The Mechanic

The Mechanic, A professional hit man is planning to retire, always a difficult move for one in such a profession. A young apprentice appears to be eager to learn all the skills of the trade – but is that all he wants?

The Lonely World Of The Professional Assassin

The Mechanic, A package comes. In it there is a name and photograph of someone, along with some details about where they live and work. You might know this person, you might not. Either way you study this person’s life, where they go, what they like to do in their spare time, who they hang out with until you get a call that simply states something like, “we’d like you to proceed as planed” and then click. You’ve just been given the green light to take out your target and tale him out you will in the most efficient and cleanest way possible without getting caught because that is your job, you are “The Mechanic”. Charles Bronson plays the title character here, Arthur Bishop, and creates one of the best performances of his career. With his trademark quiet but tough demeanor and cold steel eyes, Bronson is able to bring us into the treacherous world of Mr. Bishop, a highly proficient killer working for a shadowy mafia type group who takes pride in his profession and then goes back to his beautiful mansion when the job is done.

But living in this world has its costs as Arthur does not have much in the way of friends and suffers from anxiety attacks, which only become worse after he is forced to kill one of the few friends he has, Harry McKeena (played by master character actor Keenan Wynn). Things start to look up a bit when Harry’s son, Steve (Jan-Michael Vincent in an early but very competent performance) begins hanging out with Arthur and it doesn’t take long before he takes him under his wing as his protégé. But in the world of assassins, sometimes getting close to someone can be more dangerous than the people you hunt. Even though the movie centers around a character that most would characterize as a sociopath, we come to like Arthur and can’t help but be fascinated by him as he talks to Steve about his thoughts on killing and about how different societies hold certain people up as great figures of history, despite the fact that they’re killers (Genghis Khan, Billy the Kid anyone?). The film is masterly directed by Michael Winner of “Death Wish” fame and is made more in the way of a thriller than it is an action movie. In other words, it’s not just about explosions and violence; it’s about the story and about the realities of living in an immoral world. You’ll find no redemption here, which make this one of the most realistic portrayals of a hit-man ever and all leads up to an ending you won’t see coming. If you’re fascinated by the shadowy world of hit men and assassins or if you just want a good story, “The Mechanic” is one film you won’t regret seeing. Also starring Bronson’s real life wife Jill Ireland in a small but memorable role of a prostitute.