FILM REVIEW OF ''THE MECHANIC" (2011)

Anybody who saw British director Michael Winner's top-notch 1972 nail-biting killer-thriller "The Mechanic" with Charles Bronson cast as a stoic, steely-eyed assassin who makes murder look like an accident knows no remake could ever do it justice. Mind you, tough-guy Jason Statham makes "Con-Air" director Simon West's rehash of this classic action epic tolerable. Statham possesses an iconic presence that filmmakers have been grooming since he made his debut in writer & director Guy Ritchie's outstanding crime opus "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" in 1998. French producer Luc Besson catapulted the actor to widespread prominence with the larger-than-life "The Transporter" franchise. Meantime, if the best action movies must top each other, then "The Mechanic" has Statham running in place. Although it occurs in a believable physical environment, "The Mechanic" is just too conventional to be more than average. You don't see Statham perform any stunts here that he hasn't done far better in either his "Transporter" trilogy or his outlandish "Crank" movies. Credit Simon West for maintaining the momentum throughout this contemporary actioneer and staging each scene with a classy look. Nevertheless, the surprises, complications, and villains induce yawns more often than alarms.

As R-rated thrillers go, "The Mechanic" (** OUT OF ****) seems incredibly subdued compared with genuine R-rated exercises in blood, gore and murder like the recent crime epic "The Punisher." "16 Blocks" scenarist Richard Wenk has changed substantially the content and context of the original in his update. Lewis John Carlino, who penned the original, shares screen credit with Wenk, but it is difficult to determine if more than the Carlino basics were retained. A straightforward, scene-for-scene rehash of the original "Mechanic" would have been less-than-inspired but more than adequate. Apparently, West and Wenk wanted to improve on the original and thus dispense with everything that made it so unforgettable.  Unlike the tragic 1972 ending, the "Mechanic" remake boasts an upbeat ending so that a sequel could ensue. Furthermore, this revenge melodrama provides more deception that makes our hero appear somewhat stupid when you think about it because the villains take advantage of him in a way that would never have occurred in the Bronson classic. Moreover, unlike Bronson and co-star Jan-Michael Vincent, Statham and Ben Foster kindle little charisma as mentor and apprentice.

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham of "The Expendables") is a reclusive killer who performs hits for a mysterious corporation. He is the best in the business, and the first scene demonstrates his expertise. Bishop penetrates the premises of a Colombian drug lord. Scores of heavily armed brutes patrol the place. Nevertheless, our protagonist kills the

drug lord right under their collective noses. Moreover, Bishop makes it appear as if drug lord drowned. This is probably as slick as "The Mechanic" remake gets, and our anti-heroic hero makes good his escape by swimming away under the dead drug dealer. The guards think nothing unusual as they watch their wiry boss perform a slow crawl across the pool. The next thing they know is their boss has curled up dead in the water. They sound the alarm, but Bishop is far away. Bishop meets his mentor, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland of "The Eagle Has Landed"), who cruises around in a wheelchair. Harry brings Bishop a package of greenbacks as payment. Bishop and harry have a history, and Harry is the closest to a friend that Arthur has. When Arthur isn't knocking off people, he listens to vinyl Schubert recordings on a turntable, tinkers with his fashionable Jaguar, and checks his e-mail on his Apple. Occasionally, he goes out for a drink and enjoys the company of a well-paid prostitute. Incidentally, Arthur lives in a sumptuous residence in a remote bayou outside of New Orleans. Life for Arthur, as

far as everything goes, couldn't be better until he learns that Harry has been selling out his colleagues to the tune of $50 million. Harry's partner, Dean (Tony Goldwyn of "Ghost"), contacts Arthur and shows him a sheaf of gory photos.

