by algren on 02 Oct 2009, 04:01
The Mechanik
What is it with Dolph and Russia? Everytime the two work together, something special happens. You guys were right, this movie is awesome. It happened in Rocky IV, it happened in The Shooter and now it happened again with The Mechanik. This film is his best directorial by far.
What i liked about this movie is that it had a goal and went and accomplished it without anything getting in the way. He wanted to make a ruthless gangster action movie and thats exactly what he did. When i say ruthless, i mean it. The violence in this movie was really realistic and very watchable. From when he comes from behind that guy and stabs him then slits his throat to when shot-guns that guy at the start of the final stand off, it was all very well executed. Infact, the final killing reminded me so much of Rambo 4, the similarities are quite apparent. In both movies they had just had gun fights, both in poor countries and both end with the main villian being executed in an OTT way. It was very shocking. But very good.
The setting was cool, the down-trodden villages of Russia and the glum lifeless grey bricks of the St. Petersburg, its quite realistic. It doesn't make the viewer think anything is pretend or shot in a studio. If somebody told me that it was shot in a studio, i would call them a liar.
Lets get on to Dolph. What a magician this guy really is. He speaks with a Russian accent again, not frequently, but thats okay, because Russian are percieved to not speak much anyway. So, thats believabe. The voice was a little American at times, but the 7 year gap can be the reason for that. I can't pick fault with this movie at all, no plot holes that i can see. His appearance was top-class, i liked the tan and the hair, but not only that; he seemed very awake in this movie. Unlike some of his others, he really seemed 'on the ball' in this one. His character commanded respect and he got it. Nobody is going to mess with a guy that tall.
The bad guy was a real bastard too. Which is what we want from a bad guy. He deserved everything he got coming to him. The flashback scenes were done with style and the main plot was outlined before the opening titles had finished! Liked that alot, means there was more time for pure action. I think the choice of weapon for Dolph at the end was true, meaning that he chose to use a shot-gun, which isn't very modern, which suits the Russian character he was portraying; a nuts and bolts man, he can fix anything, beat anyone. One of those sort of guys, you know what i mean.
So, all thats left to say is the negative points: I sort of wanted the British guy to die. It would have made the vengeance at the end that much more greater. But it's not a big deal. I can easily endure movies like Direct Contact, as long as it means we will get films like The Mechanik in return, its well worth it. I will watch the other Dolph's that i have remaining on the shelf, i think they are Detention and Diamond Dogs, but i don't expect them to be anywhere near as good as what i just watched, that was a very big contender for Dolph's best movie.
Grade: 9/10