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The Mechanic (2011)
23 Plays1 month ago
This week on the Everything Actioncast, Zach and Chris make things look like an accident and discuss 2011's The Mechanic, which came out 15 years ago this week, and just as a new Statham movie, Shelter, hits theaters.
A remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson film, Jason Statham stars as Arthur Bishop, a "Mechanic" who is contracted to pull off elaborate assassinations, most of which are designed to look like accidental deaths. Forced to kill his mentor, Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland), Arthur takes Harry's angry son, Steven (Ben Foster), under his wing and trains him in the art of assassination. Zach and Chris discuss differences between this version and the Bronson version, Ben Foster's belief that he can take on a massive Arena football player in hand-to-hand combat, how this feels more like a Hitman video game adaptation than the actual Hitman movies, David Leitch vs. Statham, and more.
You can watch The Mechanic on Paramount+, Philo, or MGM+. Next week, we're learning the deadly art of illusion and discussing 1986's F/X, which is turning 40.
We want to hear your comments and feedback. Send them all to contact@everythingaction.com. Also, let us know your movie suggestions for us to discuss.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction to Everything Action Cast
00:00:19
Zach Sheets
Hello and welcome to the Everything Action Cast podcast the week of January 26, 2026. I'm your host, Zach.
00:00:27
Chris Prime
I'm co-host, Chris.
Celebrating 'The Mechanic' and 'Shelter'
00:00:29
Zach Sheets
And this week we are heading back to 2011 and talking about The Mechanic, the Jason Statham classic. are one of one of his One of his better ones. Because it's celebrating his 15th anniversary this week. And also, there's a new Statham movie in theaters, if you're hearing this, Shelter.
00:00:47
Zach Sheets
which is getting actually pretty good reviews. Like people are saying it's a pretty fun, you know, modern state of the movie.
Jason Statham as the Lone Wolf
00:00:53
Chris Prime
I think he's still a bankable action star, and he does the lone wolf character really well.
00:00:56
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:01:02
Chris Prime
And the mechanic showed that, where he didn't need like an ensemble. like Especially when it's not a car-driving loner.
00:01:13
Chris Prime
But the mechanic was, what if we just remove the whole urgency of like a time frame from most of his earlier movies?
Comparing Action Movie Styles
00:01:22
Chris Prime
like earlier action movies like Transporter or Crank, where like there always felt like the there was like a time limit.
00:01:28
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:01:29
Chris Prime
But this was like, what if you saw Jason Satham plot out assassinations? And, you know, it it holds up so well.
00:01:41
Zach Sheets
Yeah, and then and based on the or remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson movie, which we we watched way back in the day as like we did like a live blog. We weren't even doing it like like commentaries at the time. we're doing We did like a live blog that doesn't exist anymore. But we watched that for the site 15 years ago. but i guess I guess probably when this movement the mechanic first came out, the Jason Statham one first came out, we must have tied it in that way.
00:02:06
Zach Sheets
But yeah, the Bronson one is crazy.
00:02:07
Chris Prime
yeah
00:02:10
Chris Prime
The Bronson one is of its time where assassination things were still done with like mostly a gun.
00:02:12
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:02:17
Chris Prime
you know like Even though it was like an accident thing. And that's like the gimmick about this this like type of story. Is that they're supposed to be clean, untraceable killings.
00:02:30
Chris Prime
that I think like of a a type of...
Assassination Styles in 'The Mechanic'
00:02:35
Chris Prime
hit, it's it's like smart. you know It's not just the, here's a briefcase full of money and like here's a rifle.
00:02:43
Chris Prime
you know like it's It's definitely the fantasy of everything of like a heist movie, but it's there's just the one thing.
00:02:50
Zach Sheets
yeah e Yeah. most of them are supposed to look like accidents. then there's like these, like Statham has like, well, Bronson and Statham, both Arthur Bishops have like, they come up with like these elaborate plans. They like stake out their targets for days or weeks and come up with like a way to make look like an accident.
