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 ''SNITCH" (2013)

Arnold Schwarzenegger tangled with the Mexican Drug Cartel in the shoot’em up actioneer “The Last Stand” back in January.  This month the Rock wrestles with the same dastards in “Snitch.”  “Felon” director Ric Roman Waugh pits the six-foot-four inch former World Wrestling Entertainment champ against hoodlums armed with accents and submachine guns in “Snitch.”  This suspenseful but formulaic narcotics caper about a father who plunges himself smack in the middle of a drug war on account of his son telegraphs most of its punches before they land.  Our outnumbered protagonist is a fearless father determined to save his son from death in prison at the hands of the inmates.  Unfortunately, this loquacious crime thriller suffers from a case of pervasive ‘shaky cam’ cinematography.  Happily, “Snitch” shifts gears during its final quarter hour, and Waugh salvages this straightforward melodrama with some smashing automotive derring-do.  Before he started calling the shots as a director, Waugh coordinated and performed stunts in the “Lethal Weapon” sequels.  Mind you, the Rock has made better movies than “Snitch,” but this white-knuckle epic isn’t an outlandish exercise in gratuitous violence.  Waugh and “Revolutionary Road” scenarist Justin Haythe based their humorless undercover crime yarn on an episode of the PBS’ television series “Frontline” that first aired in 1999.  In real life, a desperate dad endangered his own life for the sake of his imprisoned 18 year old son.  The real-life father helped law enforcement nab narcotics dealers, but the local prosecutor refused to honor their side of the deal.  Of course, nothing as treacherous as this transpires in “Snitch” because the filmmakers bathe the Federal Government in a complimentary but gritty light.  

In “Snitch,” Dwayne Johnson emerges as a thoroughly charismatic hero.  In other words, he doesn’t mutate into a fantastic, larger-than-life, figure like The Scorpion King.  As John Matthews, the Rock owns a successful transportation company with a fleet of eighteen wheelers.  He resides with current wife, Analisa (Nadine Velazquez of “Flight”) and their young daughter Isabelle (Kyara Campos) in a spacious house. Meantime, Matthews’ former-wife Sylvie (Melina Kanakaredes of “CSI: NY”) and their 18-year old son, Jason (Rafi Gavron of “Mind Games”), have reverted to her maiden name of Collins.  As “Snitch” unfolds, Jason accepts a special delivery package from a friend who wants to him to stash his drugs for him.  Jason opens the shipping carton, finds a sack of Ecstasy pills, and then spots a DEA signal transmitter.  Moments later, Agent Cooper (a bewhiskered Barry Pepper of “Saving Private Ryan”) and his team storm Jason’s house.  They pursue the terrified lad on foot and in cars through the streets until they corner him.  As Sylvie and John learn in courthouse, Jason’s so-called friend struck a deal with Federal authorities to reduce his own prison sentence by implicating somebody else.  Although Jason admits he has smoked pot in the past, he doesn’t abuse drugs and hasn’t taken anything like the Ecstasy pills in his friend’s package.  Nevertheless, the amount of MDMA that the DEA caught him with lands him in prison for a ten-year stretch.  Naturally, John is as stunned as Sylvie is distraught, while U.S. Attorney Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon of “The Banger Sisters”) refuses to cut John any deals

John Matthews decides to take matters into his own hands.  He persuades an employee on his payroll with a criminal record, David James (Jon Bernthal of “The Walking Dead”), to introduce him to a notorious drug dealer.  This kind of unethical behavior on the part of our hero reflects just how desperate he is to intervene for his son.  Earlier, John tried to infiltrate the local street gangs and gotten beaten up for his trouble.  Eventually, David James comes around and takes John to talk with a two-time loser, Malik (Michael K. Williams of “Gone Baby Gone”), who proves to be a pretty shrewd gangsta.  James and Malik, it seems, knew each other before James decided to go straight for the sake of his wife and son.  John convinces Malik that he needs the money to bolster his declining business.  Afterward, John sneaks back to give Keeghan his news, and Agent Cooper provides him with back-up.  Basically, John plans to let Malik use his tractor-trailers to traffick in narcotics.  During the illegal deal, John and James barely escape, but their initial misfortune turns out to be fortunate.  Whereas John had negotiated a deal to hand Malik to her on a platter, he has an even bigger offer for her.  The local leader of the Mexican Cartel (Benjamin Bratt of “Catwoman”) contacts John in person because he believes there is a place for him in their criminal family. 

The filmmakers turn up the heat on our hero.  When John sees Jason in prison, our hero is shocked by his son’s battered appearance.  Apparently, Jason isn’t holding up too well behind bars, and this compels John to fight even harder.  The problem is John has gotten himself in too deep. The suspense mounts when cartel gunmen pay a surprise visit to John’s house.  Moreover, they learn about Jason through a uniformed contact in the prison, and the pressure rises for our hero to perform.    The cartel wants him to drive a fortune in cash, approximately $83-million in greenbacks, in the trailer of an eighteen wheeler to the border.  John suspects they mean to kill him.  Agent Cooper warns him to be vigilant.  

“Snitch” amounts to an okay actioneer.  The sensational driving stunts pump up the film.  Meantime, the supporting cast spends most of the time on the fringes.  Sarandon’s prosecutor rarely leaves her office, while Barry Pepper stays out of the Rock’s way.  Benjamin Bratt has little time to develop his characterization of a lethal cartel drug leader beyond the stereotypes that we have grown accustomed to in these movies.  Similarly, Melina Kanakaredes is confined to the sidelines.  Essentially, “Snitch” implicates the mandatory-sentencing laws that compelled a father to fend for his son.  Ironically, the same laws Waugh’s movie rants against serve to bring down the villains.