Mechanic: Resurrection

When ever you have a problem, with noisy neighbors, dreadful relatives, or you don´t get good service at the super market, there is only one guy to call. 

Jason Statham of course.

Just think about it, no matter what your problem is, he will kick and punch until the problem is solved, this actually sounds like the perfect christmas celebration this year. Statham is of course a man most of you people know from The Transporter, The Expendables and a lot of action movies over the years. I have always felt that he is really good at delivering solid action films, but of course we have some worse ones also out there. Since he knows he is limited in acting performances, he can adjust this with his fighting technique instead. And some guns included of course. One of the films i think should have been noticed more, is a film called Wild Card. A much more dramatic action film, but nice to see Statham do a different character. The film was a massive flop, and did not even make any money on dvd and blu ray sales. Well, it have sold over 3 million copies, but with a budget of 30 million, you can figure the numbers out. I still feel that Wild Card is worth a watch, because Statham did something different, and that should be respected. So go ahead and rent this film, you might actually be surprised. Statham have continued releasing new films constantly, so you know he works hard to deliver entertainment. If you prefer seeing him in pure action films, i would like to recommend his film Safe. Should be on Netflix, or you could just rent it. Now, let´s talk about one of his films from the past. Let´s go back to one of Statham films A film called The Mechanic, who is actually a remake of the 1972 film with Charles Bronson. At the time, i actually thought this was one of Statham´s better films. One of the reasons was that there actually was a story that functioned, between the action scenes. Also, we had Donald Sutherland included in the cast. The film did ok at the box office, making a profit. But i never expected that we would have a sequel from The Mechanic, so when this was announced, i was very surprised. Knowing how most Statham films are, i still decided to take a look at this sequel, just to see if i would be surprised. With a classic action star on board, do we get a popcorn feast, or should this be flushed down in the nearest toilet ?

Arthur Bishop ( Jason Statham ) faked his death, and is living in Rio De Janeiro quietly under the name Santos. One day, he is approached by an unknown woman, claiming that her employer wants him to kill 3 targets. Bishop take a picture of her, and fight down her mercenaries. To find out more about this woman, Bishop goes to Thailand. He takes shelter at his friend Mae´s ( Michelle Yeoh ) beach house, while he investigate about the secret woman.  A young woman named Gina Thorne ( Jessica Alba ) arrive at the shore, and bump into Bishop. Mae notice that Gina might be abused, as she finds bruises on her body. That same night, Mae notice that Gina is being beaten in a ship, so she tell Bishop to go out and help her. He accidently kill the man, and set fire on the boat to cover his tracks. Bishop finds out that Gina is actually working for Riah Crain ( Sam Hazeldine ), a disturbed criminal.  Crain was the man, who tried to convince Bishop to kill 3 targets, back in Brazil. He still wants Bishop to kill the 3 targets, so he kidnaps Gina as a security, to force Bishop to fix the targets. Bishop have no other way out, but he also plans to make sure that Crain is punished.

If you are not a fan of Jason Statham´s films, i have a feeling Mechanic: Resurrection wont change your mind. In fact, you pretty much know what this film is going to be. Violence, action, fights, weapons, all the basics you need for a cozy evening. And if you have seen most of his films, don´t expect any surprises here. This is basically the typical action film from a Statham view. One of the things i think we should mention, is that Jessica Alba does her usual performance. That means she does a character we have seen her do so many times before, and this is supposed to be a different character from her other films. She is not really good at doing characters, but who knows, maybe one day she will surprise us ? No one expected to see Adam Sandler do a really good role in Reign Over Me, and he did. So let´s hope for the best. From an action perspective, this is where Mechanic: Resurrection works best. With less dialogue and more violence, you can at least find yourself enjoying this from an entertainment perspective. Director Dennis Gansel have directed mostly german films in the past, and you could say that this film is his big break through into the Hollywood industry. He does manage to find a way to use Jason Statham well in the intensive action scenes, but the problem becomes clear that he is not that good on dramatic scenes. If you want to make emotions being captured on screen, you have to make sure that the actors know their characters. Jason tries to be Arthur Bishop again, from the first film, but i have to say you don´t really feel the same connection. Somehow he worked better in the first film, from a character perspective. Tommy Lee Jones is also here, and he should have had more scenes. I would say that he is a highlight in this film, even if i have seen him do much better performances in the past. One detail that is positive is that this film takes place in Brazil and Bangkok this time ( and some other locations ). This helps the film get a different approach. The plot is not something you really care about, so it all comes down to what this is, a pure action film, made to please the audience that wish 50 Shades never existed. Even if Statham is no great actor, he knows how to fight, and do stunts, and he gets to prove that this time around. Mechanic: Resurrection is a dumb film, but also fun to watch if you just want lots of violence and bad acting. Not as good as the first Mechanic film, still good enough for zipping some beers and a sliced pizza. And a lap dance of course included, how could i forget that ? I guess i better take my memory pills soon, or who knows where i might run naked.

Rating: DDD