00:03:09
Chris Prime
And, uh, in In a modern era of action movies, you really don't see that. A lot of the times, it's just like either the planning is happening from like a crazy person board where it's just like, all right, just follow the plan and it andve unravels.
00:03:21
Zach Sheets
a
00:03:25
Chris Prime
But this sort of like is some thought. I just wish there was a little bit more explanation in the beginning for the plans. Like, all right, this what we got to Step one, step two. Like a heist movie does that, like a modern heist movie.
00:03:37
Chris Prime
But we're finding out how the plan works by it just happening.
00:03:42
Zach Sheets
Well, they yeah, they got kicked it off like just like, yo know, and a big action sequence or like an action sequence. So, But definitely definitely much different than the original book
Opening Sequences: Original vs Remake
00:03:51
Zach Sheets
cause original one. Because the original famous for it. It's like a 16 minute long, no dialogue, very methodical opening where Bronson rigs up a guy's apartment kitchen to like blow up.
00:04:04
Zach Sheets
And then the Statham one is it like but you know much more modern, but you know showing off Statham's swimming abilities because you gotta do that. Because he was famously a diver back in the day.
00:04:17
Zach Sheets
But he's hired to take out this drug like this cartel leader. And then his plan is he's going to hide in the bottom of this guy's pool and like basically make it look like he
Dramatic Assassination Scenes
00:04:29
Zach Sheets
drowns. drowns And it's kind of crazy. like like How long does he stay on the bottom of that pool before this guy shows up? Because he's down there for like, he's just the of this pool for like like hours. Just waiting for this guy to show up.
00:04:44
Chris Prime
Yeah, and just like his back against the wall or like his front against the bottom of the pool, hoping that the light is perfect so that he can like predator attack him.
00:04:55
Zach Sheets
Yeah, he he's figured out like the perfectly camouflaged diving suit, so he blends into like the what the bottom of the pool looks like.
00:05:03
Zach Sheets
And then he put like his plan is he puts like a watch, which it's either it's either he brought a watch or he like stole a watch while he like infiltrated this guy's house and put it on the pool.
00:05:13
Zach Sheets
So then when this drug cartel leader is like swimming laps, he like sees like this watch about the pool. He's like, oh, like is that my watch? And then he goes pull it gets pulled down and Jason like then Statham like strangles him underwater.
00:05:26
Zach Sheets
then i also i love I love the fact like state that Statham makes him look like he's swimming still. Like he's like swimming under him, like doing the movements. Mm-hmm.
00:05:32
Chris Prime
Yeah, he's doing the weekend at Bernie's trick of pretending that the swimming is like the the cartel bosses doing like a a decent lap. the The funny thing is like
00:05:46
Chris Prime
Satham still had to get out that pool and he's like perfectly bone dry.
00:05:53
Zach Sheets
Well, go' see what's weird is like he gets out of the pool and then he puts on like a kitchen staff uniform, it looks like, but then he's he wears that for like one room. like He walks into a room and then he just takes it off and then puts on his like his normal clothes and it like runs out of the house.
00:06:02
Chris Prime
Oh, it's like an empty room, too.
00:06:09
Chris Prime
But, like, the security camera
Hitman Organizations and Betrayal
00:06:11
Chris Prime
later would be like, okay, well, this dude showed up and left.
00:06:18
Zach Sheets
yeah he were like he's not even Yeah, it's not even like he's trying to blend in with like the kitchen staff. like He just like happened to wear that. There's no point to it. Because no one saw him like no one's like, oh, who's this new guy in the kitchen? He's like, oh.
00:06:30
Zach Sheets
He just puts on his backpack, runs out, and he jumps off a bridge to like the perfect time because he knew this barge was coming at a certain time. And he's able to grab it to the back of the barge and like ride it down the river to escape.
00:06:44
Chris Prime
They don't really mention who who how he knows like the barge guy. It's just like, yeah that's like the four o'clock garbage pickup.
00:06:52
Zach Sheets
Yeah, i think that I don't even think he knows that Barge like driver. I think he just like knew that bar like Barge like goes down the river a certain time every day or like every whatever like week or whatever. It's a weekly trip.
