Very disappointing...

That was an excellent one.

People are voting emotionally.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I had no idea the Jason Statham film of the same name was a remake, so I thought it was only right I see the original before, and you can definitely see this as a taste of what would come later with the same lead actor and director Michael Winner in Death Wish. Basically ageing professional hit-man and mechanic Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson) is constantly hired to kill people leaving no traces, carefully studying his victims to get away with the perfect execution, one of his latest targets is 'Big' Harry McKenna (Keenan Wynn), who was formerly a friend of his father, Arthur is planning to retire soon after this job. At the funeral of Harry, Arthur meets Harry's son Steve (Jan-Michael Vincent), the young man asks him for a ride and they get to know each other more, he sees the twenty four year old has potential to become a professional killer, and he suggests they form a partnership, of course he realises as time passes that he is highly narcissistic and ruthless. There also comes a point later where Bishop roots through Steve's belongings and finds files about himself, and when the two are hired for a job in Italy it becomes clear that someone is out to get them, they are the targets, and this turns into a car chase, but the two hit men are able to defeat and kill their would-be assassins. In the end Steve is supposedly ready to become his own professional hit-man, but he poisons Bishop's wine as revenge for him killing his father, he was not acting on someone else's orders, but the final blow comes, literally, when Steve gets in Bishop's Ford Mustang, and Bishop has a left a note with a personal message, ending with "Bang! Your dead.", and that is when the car explodes before he can get out. Also starring Jill Ireland as The Girl/Prostitute, Linda Ridgeway as Louise - Steve McKenna's Girlfriend, Frank DeKova as The Man/Syndicate Head, Lindsay H. Crosby as Policeman and Takayuki Kubota as Yamoto. Bronson is great being the often silent and often deadly killer for hire, the most entertaining parts of the film are of course the assassination sequences and the fast paced chase moments, there are the glossy bits that slow it down slightly, but the explosions and violence more than makes up for it, it is an entertaining enough action thriller. Worth watching!

This is an early '70s crime/action/thriller, so there aren't going to be an insane amount of edits and the picture is going to be more focused on fleshing out the story than giving motion sickness or temporary epilepsy. It includes some extended shots to make the viewer feel more at home than cutting right to the chase and moving from temporary place to place. There are zoom ins, interconnected shots, bell bottoms and side burns for that contemporary time stamp that it can't escape, though that doesn't take away from it being an effective character driven piece that still holds up today.The audience is introduced to the inner working of a "mechanic": someone who disposes of bad guys by making it look like an accident. Charles Bronson easily sells the part as Arthur Bishop with his rugged and tough looks, as well as a sarcastic and reserved outlook. Like he's perfectly capable of giving out harm at any time, but also has a certain amount of measurement and philosophy to what he does to make a system out of it. Bishop is a loner who doesn't show his emotions, which includes not speaking for the first fifteen minutes of the film and only first to his friend Harry (Keenan Wynn) who's having some trouble with the organization they work for. Harry knew Arthur's father well and he wants him to speak on his behalf to smooth things over, though the organization still makes their final decision by sending him a hit packet on Harry.The arrogant son named Steve (Jan-Michael Vincent) could care less of his father's passing as he was a "pusher, pimp, thief, arsonist" and precedes to be as cocky and spoiled as he was before with raging parties and no sense for responsibility. A close woman called him and said she's going to kill herself for his attention and sympathy, though instead of showing concern he arrives with Arthur to watch with morbid curiosity. This sets up the ground work and with some active pursuit on Steve's part, including doing adrenaline junky type activities together, Arthur sees that he might have it in him to do the impassive line of work he does as a mechanic and takes him under his wing as an associate and possible companion.They patiently study their target's habits and wait it out for the perfect opportunity by finding a hole in their security. They plan one way and the job goes another, leading to the organization being a little worried that Steve is on board without their permission and in turn this leaves a possibility that he might ruin what's supposed to be covert operations in the shadows, not a motocross chase during broad daylight and where witnesses can see. To smooth things over they end up in Rome, Italy to do a "cowboy job," which means their target needs to be immediately taken out at whatever the cost, accident or no accident. From what starts out as a training and character development piece with partnership in the making turns into a climactic finale with a heated shootout with car chases and explosions when the characters get pushed against a wall. If that wasn't enough a twist happens, where one of them has an ulterior motive, but like a calculated game of chess so might the other.The cinematography, music and pacing are all well timed out. More times than not the camera and music are doing more talking and sharing than the players. It gives the film a solid backdrop and a particular atmosphere with extended strings and intermittent piano to make it intriguing and put all the clandestine operations into their respective places. This has some relating factors that include skipping the court system to see deserving bad guys immediately receive justice like "Dirty Harry" ignited just a year prior. It shows someone live the high-life, make their own hours, kill with purpose, sleep with escorts without consequence, though all at a cost of not having a productive social life with some consistency and true relaxation for what's around the next corner. Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent put on interesting performances though not all of the co-stars are very notable, with some that instead perform like caricatures of their type. There is also some misplaced dry humor when most of the film is rolling with a more serious structure. This has an abrupt ending but then again it's a cold business and closes the curtains more accordingly than, say, "The Italian Job," which ended up in the air. (Also submitted on Cinema Freaks, http://docuniverse.blogspot.com)

I remember seeing this film on video with my mom who had seen it at the movies some 13 years earlier and said i should see this movie and knew i would love it. The story was a little hard to follow because i was 12 at the time so she explained to me a dumbed-down version of the storyline. After that, we watched it and i LOVED it!!!There is no question that this is the best Charles Bronson film of all time. I strongly recommend this film as you will be very pleased. Although I liked the Jason Statham remake........it just can't be compared to the original. Mind you, this was before Death Wish, not after.

Mechanic, The (1972) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Cult action picture about an aging hit-man Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson) who prefers to work alone but even he knows that nothing lasts forever so he decides to take a young kid (Jan-Michael Vincent) under his wing and teach him the trade. Things start off smoothly until some wise guys find out and they don't appreciate Bishop bringing someone in without their permission. THE MECHANIC isn't the greatest film Bronson made during the 70s but it remains a fairly interesting one and there's no question that it features some nice performances and some very good direction. I think most people will be disappointed if they go into this film expecting a flat out action picture because it pretty much stays away from the predictable standards of the genre and instead tries to tell a real story about these two men as well as their profession. The opening sequence runs over fifteen-minutes and contains some of the best drama of any action movie from this era. There's not a line of dialogue and instead we just see Bronson stalking his target, putting his plan into action and then executing it. Director Winner does a terrific job with this sequence because he not only builds up suspense but he also manages to wink at the viewer because you expect the hit to go a certain way and then we get hit with something else. I thought the relationship between Bronson and Vincent was a pretty good one as both men sell their parts well enough and the screenplay gives them a father-son relationship that really works. Bronson was born to play this type of role and he certainly doesn't disappoint. Vincent is also quite good in his role and we even get Keenan Wynn in a quick bit and Jill Ireland shows up for one scene. Even though the film goes for a lot of drama we still get some excellent action pieces. There's quite a few gun battles and a few excellent explosions. One of the highlights is a scene where a car gets pushed off the cliff, which has to be one of the greatest examples of this from any movie in history. Cars have been going off cliffs since the silent days but the execution here and how they were able to capture it on film is just terrific. Fans of Bronson's Cannon period might be shocked to see this type of action film but it certainly has a European flavor and this works well for the film.