--the original film, The Mechanic, follows a hitman (played by Charles Bronson) as he mentors a young protege who seeks an education in the art of contract killing. The 1972 film is great, starting things off with a miraculously compelling 19 minutes of film featuring no dialogue whatsoever. Directed by Michael Winner, who seemed to only work with Charles Bronson, The Mechanic really only has one shortcoming, the leaden Jan-Michael Vincent.
Now, Sylvester Stallone had wanted to do this remake for years, but I have to say that I'm just as excited to see what the director of what is inarguably the most important movie of the 1990s (Con Air, of course) will do with this project. With Simon West at the helm and the immensely likable Jason Statham as its star, the only potential hitch would have been in the casting of Jan-Michael Vincent's role. Ben Foster? Sign me up. In addition to seeming legitimately insane, Ben Foster has strung together a list of stand-out supporting turns in 3:10 to Yuma, 30 Days of Night, Hostage, Six Feet Under, and X-Men: The Last Stand (an altogether abysmal movie). One could easily presume that he was great in both Pandorum and The Messenger, but I've not seen either film yet.
Regardless, The (new) Mechanic looks intriguing enough for me. Moreover, it makes me want to go back and watch the original. Until its release, there is one vital question that the movie-going public will be losing sleep over: Will there be a handball scene in this one?
At least Airwolf is nowhere to be seen...
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