00:07:03
Zach Sheets
So gotta I got to make sure i get there and like jump on the back of it.
00:07:05
Chris Prime
I mean, it did you know it's it's not they don't need a world build this scene, but it seems very Indiana Jones where it's like the start the plane jock.
00:07:15
Zach Sheets
he Yeah, it's it's just to show like how meticulously planned everything is. like He know digs everything down to the exact like second.
00:07:25
Zach Sheets
Because then when he gets home, when he gets home like you see like his board of like everything that he planned out.
00:07:31
Zach Sheets
which should His ritual is... He makes the board and they like i mean he's done the job, he takes everything off and then burns everything, and so there's no evidence.
00:07:39
Zach Sheets
But he he works for... some organization it's it's it's one of those mysterious like assassin organizations that we don't you don't really know there's no name for it they're just like it's you there's they give you jobs and then you just you know take the contracts and then spoilers but like i you know obviously like most every hitman movie like they turn on him and so you have to like go against like the organization that hires you
00:08:06
Chris Prime
It's the classic, okay, well, I'm the best, and oh, you you pissed off the best? I'm gonna come after you.
00:08:12
Zach Sheets
I mean, is is there a Hitman movie where that doesn't happen?
Hitman Tropes and Betrayal Themes
00:08:14
Zach Sheets
Like the Hitman doesn't have to go against the company that hires him? It's like it's like every every Hitman movie. It's like, oh, well, got fight the company now.
00:08:25
Chris Prime
The killer?
00:08:28
Zach Sheets
Oh, the John Woo one?
00:08:30
Chris Prime
yeah I'm not sure
00:08:30
Zach Sheets
guess, I don't mean, that do we, I mean, do we we know who like Chowdhury and Fat works for?
00:08:36
Chris Prime
No, it was like, no, they they came after him.
00:08:40
Zach Sheets
Okay, yep. So, there you go.
00:08:41
Chris Prime
It was like his friend, because then his friend was sent to kill John Woo, but then and killed his friend died.
00:08:45
Zach Sheets
a Yep.
00:08:49
Chris Prime
It's like a classic, okay, well, let's kill the hitman to tie up loose ends. Even though they didn't really need to tie up loose ends, it wasn't like attracting the police. it just They just like they didn't like Jason Statham.
00:09:03
Zach Sheets
Well, it's it's always like they make they make the guy do a... like they Like, they give him a contract, but then the contract is, like, cover up what they've been doing. and it's like, oh, well, he knows too much now. have to get rid of him because he's loose end for, like, our conspiracy or our scheme.
00:09:20
Chris Prime
If anything, it was the the spoiler for other part, but it's like this other guy who told Jason Statham too much. In this movie, they used Statham, but it worked. You know, like it the only part that messed up the plan was this other guy that they should have like, like eliminated. That wasn't the best.
00:09:41
Chris Prime
But we can add to the, we explain the third act. But yeah, it's like a standard bad guy hitman agency. You know, it's like, OK, we this guy's the best. We're going to take him out and we're gonna be surprised when he
Manipulation and Trust Issues
00:09:54
Chris Prime
like is pissed and coming after us.
00:09:56
Zach Sheets
Well, I think the the unique thing about this company is that they have, there's two guys that run it. And so, so it's, they both know the full details of the contract and they give it to like whoever their assassin is, they choose.
00:10:11
Zach Sheets
And so it's, it's Donald Sutherland and it's Tony Goldwyn. And Donald Sutherland is like Statham's mentor, Harry. Like he basically taught him everything he knows about being a hitman.
00:10:22
Zach Sheets
But then Tony Goldwyn shows up is like, hey, you got to kill Donald Sutherland because he set up this job in south South Africa and everyone died. and he was the only one that knew like but the the details. So i he leaked the plot to whoever killed these guys. So we need you to kill him.
00:10:39
Chris Prime
the thing is, like, Donald Goldwyn is just like, I'm a classic bad guy. Like, he's already that attitude. He didn't seem trustworthy already.
