THE MECHANIC (R for profanity, some sexual content, nudity, plenty of strong brutal violence): If you've seen just one typical crime-action flick, you've already seen this one with minor variations. Jason Statham (squinty-eyed, tightly pressed lips, broad shouldered, moving as lithely as a tiger & quick-action shooting to make John Wayne look like a wimp) breezes through his role as Arthur Bishop, a "mechanic" - elite, well-paid professional assassin - who kills his latest boss, takes the boss's son under his wing and teaches him the ropes. After a few assignments together (always with music-backed tension, endless shoot-em-ups, explosions, car crashes - you know) the kid discovers the big secret as to who killed his father, with a cop-out ending that any amateur film-goer could figure out long before it occurs.
Performances are better than most of the crime-action ilk, though Charles Bronson was good in the 1972 version. This one is louder, faster-paced, and rife with dead bodies, shattered glass, near-death leaps, and bad guys dying with a "F-you" growl, so that it's just a flashy up-to-date 100-minutes of baby-sitting for indiscriminate crime lovers. (Grade: C+)