Action unplugged

It’s Hollywood slam-bang action all the way in Simon West’s The Mechanic

Remember those one-man armies of old — Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steven Seagal — who were the last word in destruction. That was in the 1980s.

But today, they have churned out a new lot in the assembly line that goes by another name, Hollywood, and that’s jolly good for those who leave their brains at home and go in for a pure crash-bang entertainer called The Mechanic.

This new entrant to the club is Jason Statham and his actions speak louder than words, literally. And this role seems to be written just for him. As Arthur Bishop ("Can I call you Arthur," asks his whore girlfriend), he is an elite assassin with a strict code of unique talent for cleanly eliminating his targets and making his hits look like natural occurrences.

Hence, Bishop is in great demand, even more than his clergy counterpart. His first task, on screen at least, is in a swimming pool. His escape is minutely timed so that he jumps off a bridge into a moving barge. Then, there’s not much going as is the trend in films directed by Simon West, whose earlier efforts include ConAir and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

But when his next assignment is none other than his mentor Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland), whose voice can be recognised even before seeing him. His entry into films was marked by his appearance in M.A.S.H, along with Elliott Gould in the 1970s. Now he’s a dispensable in a miss-him-in-a-twinkle cameo. But it reminds one of that golden age of Hollywood when it imitated life.

But to get back to the present; can Bishop do the job. No prizes for guessing correctly. But it’s action after that and he runs into McKenna’s son Steve (Ben Foster) and there’s an uneasy relationship as Bishop trains him to become a mechanic. Other characters flit in and out of the frame like moths to a flame and also die like moths. Now how will this senseless drama end?

No, it is not much of an end though it keeps you mildly interested. Blow-ups follow blow-ups and one remembers the title of Michelangelo Antonionni’s more famous title though one dare not mention it in the same breath.

It’s Hollywood slam bang action all the way for those who like it that way. Need one add "not for me."

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