This potential franchise ends here.
Mechanic: Resurrection isn’t unique but it is something of a rarity in that it is a sequel to a remake. While they do happen, they usually happen for a good reason but what the reason is here, I’m not quite sure. Certainly, The Mechanic redux that Jason Statham headlined in 2011 was an enjoyable enough action romp but it didn’t exactly have audiences crying out for more - they could get more of the same from most of his movies anyway. Regardless, here we are in 2016 with the return of Arthur Bishop whether you wanted it or not.
We catch up with Bishop in Rio. He’s living a new life under a new identity and believes he’s put his murderous former life behind him. Someone from his past -- hellbent on dragging him out of retirement -- kidnaps the new lady in his life, and the only way to ensure her safety and her freedom is for Bishop to carry out three kills for him. So, left with no choice, Bishop has to travel the globe, complete the seemingly impossible assassinations, and do what he does best - make them look like accidents.
Despite Statham either knocking boots, kicking butt or carefully planning how to kick butt for most the film’s 98 minutes, Mechanic: Resurrection is nowhere near his best, or engaging work but that’s not his fault. The whole film feels much cheaper, less stylish and less engaging than the previous movie and, despite flourishes of creativity, much flatter. There are moments that do lift the film above the average to adequate, but that’s about as good as it gets, and that’s not good enough.
Some of the CGI is painfully bad and annoyingly distracting, doing a total disservice to everyone on screen. Although it might not be the case, the script feels like it started life as a different, more generic movie and got reworked in an attempt to turn The Mechanic into a franchise. However, instead of going anywhere near to achieving that, the only thing it succeeds in doing is killing that plan stone dead.
Among many other things, the direction and flair of The Mechanic director Simon West are sorely missed here leaving the movie to trundle along when it should be powering forward fuelled by adrenaline.
At times Mechanic: Resurrection feels more like mediocre straight-to-DVD affair from the late '90s or early 2000s than something that belongs in a multiplex. The script is leaden, the villain is thin and clichéd, some of the performances are so off and lackluster that they feel like perhaps they are being forced to perform - Jessica Alba and Tommy Lee Jones, what were you thinking? In the press notes, one of the few quotes from Jones is about him getting to wear “some pretty cool glasses and shirts.” That gives you an idea where we’re at with this movie.
Whether you look down on them or you lap them up, Jason Statham movies usually deliver what they promise – sadly, this one doesn’t. Statham makes a great action hero and he’s fun to watch – he deserves much better than this and so does the audience. Mechanic: Resurrection lets him and itself down.
The Verdict
Underserved in almost every single way, from script to direction and everything in between, Jason Statham deserves better than Mechanic: Resurrection. He is one of the few things that still works here and he saves it from being a total waste of time. Not the worst film you’ll see this year but, sadly, this is one for the Statham completist only.
Editors' Choice
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