Every other year, ageing but lithe, action hero Jason Statham gets a chance at resurrecting his career from the doldrums of unremarkable action genre ennui. This film under review 'Mechanic: Resurrection' is a follow-up to the 2011 'Mechanic' which in turn was inspired by a Charles Bronson Thriller from the early 70's. Given that round-about history, there's obviously little here that could be classified as unique or interesting. Yes, Statham has his trademark action moments – unfortunately they are no longer surprising!
Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham), retired assassin extraordinaire is being sucked right back into the thick of things by one of his old enemies, an International arms dealer Riah Crain (Sam Hazeldine). But Bishop rebuffs that offer and goes about falling in love with an abused damsel-in-distress Gina (Jessica Alba). Crain gets his leverage by kidnapping Gina and Bishop is forced to play his hand by consenting to perform the three near impossible assassinations of well-guarded targets within the span of a day and a half. His task is to make the assassinations look like accidents while Gina's life hangs on a knife's edge. Of course Crain is not looking to leave any evidence behind after the deed is done.
Firstly, the romance that's central to the plot, between Bishop and Gina, comes across as tepid and unworthy. The chemistry between them is non-existent and the conviction in performance is also missing. So what follows thereafter is pretty much limp and stale stuff.
As is normal for such 'gamey' plots, the degree of difficulty increases with every kill. And the men being killed are all murderous psychopaths who make Bishop look like an avenging angel instead of the cold-blooded psychopathic contract killer that he is.
The main problem with the story line is that we don't really get to know the real reason why Crain wants these guys dead. And what's the connecting thread between the three assassinations other than giving Bishop another chance to prove his action genre worth. Even Bishop's attempts to fine thread his way to the kills appear far more showy than intelligent.
The onus is on the stunts (the seen before variety) rather than smarts. Exotic locales and Jessica Alba prettify the experience but routine action, jaded stunt choreography, an irritating background score and typically generic plotting weigh it down woefully!
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.