If we're honest with ourselves, what do we expect when we go to see a Jason Statham film? Compelling character development? Clever dialogue? Complex relationships? Probably not.
When Statham—who has made a name for himself through consistent tough guy roles in “Snatch,” “The Italian Job,” and the “Crank” and “Transporter” series, among others—starts in a movie, we all know what we're going to get, and that's part of the comfort of watching him.
Having said that, there are certain film standards unrelated to Statham himself that audiences should care about when they see his films, and these standards are what ultimately make his movies memorable, like "Snatch," or immediately forgettable, like his most recent film, "The Mechanic." Though "The Mechanic" stays true to the Statham staples—it takes him all of 45 seconds from the film's start to kill someone, and a full minute to take his shirt off—it lacks the other qualities that make his films worthwhile.
The film revolves around Statham's character Arthur Bishop, a hit man working for a typical insidious and anonymous organization that calls him to tell him his next assignment as soon as he finishes his previous one. This line of work affords Bishop a sleek pad on an island off the coast of New Orleans, but, as can be expected, it has made him a totally isolated person.
It would be unfair and inaccurate to call "The Mechanic" a total failure—it's not; however, it does miss the mark on some of the crucial non-Statham elements that his movies should always have.
The first, and most important, is humor. Statham's most successful movies to date have been those that mix his action prowess with side humor, a balance that "The Italian Job" (though it doesn't necessarily feature Statham) nails. Though Statham is primarily famous for his brawn and for the fact that he performs most of his own stunts—as he shows in "Snatch"—he does have some comic prowess in a British tough guy kind of way (think of the dynamic between Turkish (Statham) and Tommy (Stephen Graham) in "Snatch."
Another element that "The Mechanic" lacks is compelling side characters. Though Bishop interacts with enough of them, not one is notable in the least. The first is Harry McKenna, played by Donald Sutherland, who seems to represent Bishop's only real human connection...before Bishop is ordered to kill him, about 20 minutes into the film.
The most significant side character is McKenna's son, Steve (Ben Foster), who Bishop takes under his wing, training him as a hitman as a way to clear his conscience of killing Harry. Steve, though he gets the most screen time of anyone besides Bishop, is really just as insubstantial as the other side characters. He becomes Bishop's sidekick of sorts, but fails to make much of an impression, apart from one surprisingly homoerotic assassination sequence that comes across as more heavy-handed than was probably intended.
"The Mechanic" is directed by Simon West, best known for "Con Air" (1997) and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001). Both are action films bordering on the absurd, focusing on characters that are outlandish and unrealistic. This film could use more of that absurdity.
Upon its finish, this film leaves us in exactly the same place that it began, with Bishop alone (although he has dismantled the entire assassination corporation that he works for). A quick look at Statham's filmography, peppered with films that have garnered sequels upon sequels, suggests that "The Mechanic" is setting itself up for a part two, but the movie is also a remake of Charles Bronson's 1972 film of the same name, which suggests it may have been a singular venture.
There seems to be no excuse for the film's unsatisfying ending, except that leaving Bishop in any situation aside from that of the solitary killing machine would be ridiculous. "The Mechanic" gives us the bare bones Statham action flick, and though it's marginally entertaining, it's less than what we should expect from such a firmly established star.