Mechanic, The (2011)

Rated: R for strong brutal violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity.
Length: 93 minutes
Grade: DFDD=D
Rotten Tomatoes: 53% favorable, 5.6/10 average
Budget: $40 million
Box Office: $60 million (29 U.S., 22 Intl., 9 DVD)

Written by: Richard Wenk (16 Blocks, Just the Ticket, and Vamp) and Lewis John Carlino (Obscure movies from the 70s including the original 1972 version of this movie)
Directed by: Simon West (TV’s The Cape and Human Target, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The General’s Daughter, and Con Air)
Starring: Jason Statham and Ben Foster
With: Tony Goldwyn and Donald Sutherland

Summary:
An assassin who specializes in killing people in such a way that it looks like an accident is tasked with killing his longtime friend and mentor, afterwards befriending and training his wayward son in his craft.

Comments:
I don’t think I’ve seen the original Bronson movie, but it’s daring for anyone to remake a Bronson film…daring and usually dumb. In this case, the problem is that all the opportunities to develop character and plot just get dropped by the wayside amidst bland acting and a mishmash of action sequences. It was almost the anti-movie to The American, which was also horrible for exactly the opposite reason, all character development and no action whatsoever. There’s more than enough sex and violence to justify the R rating, but just not enough of anything to make this worthy of more detailed comments.

Overall Grade: D
If you’ve seen any hitman movie, you’ve pretty much seen this one. And even the sometimes brilliant Statham or the legendary Sutherland can’t save this from itself.