Simon West’s remake of “The Mechanic” was a decent actioner bolstered by the starpower of Jason Statham. It was disposable entertainment that didn’t leave much of an impact, so much so that I was surprised to discover it was released five years ago. I could’ve sworn I seen it just the other year, most likely mistaking it for another run-of-the-mill Statham vehicle. Dennis Gansel’s sequel, “Mechanic: Resurrection,” is also a run-of-the-mill Statham vehicle that’s a decent actioner bolstered by the leading man’s charisma. If there’s anything to learn here, it’s that Jason Statham elevates subpar material.
These vehicles wouldn’t get by on Statham’s goodwill alone. Each are supplanted with solid action set pieces that distract from the underwhelming storyline. This time sees the return of John Bishop (Jason Statham), blackmailed into assassinating the top three competitors to Crain (Sam Hazeldine), a cookie cutter villain whose name is his best personality trait. To blackmail the retired hitman into aiding him, Crain kidnaps his newfound love, Gina Thornton (Jessica Alba), whose meet cute involved her pretending to be assaulted in order for Bishop to save her. This was Crain’s plan to get close to the mechanic; the two of them falling in love was just icing on the cake. It would’ve made more sense for Mei (Michelle Yeoh), Bishop’s confidant on a private island, to be kidnapped, but she wouldn’t have made for as good of a love interest (though I would’ve preferred seeing that version instead).
The three people Bishop is hired to take out are Krill (Femi Elufowoju Jr.), an African kingpin doing time, Adrian Cook (Toby Eddington), a corrupt millionaire with his own swimming pool dangling atop his skyscraper, and Max Adams (Tommy Lee Jones), an arms dealer who missed his calling as a Rolling Stones member. All three give our hero the opportunity to infiltrate a prison and kick some ass, climb a skyscraper and remove the glass paneling underneath the millionaire’s pool causing him to plummet to his death, and blow up an elevator and have a shootout in Max’s submarine base. The skyscraper set piece stands out from the pact, a unique assassination that fits in line with Bishop’s mechanical approach. It is made to look like an accident, with the audience getting a bird’s eye view of Bishop’s planning. It’s also the only time Gansel is inspired in his direction, swinging the camera around meticulously to give a sense of vertigo.
The rest of Gansel’s direction is workmanlike, which I’m assuming was what the studio tasked him with. While Jason Statham vehicles don’t always leave a dent in the box office, they make a killing on home video because of their formula. Statham is given a love interest and/or troubled backstory to encourage him to partake in death-defying stunts, with those stunts being sprinkled in throughout. Each stunt takes place in an exotic location, with the film doubling as a travel guide. This time, we travel to Cambodia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia. An expendable villain is dropped into the proceedings to act as the puppet master, building towards a final showdown where Statham gets to kick ass and look cool. That all happens here, though with a few more dead spots than usual.
The problem posed by Gansel’s workmanlike direction is that the slow moments used to highlight Bishop’s mechanical skills come off as boring instead of intriguing. Simon West had a good handle on these montages, transitioning from action to drama smoothly and giving the film a distinct flavor. Gansel treats it as a chore, brushing over it quickly to get to the next action beat. This causes the film to slow down significantly in spots.
Also dragging the film down is the chemistry between Jason Statham and Jessica Alba, or lack thereof to be precise. The two have as good of chemistry as a Pomeranian and a gnat, with Alba being given the personality of the latter. While she gets to show badassery in spurts, she’s the requisite damsel in distress doubling as eye candy. She’s forced to supply gratuitous shots of her swimming in a bikini, so much so that this could’ve doubled as a sequel to “Into the Blue.” Fair play all around, as Jason Statham is tasked to run around shirtless frequently (resulting in audible groans in my screening when he put his shirt back on).
All of this is excusable as long as the film supplies its quota of decent action set pieces and Jason Statham being badass and it does. Sure, it’s middle of the road and doesn’t do much that hasn’t been done before, but it serves its purpose. I have an affinity for Jason Statham, finding him to ooze screen presence and personality (his tremendous sense of humor needs to be on display more often). As long as has decent action to back his badassery up, I’m down for one of his run-of-the-mill vehicles. “Mechanic: Resurrection” fits that bill to a tee.
Final Rating: B-