Customer Reviews

The Mechanic (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was a little apprehensive to look at an other Mickeal Winner film. I didn't like "Death wish" more than "Chato's Land" from the same director.

But this one is good. Though the acting is not always good, this movie is a good action thriller. Bronson is certainly at his best. A classic from the seventies.

This is a great 70s movie. I haven't seen that many of Bronson's movies, but The Mechanic is by far the best of the ones I have seen. Bronson is a mechanic (or hitman) who is joined by Jan-Michael Vincent (who would later appear in the Airwolf TV show) as his apprentice. You're drawn in from the beginning even though there's no dialogue at all for several minutes. The planning and execution of the "hits" are cold and calculating, leaving the ultimate question of whether or not the apprentice will be able to succeed his master.

A must-see for any Bronson fan. This is truly Bronson at his best. Excellent supporting performance from Jan-Michael Vincent as well. And WHAT AN ENDING!!

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"You ever hear of the term 'mechanic' used outside its normal meaning?"

The above question comes from this extremely entertaining movie and is asked by Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson, 1921 to 2003).

Bishop is a person who fixes people so they never work again. That is, he's a hit man, actually an elite hit man who eliminates the scum of society. Bishop asks the above question to his younger soon-to-be apprentice or "associate" (Jan-Michael Vincent). Once Bishop takes on this apprentice, things become interesting.

One of the things that is so interesting about this movie is that there is no dialogue in its first fifteen minutes. We get to see Bishop meticulously doing his craft.

This movie might be called an action-thriller. Yes, it has plenty of physical action but for me the action was psychological. As a result, this movie might be called a thinking-person's movie.

Towards the end, there is a lot of neat twists and turns culminating in an ending that I never saw coming.

Finally, the DVD itself (the one released in 2002) is perfect in visual and audio quality. It has one extra. (It is upon viewing this extra that I discovered that this movie originally had a different title.) For those in need of subtitles, note that they can only be accessed through the DVD's menu. You can't simply press the "subtitle" button on your remote and access the subtitles.

In conclusion, this is a thinking-person's movie starring the great Charles Bronson!!

(1972; 1 hr, 40 min; wide screen; 16 scenes)

<<Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada>>

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The team of then action superstar Charles Bronson and bluntly violent director Michael Winner can be forgiven a great deal of the cinematic sins they commited during their career ending days at Cannon simply for giving us this excellent thriller. Bronson plays a 'mechanic', fancy crime world talk for assassin, that takes Jan-Michael Vincent under his wing and shows him how to do the job right. The tension mounts when Vincent's first assignment turns out to be Bronson. Highly recommended.

One of Bronsons best movies.
If you only buy two of his movies buy this one and Deathwish.

Pay attention very careully. The essential dramatic line is very simple. Never trust in anyone; no matter what your intentions be; remeber two very close related films with this one; Donnie Brasco and Wall street.
The script turns aroun a smart paid assasin; his works are extremely clean and he makes those murderslook like simple accidents: the long opening sequence is wonderful , a silent depict without any introduction; the film is direct and deeply absorbimg.
Later he'll meet his next victim and wil befriendof the son of that one. Obviously he made a wrong choice; you know, in this business,and that choice will become the spark of his end.
The script flow runs organical; our mechanic has several nightmares; and also he suffers from insomnia. He makes his assignments as he was a chess player; the locations are superb; specially the last one in Naples.
Jan Michael Vincent worked out as a perfect balance to the mechanic: but warning; because you never must underestimate your enemy.
The ancestral myth of Icaro appears in this sense; too much proud; too much arrogance ; a briliant intelligence without a prudence dosis; a lion with fierce moods but without any sense of the rules of game. This fortune fate will reach you sooner or later.
You may enlist this title as another clever Film noir.
Bronson made a legendary film three years before titled The rain passenger from Rene Clement; and this movie made him growing up as a heavy weight character actor.
One of the most intimate triumphs of this unforgettable actor.
Buy this one!

You'd better hope and pray that your picture doesn't end up in Arthur Bishop's mailbox, boys and girls! That slick hitman, Bishop is played to the hilt by none other than Charles Bronson! You already knew that, but I had to say it regardless. This is one of his best performances right up there with his performance in Death Wish and The Great Escape. Like Death Wish, he's the criminal that we're all rootin' for, and he carries this movie flawlessly to the end. Even the most diehard Bronson hater(if there are any-and if there is, shame on you!) will dig this movie if you like action films. I really can't think of alot more to say about the film, other than it's worth it for the great price or at least a rental for crying out loud!

In spite of this film being over 30 years old (1972), it holds up extremely well as a gritty actioner. One of the key elements in an action film is editing and the director, Michael Winner, is working here with a terrific film editor. Editing is what gives a film its pacing, its momentum, and there are few categories of film other than action thrillers for which editing is as important.

