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Campbel
Director: Simon West
Cinema: Eastgate.
Running time: 88 minutes
Age restriction: adults only
Type of film: Violent thriller
Coming from the director of “Lara Croft,” Simon West, the film “The Mechanic” can be seen as a major change of direction. This can not be said of the film’s leading actor, Jason Statham.
Above all others, Jason Statham is currently the Hollywood actor I would most like to interview. I am told that he is not at all like the characters he has consistently portrayed since “bursting” upon the screen about nine years ago.
All the evidence gathered by psychologists over the decades implies that the nature of the characters one consistently portrays ultimately plays its part in the maturing process of any serious actor or actress.
A further interesting fact emerges with the presentation on a Saturday afternoon of a film which (justifiably) carries an “adults only” rating.
The performance I attended was typical for such rated films: only one other person viewed the film. Paying attention to their financial good health, cinemas in Harare are wary of films with adults only ratings.
“The Mechanic” quickly gets down to business. And its business is cold-blooded murder. Bishop (Statham) is called upon by those who have used his talents before to murder Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland), their friendship notwithstanding. In his well-honed professional manner Bishop conforms and collects the money.
When, at the funeral, which Bishop dutifully – in the role of friend – attends, he is thrown together with the deceased’s son, Steve. Steve (the film leads us to believe), unaware of Bishop’s guilt, enlists the latter’s assistance in avenging his father’s death.
A plot used more than once before in films, in this case it differs in that Bishop cleverly infers that the deceased’s son knows that he Bishop is the guilty party; and takes the appropriate precautions.
This is the single way in which this film moves away from being parallel to so many other cops and robbers films the violence is extreme, and worryingly so. It follows the clearly evident trend in Hollywood. Which leads me to enquire: “quo vadis”: where will it end?