Recent Reviews of The Mechanic by our members
The Mechanic review by CS
The Mechanic needs Adjusting!
(0) of (0) members found this review helpful.
An ok, if not average action outing for Jason. I found this quite enjoyable but had problems with the sound as stated below. For a modern action movie this had all the right enjoyable ingredients. Plenty of action and enough of a plot to make it enjoyable. The fast paced action sequences however have been edited in that much hated chop chop fast sequence style that seems so popular in recent years, so fast that you don't actually see anything, so what should be a fast paced and enjoyable edge of the seat action sequence, becomes dull and boring because you just can't process what's going on!
There is a serious issue with the sound on this DVD. Whilst the volume level of sound plays as normal for the Trailers and Special Features sections. The volume level on the actual film itself is so low as to be virtually inaudible. I had to wire my DVD player up to the Amp of my Hi-Fi system then listen through headphones and even then, the volume was low. So the volume level of sound on the film is presumably faulty, as I see no valid reason why the volume should be ok on the Trailers and Special Features but almost inaudible on the film itself! I had to use the subtitles to watch this film.
|
|
The Mechanic review by Adam Minor, Cinema Paradiso
The Mechanic Review
(0) of (0) members found this review helpful.
Simon West’s remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson flick The Mechanic is a movie obviously made for this generation’s attention span.
Jason Statham plays Arthur Bishop, a hired assassin who fancies himself a connoisseur of fine things. When one of Bishop’s hits goes awry, he finds himself with a partner, the son of the man whom he killed, Steve McKenna played by Ben Foster. Together, the two engage in murderous bromance that introduces the young one to the trade, as Bishop’s liquidating mentor played by Donald Sutherland did to him.
Although the original film could’ve used a little action upgrade, Simon West takes it a bit too far. The action and editing is so fast paced that we are unable to adequately process what’s going on.
I’m not sure who has told Hollywood that audience’s attention spans have gone the way of the dodo, but we still wish for a shot to linger on screen long enough to process it. The film seems to be shooting at 24 scenes per second rather than 24 frames per second.
Contrary to popular belief, Statham isn’t a terrible actor; he’s just allowing himself to be typecast into roles that don’t challenge him. He’s a wonderful action star, but I’m sure he could be used for dramatic purposes if only the role would allow him. In The Mechanic, most of the drama falls to Sutherland’s character who gives the film more depth than it deserves.
The film’s characters just aren’t fleshed out enough to hold the audience’s interest, which is ironic when you consider the earlier paragraph. Hollywood just doesn't seem to understand that our attention span is based on characters we care about and not just how fast things move.
|
|
|
To rent The Mechanic just join the Cinema Paradiso DVD rental service today and get a free DVD rental trial.