Naturally, Arthur has to think about this contract. A life-long friend, Harry has been there for him. Harry loves Arthur like a son. Harry has a son, Steve (Ben Foster of "3:10 to Yuma"), but he hates him. Anyway, Arthur decides to ice Harry, if for no other reason than Harry will suffer less. Ingeniously, Arthur makes Harry's death look like a carjacking. Eventually, Steve drifts into the picture, and revenge dominates his thinking. Arthur intervenes to keep Steve from killing an innocent criminal and decides to train Steve as an assassin. Dean doesn't think that this is one of Arthur's better ideas. Arthur teaches Steve the rules of killing, but Steve isn't as cautious and careful. Rather than kill a child molesting thug without fanfare, Steve decides to beat the man to death. Steve survives, but he looks like he ran into a bull dozer. As Steve learns more and more, he moves in with Arthur. One day Steve discovers his father's nickel-plated automatic

pistol in Arthur's storage tubs and plots his mentor's demise. Before he can carry out the hit, Arthur and he must leave for Chicago to murder a religious cult figure with a controversial background. Indeed, nothing goes right for them, and they escape by the skin of their teeth.

Director Simon West doesn't rely on high tech gadgetry. He keeps most of violence pretty down to earth. The shoot-out scenes are staged without excessive blood and gore, and West lets nothing get in the fairly straight-f0rward storyline. West and Wenk do insert an occasional surprise. The best concerns cramming a teenage girl's fingers down a garbage disposal in a sink. Not surprisingly, Arthur Bishop comes off looking immaculate compared with his murderous colleagues as well as his wicked victims. The Charles Bronson character in the original worked for the Italian mafia. Altogether, "The

Mechanic" is primarily a nuts and bolts melodrama with little to distinguish it outside Jason Statham's tight-lipped performance and Ben Foster's maniacal energy as a wannabe killer.

FILM REVIEW OF ''THE MECHANIC" (2011)

Anybody who saw British director Michael Winner's top-notch 1972 nail-biting killer-thriller "The Mechanic" with Charles Bronson cast as a stoic, steely-eyed assassin who makes murder look like an accident knows no remake could ever do it justice. Mind you, tough-guy Jason Statham makes "Con-Air" director Simon West's rehash of this classic action epic tolerable. Statham possesses an iconic presence that filmmakers have been grooming since he made his debut in writer & director Guy Ritchie's outstanding crime opus "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" in 1998. French producer Luc Besson catapulted the actor to widespread prominence with the larger-than-life "The Transporter" franchise. Meantime, if the best action movies must top each other, then "The Mechanic" has Statham running in place. Although it occurs in a believable physical environment, "The Mechanic" is just too conventional to be more than average. You don't see Statham perform any stunts here that he hasn't done far better in either his "Transporter" trilogy or his outlandish "Crank" movies. Credit Simon West for maintaining the momentum throughout this contemporary actioneer and staging each scene with a classy look. Nevertheless, the surprises, complications, and villains induce yawns more often than alarms.

As R-rated thrillers go, "The Mechanic" (** OUT OF ****) seems incredibly subdued compared with genuine R-rated exercises in blood, gore and murder like the recent crime epic "The Punisher." "16 Blocks" scenarist Richard Wenk has changed substantially the content and context of the original in his update. Lewis John Carlino, who penned the original, shares screen credit with Wenk, but it is difficult to determine if more than the Carlino basics were retained. A straightforward, scene-for-scene rehash of the original "Mechanic" would have been less-than-inspired but more than adequate. Apparently, West and Wenk wanted to improve on the original and thus dispense with everything that made it so unforgettable.  Unlike the tragic 1972 ending, the "Mechanic" remake boasts an upbeat ending so that a sequel could ensue. Furthermore, this revenge melodrama provides more deception that makes our hero appear somewhat stupid when you think about it because the villains take advantage of him in a way that would never have occurred in the Bronson classic. Moreover, unlike Bronson and co-star Jan-Michael Vincent, Statham and Ben Foster kindle little charisma as mentor and apprentice.

