Thursday Double Feature: Blitz (2011) and The Mechanic (2011)

This double feature features two fairly recent Jason Statham flicks, adding to his resume but not a whole lot to his reputation in terms of reliably starring in superior films. This is disappointing, as I feel that Statham has a lot of potential as an action star icon, especially in consideration of his Super Bowl commercial reflecting his penchant for driving cars in a brisk manner:

Perhaps I am holding my expectations for him too high in light of the fact that most action stars have had their share of mediocre movies that surround their bigger hits. In fact, there are some action stars who haven't really even been in a good movie, like Steven Seagull or Chuck Norris (though I did very much like Side Kicks). Even Jackie Chan has been in over 100 movies and many of them would have been improved had they simply been edited to involve only the fight scenes. Not every movie can be The Transporter, but not every one need be In the Name of the King, either. Here are a couple that fall somewhere in between:

In Blitz, Code Redd Net favorite Jason Statham plays a London bobby who has a taste for brutality. "Blitz" is a man played by perennial villain Aidan Gillen (who was Lord Rathbone in Shanghai Knights and Miles Jackson opposite John Cena in 12 Rounds) who was victim of this police brutality. Although meant to be an antagonist, I found myself sympathizing with the Blitz's frustration with the impunity of the police (in one scene Statham is being reprimanded for beating up some car thieves, but claims he might go crazy if he lost his job, subtly threatening the internal affairs investigator of the police department. I don't see this as factually inaccurate, as I imagine most police officers wouldn't know what occupations they would be able to do that didn't involve harassing people, nor are police departments effective at releasing violent officers since that is typically a desirable trait among them). And so I encountered a situation which I dislike: a movie having a protagonist it clearly wants me to like and support when I feel more inclined to see the "bad guy" emerge victorious. But even here I find that I can hold no torch for either side (as neither brutal cops nor people who kill randomly are admirable) and consequently find it too like real tragic events, such as the unintended consequences of the enforcement of laws against victimless crimes. Here again I can cheer for neither side but can rest assured that the cure will be worse than the disease. My problem with the movie is not that it has something tragic, but that it responds with trite and conventional ideas. For too long we have been taught the myths that police are beyond reproach, their jobs are dangerous, and their lives are more important than ours. It is a shame that mainstream cinema simply perpetuates these ideas and does not challenge them, as the art should. Ultimately, I found no part of this film making it worth watching, but one could do much worse.

How many words are there for someone who kills for money? Assassin, gun-for-hire, cleaner, hit man...mechanic (though the latter can be confused with other vocations). Jason Statham is one, seeming reminiscent of Frank Martin, The Transporter, in terms of his professionalism and lifestyle of seclusion (minus the company of a prostitute, a term which also has many synonyms of its own). Statham finds himself training Ben Foster (whom it took me a long time to place as a bandit in 3:10 to Yuma) as his protege, and the adventure ensues.

Now, since my goal is to write a review and not a plot summary, I will get to it. Overall, I felt like The Mechanic was worth a view but lacked anything that made it stand out. Though I describe Statham's character as a professional, he doesn't demonstrate a level of proficiency like Leon The Professional. Mechanic may be an apt metaphor: Statham is good with his tools and knows how to use them whereas Leon is like an engineer of assassination.

It definitely is a story about loyalty, but not one involving moral dilemmas that someone will discuss much afterwards. This is not to say that action movies should be philosophical, but that they should have something memorable. you might know what movies to which I'm referring if I only mention a gun fight involving broken glass and bare feet or a heavily accented Australian wielding a machete. The Mechanic's most memorable quirk might be that of Ben Foster seducing a very large man, and that might be just enough to make it memorable as a movie. But, unfortunately, whatever its merits, they are not enough to carry it through in such a manner that I desire much to watch it again.