"The Mechanic" Lives Up To Its Explosive Expectations

"The Mechanic" is a film that doesn't try to do too much. If you're looking for explosions, gunfights and entertainment without being bothered by pretentious writing, this is definitely the movie for you. Being the kind of person who watches an insane amount of trailers, going to the movies is usually a disappointing experience and a waste of money. An example of this would be "The Social Network," which had an awesome-looking trailer with great actors and an even-greater director, David Fincher. Fincher is the man who gave us "Fight Club," one of the coolest movies- possibly ever-and it seemed like he was tackling the Facebook story in a dark and moody way. But what did we get? An awesome score and a cool boating scene, but not exactly too much to think about on the walk out of the theater. During the Oscar season, it is nice to watch something that is not another over-hyped movie. "The Mechanic" delivers exactly what the trailer is selling; it is exactly what you would think it would be, and in a great way. I went into the movie thinking, "OK, we have Jason Statham blowing things up." And what followed was Jason Statham blowing things up for under two hours, no more and no less.

With a basic storyline and non-congesting action sequences, "The Mechanic" is an old-fashioned good time at the movie theater. For this type of movie, I want the basic explosions and gunfights. "The Mechanic" is escapism in the best way: Give me the good guys, the bad guys, a ton of gunpowder, and let the rest follow.

I think back to a movie like "Smokin' Aces," where the trailer showed these awesome gunfights in a hotel. What I wound up getting was some overly-complex tale about the FBI, a dying mob boss and Andy Garcia. And what was up with that whole dramatic ending, where Ryan Reynolds is at a hospital nearly in tears? Movies like these make me feel not only cheated, but used as a moviegoer. Our generation needs our own mindless explosion movies; ones that respect what they are and are not trying to seem like a thoughtful film.

"The Mechanic" definitely fits the bill in an absolutely entertaining way. It's one of those movies where you say to yourself, "It would be really cool if the bad guy actually fell off the building while fighting on a roof." I wanted Jason Statham to literally blast this guy off the building, and before I knew it: BOOM, there is a guy falling 80 stories. At a certain point in the film, Jason Statham and Ben Foster try to methodically and carefully kill one of their targets. We find out that their original plan isn't going to work, which is great for the audience because we know this means unfiltered ass-kicking time.

I don't want to give away all of the awesome things Jason Statham and Ben Foster do in this movie, but "The Mechanic" will have you screaming for more. I don't believe a sequel is in the works, but it is my hope that whoever works with Jason Statham in the future sees this film. As for Ben Foster, it is great to see such a talented actor get to kick some ass. Of all his previous work, his role as an insane druggie psychopath in "Alpha Dog" stands out the most. The unpredictability of his performance in that role was great; at any second the dude could just start snapping necks and he wouldn't think twice about it. He certainly isn't going to be winning any Oscars with his role in "The Mechanic," but he complimented Jason Statham's calm demeanor very nicely. However, it is my hope that Foster gets to stretch his acting muscles a bit more in future quality films because he certainly has a lot of potential.

If you're sick of being let down by hyped-up Oscar films like "The Social Network" and you simply want to be entertained for less than two hours, go see "The Mechanic." Grab a couple of good buddies and enjoy one of the more-entertaining action stars of our time do what he does best in this simple tale of revenge, wherein the explosions do most of the work. Plus, Donald Sutherland is in the film, too.