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham of "The Expendables") is a reclusive killer who performs hits for a mysterious corporation. He is the best in the business, and the first scene demonstrates his expertise. Bishop penetrates the premises of a Colombian drug lord. Scores of heavily armed brutes patrol the place. Nevertheless, our protagonist kills the

drug lord right under their collective noses. Moreover, Bishop makes it appear as if drug lord drowned. This is probably as slick as "The Mechanic" remake gets, and our anti-heroic hero makes good his escape by swimming away under the dead drug dealer. The guards think nothing unusual as they watch their wiry boss perform a slow crawl across the pool. The next thing they know is their boss has curled up dead in the water. They sound the alarm, but Bishop is far away. Bishop meets his mentor, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland of "The Eagle Has Landed"), who cruises around in a wheelchair. Harry brings Bishop a package of greenbacks as payment. Bishop and harry have a history, and Harry is the closest to a friend that Arthur has. When Arthur isn't knocking off people, he listens to vinyl Schubert recordings on a turntable, tinkers with his fashionable Jaguar, and checks his e-mail on his Apple. Occasionally, he goes out for a drink and enjoys the company of a well-paid prostitute. Incidentally, Arthur lives in a sumptuous residence in a remote bayou outside of New Orleans. Life for Arthur, as

far as everything goes, couldn't be better until he learns that Harry has been selling out his colleagues to the tune of $50 million. Harry's partner, Dean (Tony Goldwyn of "Ghost"), contacts Arthur and shows him a sheaf of gory photos.

Naturally, Arthur has to think about this contract. A life-long friend, Harry has been there for him. Harry loves Arthur like a son. Harry has a son, Steve (Ben Foster of "3:10 to Yuma"), but he hates him. Anyway, Arthur decides to ice Harry, if for no other reason than Harry will suffer less. Ingeniously, Arthur makes Harry's death look like a carjacking. Eventually, Steve drifts into the picture, and revenge dominates his thinking. Arthur intervenes to keep Steve from killing an innocent criminal and decides to train Steve as an assassin. Dean doesn't think that this is one of Arthur's better ideas. Arthur teaches Steve the rules of killing, but Steve isn't as cautious and careful. Rather than kill a child molesting thug without fanfare, Steve decides to beat the man to death. Steve survives, but he looks like he ran into a bull dozer. As Steve learns more and more, he moves in with Arthur. One day Steve discovers his father's nickel-plated automatic

pistol in Arthur's storage tubs and plots his mentor's demise. Before he can carry out the hit, Arthur and he must leave for Chicago to murder a religious cult figure with a controversial background. Indeed, nothing goes right for them, and they escape by the skin of their teeth.

Director Simon West doesn't rely on high tech gadgetry. He keeps most of violence pretty down to earth. The shoot-out scenes are staged without excessive blood and gore, and West lets nothing get in the fairly straight-f0rward storyline. West and Wenk do insert an occasional surprise. The best concerns cramming a teenage girl's fingers down a garbage disposal in a sink. Not surprisingly, Arthur Bishop comes off looking immaculate compared with his murderous colleagues as well as his wicked victims. The Charles Bronson character in the original worked for the Italian mafia. Altogether, "The

Mechanic" is primarily a nuts and bolts melodrama with little to distinguish it outside Jason Statham's tight-lipped performance and Ben Foster's maniacal energy as a wannabe killer.

FILM REVIEW OF "MEN IN BLACK 3" (2012)

“Men in Black 3” (**1/2 OUT OF ****) may be Tommy Lee Jones’ last “Men in Black” movie.  The Oscar winning “Fugitive” actor makes what amounts to a glorified cameo in the second sequel.  He shows up for about a quarter of an hour during the first act of this amusing, but tonally uneven farce and then disappears until about the last ten minutes of act three. Presumably, Jones wasn’t agile enough to impersonate himself as a younger man in act two of this lively sequel. Consequently, “Men in Black” director Barry Sonnenfeld cast Josh Brolin as a younger Agent K for the contrived time travel plot in “Tropic Thunder” scenarist Etan Cohen’s inventive but convoluted screenplay.  Things seem considerably more realistic in “Men in Black 3” as a vindicative villain takes advantage of time travel to trip back to July 1969 and knock off Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) mere moments before the historic Apollo Moon launch.  Meaning, since Agent K would no longer exist, Agent K couldn’t have recruited Agent J.  Remember, in “Men in Black” (1997), Agent K recruited NYPD detective James Darrell Edwards III (Will Smith of “Independence Day”) for his fleet-footed pursuit of an alien. “Men in Black 3” takes some outrageous liberties with time travel that haven’t been handled in such a zany fashion.

