The Mechanic

I must confess - I love Jason Statham movies. Truly do. However, I hate that every two out of three are full of needless sex. I just picked up The Mechanic, and it turns out this movie is one of those with the sex. How bad is it? Well, let me put it this way. I make back-ups of all my movies, and this particular movie is going to have me editing it myself. That's right... I'm cutting the scenes of gratuitous nudity and sex because they've got nothing to do with the movie.

As it turns out, this is also a boon to those who, like me, love the films but hate these scenes. It means you can skip right past them without losing any storyline.

The Mechanic is an "R" rated film for a reason, and cutting out all nudity would not affect that rating. It is violent and bloody, but it is also quite a bit of fun. There is humor and more than a few pokes at our modern day society, along with some seriously twisted sight gags.

Jason Statham plays Arthur Bishop, a seemingly quiet, unassuming gent with a thing for a local singer/dancer named Sarah (Mini Anden). However, the reality of who he really is is known only to a few, such as his friend Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland). Bishop is an assassin, and a specialist at that. He's able to make any job look like anything from an accident, to a very clear message.

When Harry ends up dead as a result of a contract put out by his partner Dean, (Tony Goldwyn), Bishop decides it's time to close up shop for good. Taking on Harry's son Steve, (Ben Foster), he goes after the ones responsible for the double-cross. But when a double-cross of his own surfaces to haunt him, everything comes to the fore in a way he never imagined...

Or had he?

The Mechanic gets a total of four out of five stars from me, losing one for the pointless sex and nudity. Aside from that, the movie lived up to my expectations, which is no small feat. If the directors that Statham works with can get their hormones under control, I'd be so much happier.

Enjoy!