The Mechanic
CBS Films | Release Date: January 28, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
18
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
SlateDana StevensJan 28, 2011
Feels fresh and satisfying. Maybe it's the presence of Jason Statham, the British action star who has a physicality like no other actor out there right now. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJan 28, 2011
Like the original, it is a moody, atmospheric film, one boasting significantly more depth than your typical blow-'em-up. Read full review
75
New York PostLou LumenickJan 28, 2011
Short, fast and nasty, The Mechanic is considerably more fun than the rather lethargic original. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJan 27, 2011
To the extent that it's original, The Mechanic is insane, bordering on gloriously insane. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubJosh ModellJan 27, 2011
Couple that with actual acting-Statham is the most winning action hero around, and Foster brings some nuance that the script probably doesn't deserve-and it's bloody fun. Read full review
70
TimeMary PolsJan 28, 2011
Quick, capable, thoroughly bloody action film. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJan 26, 2011
The action is entertaining enough, and it's kind of fun to follow the intricate plotting and planning of the jobs. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianM. E. RussellJan 27, 2011
Improves on the original in at least one key way: Its lead characters appear to have souls. Read full review
65
MovielineStephanie ZacharekJan 26, 2011
Mostly, The Mechanic creaks and groans as it goes through the motions, and not even its lavish violence - which includes much smashing of heads and a nasty screwdriver stabbing - is particularly electrifying. Read full review
63
Washington PostJohn AndersonJan 28, 2011
Despite a certain emotional chill, what holds this Mechanic together is - no surprise - the core Carlino story. Read full review
63
USA TodayScott BowlesJan 27, 2011
Brisk, brutal and unconcerned with collateral damage, The Mechanic doesn't pave much of anything new in the assassin-for-hire genre. But when it kills, it does so with style. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 25, 2011
Adequate light entertainment for those who enjoy thrillers, but it is uneven and the underwhelming ending will disappoint those who enjoyed the delicious irony served up by its predecessor. Read full review
60
NPRMark JenkinsJan 28, 2011
The movie is crisp and contemporary enough to inaugurate another franchise for Statham. Read full review
60
Village VoiceBrian MillerJan 26, 2011
Jason Statham bares his six-pack before speaking his first line in this humorless, efficient remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson hitman movie. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid HughesJan 25, 2011
Better than "The Transporter" but not as much fun as "Crank". Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 28, 2011
The result is just good enough to pass as an action flick you watch with the forgiving gaze that comes from too many beers and too little sleep. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJan 28, 2011
Has a deliberately minimalist, retro look to it as well. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTom RussoJan 27, 2011
An intermittently arresting, mostly standard action entry that deals death noisily more than cleverly - a lot like the original. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJan 27, 2011
It'd be nice if Jason Statham and Ben Foster, The Mechanic's mentor/protege duo, could crack a smile. Once. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezJan 27, 2011
The Mechanic remains singularly uninvolving - a rote exercise in a genre with characters so familiar they barely register. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJan 26, 2011
An intriguing plot is established, a new character is brought on with a complex set of problems, and then all the groundwork disintegrates into the usual hash of preposterous action sequences. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanJan 26, 2011
As it is, The Mechanic is ham-fisted pulp, like Robert Rodriguez's "Machete" taking itself seriously. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJan 26, 2011
Like many action stars, Statham is good at cool brooding, but West's frantic style works against this. Read full review
50
ObserverUna LaMarcheJan 25, 2011
The Mechanic runs on violence, and when no one's being riddled with bullets or getting their hand shoved into a garbage disposal, it lags. That said, the "action" sequences are so frequent and bloody that they render plot nearly obsolete. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian LowryJan 25, 2011
In essence, this one is the equivalent of the "B" movies that flourished during the original's era -- and it proves middling, and occasionally muddled, on almost every level. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJan 28, 2011
The only bit of machinery that makes the film move is Jason Statham, who's provided the steely saving grace in so many modern action movies. Read full review
40
The New York TimesManohla DargisJan 27, 2011
There's some limited entertainment to be found in a movie as insistently conflicted as The Mechanic, but the accretion of sadism, humorlessness and antediluvian sexual politics is finally more exhausting than enlivening. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesJan 27, 2011
It's so played out at this point that not even the enjoyably no-nonsense Statham can pump any life into it. Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazineMark KeizerJan 26, 2011
The new film could have benefited from even a moment of genuine reflection. Being a mechanic seems like a thinking man's occupation. The Mechanic, though, barely has a thought in its head. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith UhlichJan 25, 2011
It's a pleasure to watch the granite-faced action star do his own stunts, particularly a death-defying leap from a bridge. Yet everything feels hurried. Read full review
38
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreJan 26, 2011
It's a modestly effective but jaw-droppingly violent picture. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJan 27, 2011
Mr. Statham, the specialist in English tough guys who was so affecting in "The Bank Job," has more to offer than The Mechanic has the grace to receive. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJan 26, 2011
West (Con Air) saturates his imagery in a sickly, sulphurous stew of rotten-egg yellows and oranges, making a mediocre picture downright repellent at times. Read full review
25
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJan 28, 2011
Even by the sloppy, soulless standards of hit man movies, The Mechanic is a mess. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJan 27, 2011
What's remarkable about the remake is its nastiness. Read full review
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