fortunately, one last spaceship was sent out into space with the last of the humans. They are headed towards a new planet that has been discovered and that has shown signs of being “earth like”. Only two people are needed to run the ship, the rest are safely kept away in hyper sleep. Movie starts out when two members of the flight crew wake up from hyper sleep to an abandoned and lonely ship. No one is running it, the power has failed, and no one really knows why. This is where the mystery begins. What has happened? Why is no one flying the ship? Did we make it to the planet or not?

So I liked that about this movie. It starts out with a great big mystery. No one knows anything, and we along with the two awakening crew members are slowly figuring everything out. It’s that initial sense of mystery that pulled me into the movie immediately; the not knowing what’s happening. I loved the setting of this gigantic haunting spaceship. It’s one of the main reasons why I love Event Horizon (1997) and The Black Hole (1979) so much, these are films where we explore a gigantic and ominous spaceship. The art direction was great in this film. The corridors of the spaceship look dark and ominous, the different rooms in the ship were well executed, and yeah, its true, more then a little influenced by Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), the film that Pandorum uses partially as its blue print, at least in look and feel. Its whole first half is a lot like Aliens (1986) as well, specially when it comes to those scenes with the crew waking up from hyper sleep. We even get a mysterious girl who has been surviving on her own and has turned almost savage in nature, ala Nute in James Cameron’s Aliens.

The makers of Pandorum fed from more then just the Alien franchise to make their film. It’s also got elements from films like Silent Running (1971), Wall-E (2008), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) and Knowing (2009). It even fed of some sci-fi novels. I’m a huge Arthur C. Clarke fan, for those who don’t know, he is the Author of 2001: A Space Odyssey and many other excellent sci-fi novels. A lot of Arthur C. Clarkes books dealt with this premise of a spaceship with the last remaining members of the human race. The one that comes to mind is Songs from a Distant Earth (1986). In that novel a spaceship with the last remaining humans are on their way to another planet they hope will be their new home. It’s a very interesting premise to work with; unfortunately this angle wasn’t explored so much in Pandorum because the film was more concerned with becoming just another monster movie, and not a very original one at that.

Personally, I’m burned out on movies that go for the “good guys running from the monsters” premise. And that’s entirely what this movie turns into. This is one of the main reasons why I was absolutely bored to death with Quarantine (2009). It’s so boring when we know exactly what’s going to happen in a film. I totally disconnected from Quarantine for this reason. But I stuck with Pandorum because I liked the “last members of the human race” premise and I wanted to see where they were going to go with that. But basically, these cannibal like creatures are running through the space ship and the good guys have to fight their way through them so that they can arrive at the ships power generator. Good guys need to turn the generator on so that the ships power is restored and they can make their way to this new planet they are supposed to reach at some point. That whole second act of the film, where we start to figure out what the creatures are, their behavior and how much of a threat they are, bored me to death. There’s nothing new or different about it.

To me, if you are going to do something dealing with the good guys running away from the monsters, you have to make sure it’s something original, something we have not seen before. Unfortunately, the original route is not the one this film wanted to take. The creatures resemble those we have seen in many other films. The one that first popped to mind was those creatures we saw in Neil Marshall’s The Descent (2005) where these creatures have been in the dark for so long they have become cannibals, they have begun to breed, they have pale skin and white eyes. If you’ve seen The Descent, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect from these beasties, they even have a similar scene in which the good guys fall in this pool of blood and skeletons...just like in The Descent! To the films credit, I will say that the make up effects were handled well, but these creatures don’t go past the guy in a suit thing we’ve seen thousands of times before. They are violent and filled with rage, similar also to “the reapers” seen in Joss Whedon’s Serenity (2005).

Somewhere around its third half, the film kicks back into an interesting gear; when the whole mystery is completely unraveled. Interesting thing is that with each human we meet on the ship, the further away from being civilized they are. I thought that was cool about the movie, obviously commenting on how easily our civilized behavior can disappear in extremely difficult circumstances. Also, the film has a very interesting twist in its last half that I loved.

Performance wise everyone did a good job, but nothing to call home about. I mean, is it just me or has Dennis Quaid been phoning in a lot of his performances lately. I don’t know, the guy just doesn’t seem to be trying anymore. His presence in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) for example was so replaceable. No special effort is put into his performances, same goes for Pandorum. His character works, but its nothing special.

Overall, this film wasn’t that bad. But it wasnt good either. It just wasn’t too original. Its second half with the monsters running after the bad guys almost had me disconnecting from it because it felt so “been there done that”. Same problem I had with another recent science fiction film called Outlander (2009) which was yet another sci-fi film that fed off a gazillion other movies we had already seen before. If I referenced a bunch of other films during this review, its because I couldnt help it, this movie rips off to many others. Here’s a message to all those filmmakers out there: you have to try harder with movies! You can’t keep given us the same old drivel we’ve seen on countless occasions before! You might have the budget, the production values, good direction, but if its more of the same, you risk audience disconnection. This is Lt. Film Connoisseur signing out, reporting from the blogosphere, anybody listening out there?

Rating: 3 out of 5