Basically, “Men in Black 3” resembles the classic fantasy film “It’s A Wonderful Life” (1946) where James Stewart learns about the chaos that will ensue if he commits suicide. Unlike the James Stewart hero, Agent K either must survive a murder attempt on his life or chaos will engulf the Earth.  A buffed-up Mick Jigger look-alike bad man named Boris the Animal has dreamed about killing Agent K.  Bad-tempered Boris is an alien who has goggles instead of eyeballs, gnarly-looking teeth, a Darth Vader baritone voice, and multi-toed feet, and harbors a deadly crab-like critter in the palm of his hand.  Boris likes to discharge deadly thorns from his hand, and his trademark line of dialogue is "Let's agree to disagree." Unless Agent J can run interference for Agent K, the world as we know it is doomed.  It seems that Agent K was instrumental in averting an alien invasion of Earth with a small gizmo that gives off an emerald glow back in 1969.  He had to plant the device atop the Apollo Moon rocket so it could be boosted into space.  Of course, Boris both before and after the Lunar Max escape turns up to complicate Agent K’s renewed efforts to save the planet.  They battle like titans atop the gantry.

 “Men in Black” opens in Lunar Max, a maximum security prison on the Moon, built to confine the worst scum in the galaxy. Beastly Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement of “Dinner for Schmucks”) thwarts an army of heavily armed guards with the help of a woman carrying a pink cake, and breaks out of the slammer.  Just when the guards think they have Boris cornered, this larger-than-life villain surprises them with a stunt that disperses the guards and staggers the imagination.  Now, freed after 40 years of captivity, Boris decides to pay back the man who not only put him behind bars but also blew off part of his left arm.  Of course, Boris’ quarry is none other than resourceful Agent K.  Agent K's only regret is that he didn't ice Boris when he had the opportunity.  Mysteriously, Agent K has vanished without a trace, and Agent J gets the shock of his life at MIB Headquarters when he learns that Agent K has been dead for 40 years.

 The original “Men in Black” offered a pleasant change-of-pace for science fiction film fans.  Essentially, this silly, “Far Side” type satire cleverly combined the police procedural TV show “Dragnet” with the “Star Wars” cantina scene.  Sonnenfeld has helmed all three “Men in Black” movies.  Along the way, he has made some changes.  Not only does Sonnenfeld eliminate Zed, but he also has replaced Zed with a younger woman.  Essentially, Zed (Rip Torn) has died, and Agent K delivers a cryptic but dispassionate eulogy.  Agent O (Emma Thompson) replaces Zed. Later, we learn that Agent K and Agent O were romantically involved. Unfortunately, the filmmakers fail to make the threat of a standard-issue, alien invasion of Earth plot seem exciting.  Sonnenfeld and Cohen do everything to raise the stakes in this outlandish sequel.  Although some changes are obvious and accounted for, others are not so clear-cut, especially the liberties that they take with time travel.

 The biggest change involves the scope of “MIB 3.”  Although the adversary is an alien, little about him prompts laughs.  The decision to go into the past makes "Men in Black 3" different from the previous two films.  Sonnenfeld and Cohen allow Boris to take things right down to the wire.  “Men in Black 3” is the tail chasing the dog, but it is so energetic that you can ignore its lapses in logic.  Brolin and Smith are charismatic enough even when the plot stumbles from one big set-piece to another.  Some critics have skewered the logic of the time travel plot.  How can two characters and their counterparts inhabit the same time and setting without negating their alter-egos?  For that matter, how is it that Agent J can remain a member of the Men in Black if Agent K weren’t around to recruit him?  After Sonnenfeld and Cohen resolve the end-of-the-world plot, they cap off “Men in Black 3” with a hopelessly contrived ending that brings the franchise full circle.  The closure that comes with the return of Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K has an eerie sense of finality. Josh Brolin delivers a brilliant performance as Agent K, and the ambitious plot resembles a sci-fi, James Bond escapade rather than a goofy actioneer.  Happily, “Men in Black 3” boasts some ingenious gadgets, like a motorcycle that consists of one giant wheel that the rider sits inside while driving and jet-packs that resemble chrome-plated Gemini capsules.  Comparatively, “Men in Black 3” surpasses “Men in Black 2,” but lacks the spontaneity of “Men in Black.”