Bronson is great here because his dialogue is really lean and mean. There's a terrific scene with a woman who seems to be his lover but really isn't. The revelation in that scene (no spoilers here!) reinforces the main character's inner workings which are both tough and, to put it bluntly, twisted.

What also gives this film its power is the superb script by Lewis John Carlino, writer of a number of thrillers. This is one of Carlino's earliest film scripts and he does an outstanding job--striking a perfect balance between the protagonist's cynical irony and the flat out action that is an inevitable part of his work as a mechanic--a killer for hire.

He goes after a number of targets--each with different circumstances, each done differently. The variety of killing situations is also a critical component adding to this film's power.

A young Jan-Michael Vincent is on hand here in one of his earlier films. Though not as convincing as Bronson, he nevertheless goes through his paces well as Bronson's "associate". Keenan Wynn, as Vincent's father, is good, too, and the other supporting cast does exactly what needs to be done to make this a thriller that does not disappoint.

You know it's good when you truly cannot wait to see what happens next, when the characters' situations propel you forward, when every element of the film--dialogue, acting, editing, music (a GREAT score by Jerry Fielding), and ultra-sharp directing makes you hungry for every next minute.

Highly recommended for thriller junkies. One of Bronson's very best.

This film along with 'Mr. Majestyk' and 'Death Wish' represent Charles Bronson's early 70's classic movie trifecta. Though he created many memorable characters in a variety of films I believe his cinematic identity can be traced back directly to this trio. In each of them he creates an indelible character as only he could do - each film is uniquely Bronson, they belong to him and him alone.

What this film has as its strength is it's central character, Arthur Bishop, who we watch with great interest. Bishop is a cultured, mannered, well-educated man; he has an appreciation for the arts and lives a solitary, isolated existence in a luxurious and extravagantly furnished house. Seeing him alone in this spacious dwelling influences us that he desperately needs someone - anyone - to make a positive connection with. A little later in the film he will pay a call girl to portray a mistress who has been pining away for him. Still later he sits idly by while a young woman commits suicide, coldly relating to her the statistical facts about her particular method of attempted suicide. Bishop is the son of a deceased criminal kingpin who continues to associate with his father's former cronies. He forms a bond with the son of one of them and that is what forms the crux of the story. The excellent screenplay concentrates more on character study than supplying a liberal amount of action sequences that typically augment so many movies of this genre - and this decision helps raise it to a higher level.

Though the movie is relatively low-key for the most part there are the requisite action scenes that mark a typical Bronson film. Undoubtedly, the opening of 'The Mechanic' is among the most memorable introductory sequences for a film of the action genre. The first fifteen minutes of the film centers around the elimination of a drug dealer. Bronson studies his quarry with great precision, evocative of the style used in the popular television series 'Mission Impossible'. There is not a word of dialogue spoken; only background noises or incidental pieces of conversations on the street are present. There is an exciting motorcycle chase as well, punctuated with bits of humor; a car chase in Naples, punctuated by a gunfight, is also one of the highlights. But what makes 'The Mechanic' a cult film favorite is the incredible double-twist ending that you don't see coming - and it makes for one of the most satisfying conclusions in film history.

Other interesting features in 'The Mechanic' include the "The Organization" that Bronson works for - it remains tantalizingly undefined. The people of the "contracts" that he fulfills are all criminal in nature and therefore they don't generate our sympathy. Except for the three pivotal role players no one else has a given name. This is done to underscore the detached and emotionless shells that such "mechanics" would naturally maintain. As the film progresses we get the impression that Bishop is going to "get out of the business" or somehow find his way out and settle for a sedate and stress less existence. Instead he becomes as vulnerable as the victims he has been preying on...or does he? Did he really fall into the trap set for him or did he allow himself to because he was convinced he couldn't escape? The screenplay doesn't answer that question definitively but it doesn't hurt the overall impact - it isn't over yet as we soon learn!

If you are watching 'The Mechanic' for the first time I envy you. If you are watching it for the first time in quite awhile you will be impressed all over again. Or you may be like me; unable to remember the number of times you have watched it but still can't wait to watch it again.

Some final notes: The dated elements of this movie stand out rather sorely. Steve's house party complete with hippies and their brand of music and vernacular was already an anachronism when 'The Mechanic' was made. The interior of the call girl's apartment is also hopelessly early 70's. The karate exhibition that Arthur and Steve attend is laughable as well. Before the exhibition begins Arthur tells Steve "the two masters won't actually hit each other because it would most certainly result in death." Regardless this fight sequence is poorly choreographed and is entirely unconvincing.