Sunday, March 7, 2010

bad/awesome flixxx review: The Mechanic (1972)



alahoyus brollums y broskeetas. here before you lies an amazing gem of a movie. I was trying to remember when and where I first encountered this tale the other day when watching it for the first time in many years with Sadat Thorr. Today, I give you Charles Bronson and Jan Micheal Vincent in "The Mechanic". (Don't be confused by the trailer, when it was rereleased overseas, it was retitled "Killer of Killers".)



The Mechanic was the first collaboration between director Micheal Winner and good ol Chuck Bronson. They went on to create the classic vigilante series "Death Wish". This flick however was a bit more stylish, albeit a bit typical in the "hired killer" genre. I personally dig this one better than Death Wish and its sequels. Bronson plays Arthur Bishop, a hired killer who is starting to feel over the hill after he suffers an anxiety attack that makes him faint at an aquarium after some little kids are clanging pipes against a railing. Bishop's father got him into the business, and when he is forced to put a hit against his father's old business partner, he inadvertently strikes up a friendship with the hit's son (Jan Micheal Vincent). Vincent is curious about Bishop and tags along with him, chiding him and trying to figure out what Bishop's "action" is. Bishop brings him along for a couple days until he trusts him and then eventually lets him in on the secret, thinking he could use some help after his accident. But his bosses don't dig it, and then the flick gets good. Let's see, we have some elaborate kills with meticulous planning, a badass motorcycle chase, a speed boat chase, airplane loopdy loop tricks, an Italian mountain car chase, lots of falling off cliffs, scuba diving, shotguns, pistols, sniper rifles, automatic weapons, tons of explosions, kung fu, teenage suicide, and tons more. I can't recommend this enough. Definitely a fun flick if you dig bounty hunter movies. more coming soon!

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