The Mechanic (1972)

Truly Dreadful Film

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Arthur Bishop is a hit-man who works with care; every detail is planned out and when he strikes the target will certainly be killed but it won't be identified as a murder. After observing one of his hits we see he go to see his boss, a man he has known all his life and clearly considers a friend. He is asks to look into a problem. Shortly afterwards he is given his next target; his boss! They may be friends but that doesn't stop him doing his job. After the funeral Steve, the man's son, asks for a lift home; they get talking and over a series of meetings Steve gets to know what Bishop does and eventually asks if he can work with him. He accepts and they start training; their first hit together is successful but ends up messier than Bishop's employers would have liked… they are also displeased that he took on an apprentice without asking their permission. Bishop is given another job, this time in Italy… there is a complication though; he has learnt that Steve has been given his own job… to kill Bishop!This is a solid thriller that doesn't rush things; not a word is spoken in the first ten minutes during which time we see Bishop setting up a hit in intricate detail. This ends in explosive style. There are more moments of action as Bishop and Steve engage in more jobs; this is especially true of the job on Italy which features shootings, an impressive chase along a winding coast road and more explosions. There are some disturbing moments; most notably when it looks as if Steve and Bishop will just look on as the former's girlfriend attempts suicide. The twist of having Steve targeting Bishop wasn't a huge surprise but once we, and Bishop, knew about it the tension was raised nicely. They must work together one is constantly wondering when Steve will turn on his mentor. Michael Winner directs in a no-nonsense manner and is willing to go long periods without dialogue. Charles Bronson does a fine job as the very precise Bishop and Jan-Michael Vincent contrasts nicely as Steve; a man who seems to enjoy his work. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre.

Charles Bronson plays Arthur Bishop, an experienced hit man with a real skill at what he does. His work is almost like art - very morbid art, to be sure, but he's not content to merely drop victims with a bullet to the head. Unfortunately, he ends up ordered by his bosses to eliminate his old family friend, Harry McKenna (Keenan Wynn). After reluctantly doing the job, he finds himself drawn to Harry's son Steve (Jan-Michael Vincent), a cheerfully unambitious young man. Arthur decides that he will take on Steve as a partner, a move that will not sit well with the people for whom Arthur works.After their historic first teaming on the Western "Chato's Land", Bronson and director Michael Winner reunited shortly after, for what is essentially a character study. And that character, much like Bronson himself, is fascinating, revealing himself as a careful and precise person and also highly cultured. Not surprisingly, he has little time for such things as relationships (as shown in the scene with Arthur and a lady friend, played by Bronsons' wife Jill Ireland). There are fine action scenes here, to be sure, especially a motorcycle chase, and there are a couple of explosions along the way. But first and foremost, this is a film that takes a clinical look at two fairly icy men. The most telling scene occurs when Arthur and Steve debate how long it will take Steve's suicidal girlfriend (Linda Ridgeway) to succumb to the slashing of her wrists. Originally, screenwriter Lewis John Carlino had intended for the evolving relationship between professional killer and neophyte to be overtly homosexual, with the younger man at odds with his desires, but that idea was nixed, and in order for his script to get filmed, Carlino had to remove almost all of that subtext.Jerry Fielding supplies a terrific score, and the acting is efficient from our two main characters. Bronson is well cast, and Vincent holds his own quite well opposite his veteran co-star. Wynn is wonderful in his brief time on screen.Certainly the double twist ending is effective and "The Mechanic" is all the better for it. In the end, this is a good collaboration between a star and director that carried on to the iconic masterpiece "Death Wish".Seven out of 10.

Michael Winner is not very popular these days. Some see him as a mediocre film maker. I would disagree with that: Winner has made some very good films and some which are not memorable so I would rank him with Val Guest as a very talented director who also works as a craftsman. The Mechanic is a good example of Winner at his best. He tells the story of a lone hit-man who seems to have no feelings at all and operates detached from the outside world almost like a Samurai. However, below that surface we see a very lonely man who pays a hooker to write him love letters and who suffers from depression and anxiety. He is a man of contradictions, a cultivated lover of classical music and fine wine and also ruthless killer. My only misgiving about the film is that I just don't see that degree of being torn between two extremes in Bronson's performance. I wonder what an actor like Clint Eastwood would have made of that role. Anyway, this leads to him adopting a seemingly kindred spirit as an apprentice to murder. Ironically, he is the son of his last victim. That is seen as breaking the rules by the organisation he seemingly freelances for and he realizes that he is not as independent as he thought he was. So both men are hunted and eventually set against each other. Bronson loses but the motive is not revenge, simply the lust to kill. The film then ends with a very twisted ending that makes you wonder whether Bronson's character really committed suicide through a third person. The story is originally and well paced with some spectacular action scenes. So all in all the film is both intelligent as well as full of suspense. Very, very watchable!

I have to admit the main reason why I decided to check this movie out was because of the new 2011 remake of this movie. And for the most part I am glad to have checked this movie out, it's a decent movie about a cold blooded hit-man. Where the hit-man is in danger as much as his victims and he does his job in a manner where it all seems like a accident and not a assassination. In fact the first 15 minutes of it shows the hit-man's method of doing his job and there is no dialogue at all until the job is done, but the set up is done well enough to not need any dialogue for that 15 minutes. Than the movie basically revolves around the hit-man taking one of his victims son under his wings and start teaching him the ways and skills to be a hit-man. The thing is the kid that he takes under his wings just isn't all that likable from his looks to his personality. Thus the parts where the hit-man, real name Arthur Bishop shows him the ropes just wasn't that engaging or all that enjoyable. It also made me wonder why Arthur decided to make him his associate, besides the kid probably has potential. For a hit-man that is cautious and careful in his methods just didn't make much sense. But than there wouldn't be a movie since most of the plot is about a assassin teaching someone else to be a assassin. And another negative aspect of this movie is that it lacks in the action department and the script start to fall short and boring after a while. And the music is more annoying to listen to than it does it's job of building tension. Charles Bronson did a pretty good job playing a hit-man with no remorse and cold blooded as well while doing what he does best. What drives this movie is the motives of both characters, trying to guess and find out what there true intentions are for keeping each other company. It's a enjoyable movie, but didn't seem like it was crafted that well and didn't flow smoothly. Not one of the best in these type of genre but still worth checking out, there is just better films of these type out there. The ending however makes this movie unique and a worthy thriller.6.8/10