MOVIE REVIEW
movie review :
‘Mechanic: Resurrection’
A
t the start of “Mechanic: Resurrection,” the hit
man Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) certainly isn’t
mourning his dead protégé from “The Mechanic”
(Simon West’s 2011 remake of a Charles Bronson movie). No, he’s just hanging out in a flawed digital backdrop
of Rio de Janeiro, trying to forget his blood-spattered
résumé. But for Bishop, there is no escape. When his
old archenemy, the scheming businessman Crain (Sam
Hazeldine), abducts Bishop’s new love, Gina (Jessica
Alba), Bishop is coerced into resuming his former trade.
He must deliver three “kills” for Crain, in his signature
style: making the assassinations appear to be accidents.
And Bishop is off on a travelogue to a tropical prison to
bump off an African warlord; Sydney, Australia, to nail
a human trafficker (a lavish high-rise pool is involved);
and Bulgaria to hunt an arms dealer (Tommy Lee Jones,
romping in red sunglasses, a silk robe, pajamas and slippers). In Thailand, we meet Bishop’s friend the innkeeper Mei (the former martial-arts goddess Michelle Yeoh,
squandered in an innocuous character role; surely she
could have supplied a kick or a flip somewhere here).
Events conclude with a blood bath on a yacht, complete
with the time-honored ticking explosive, and a nod to the
first Statham “Mechanic.” The German director Dennis
Gansel, making his Hollywood debut, lacks the glossy
flair of earlier Statham directors like Mr. West and Louis
Leterrier (“The Transporter”). If not for Mr. Jones, “Resurrection,” while competently edited, would be devoid of
humor, an area where Mr. Statham has shown promise
in the past. (See: the Melissa McCarthy vehicle “Spy.”)
Mostly, the movie suggests the action equivalent of
1970s European soft-core, all diffuse sun-drenched exteriors populated by attractive stars on an exotic working
vacation. The sole drawback for these performers must
be the material Ms. Yeoh coasts through her role; Mr.
Jones cavorts like a child in a sandbox; and Ms. Alba
struggles helplessly to invigorate her damsel in distress.
For an actor who, with the “Transporter” films, once imbued the action genre with a new sense of possibility
and winking sophistication, Mr. Statham is on cruise
control. His only unease appears in love scenes with
Ms. Alba, where he revisits some of the awkwardness
he displayed with Jennifer Lopez in similar sequences
in their ill-fated caper, “Parker.” Mr. Statham can give
thanks for his part in the coming eighth installment of the
turbocharged ensemble franchise “Fast and Furious,”
because his days of carrying out hits on his own may be
numbered. “Mechanic: Resurrection” is rated R (Under
17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for
obscene language and violence. Running time: 1 hour
39 minutes.
29 | BOOM