00:10:50
Chris Prime
And then, uh, I don't know. I feel like Donald Sutherland was like, okay, like, would I just betray you? would Like, this comes out of nowhere that the best, like, that Statham's, like, all in. He's like, yep, you betrayed the agency, the thing we're all loyal to, or whatever.
00:11:09
Zach Sheets
I saw like a folder full of pictures. I believe i believe you. I believe that like this guy... I guess i guess they have bank records, too. that like or like See, he got like a bank transfer. from like It's like like billion like a couple million dollars. and he's He's in debt. so that He's old. He's in debt. That's why he betrayed us, because he wants to get out. He needs money.
00:11:30
Chris Prime
But it was like not certified. it was just like Photoshopped everything.
00:11:34
Zach Sheets
was like a printout of a
00:11:38
Zach Sheets
like like a computer copy. Like, here you go. this is like It's like like a grainy a grainy screenshot of of a computer.
00:11:43
Chris Prime
Can I have that? No, you can't. You can't have this record.
00:11:46
Zach Sheets
Where'd you get these from? Don't worry about it.
00:11:49
Chris Prime
Yeah, it's like super unver... For a professional, he does not verify this at all.
00:11:54
Chris Prime
Even though, like, okay, we don't... At least Donald Golden was like, if we don't hire you, we'll hire someone else. And Setham should have been like, okay. This seems all fishy. Like, this doesn't seem correct.
00:12:07
Zach Sheets
And then and then and and and like actually help Donald Slaughter instead of making... His plan is to try to help Donald Slaughter get out of his building, but then it's like that was all a ruse to like get him alone in the parking garage.
00:12:19
Chris Prime
Yeah, I didn't mind that twist, but it's it was like pretty obvious that Satham was trying something.
00:12:28
Chris Prime
And I gotta tell you, for a security firm that, you know, whatever front they call it, like that building is shoddy to have this many security vulnerabilities.
00:12:37
Zach Sheets
Yeah. You do you like blow the entire electricity with like a pair of scissors.
00:12:43
Chris Prime
And then there are no cameras at key like blind spots.
00:12:47
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:12:49
Chris Prime
So that you can't tell what's going on. and And like. Donald Sutherland didn't know like his building layout.
00:12:57
Zach Sheets
Yeah, because he he's i running on Sathan to guide him, like a guy had like you know like the guy in the chair, like, turn left here, go to go to this elevator, go down, go this go to this floor. Mm-hmm.
00:13:07
Chris Prime
I feel like. If you're a paranoid killer. That uses like. clever planning as a tactic, you should probably study your escape plans in your own building.
00:13:20
Chris Prime
Not saying that's a requirement, but I feel that if you're in the business of hitman, like stealth hitman things, like know know your, know your routes.
00:13:32
Chris Prime
No, what's the,
00:13:32
Zach Sheets
or have like a was it Or have like a panic room or something. like Harry should have had like a panic room in his office. Be like, oh, they're coming get me? All right, lock myself in the panic room. Mm-hmm.
00:13:40
Chris Prime
Yeah. And then call Satham.
00:13:45
Chris Prime
But I get it. They wanted to this plot to move. Because if not, it's just like logistics of how do I create this different... like if You know, I need to create the at least the outline of the original mechanic.
00:13:58
Chris Prime
But it would have been clever if Donald Sutherland got into a safe room and then like Jason Satham was rigged
00:14:03
Zach Sheets
it was rigged It was rigged. Like, say the word, got there before, like, sorry, Harry. And he, like, pumps gas in there or something. or
00:14:10
Chris Prime
Or does like a heist to get the safe out?
00:14:13
Zach Sheets
Yeah, he rips it out of the wall that like a helicopter or something.
00:14:14
Chris Prime
Fast Five style?
00:14:17
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:14:18
Chris Prime
just Just puts a bunch of chains and drives it up with his muscle car?
00:14:23
Zach Sheets
I feel like he was, like, harry Harry was, like, pretty high up in that building. So i you probably need, like, a helicopter like, rip it out. Like Batman Forever.
00:14:31
Chris Prime
Oh, do like Halo, like or whatever the the parachute snatch.
00:14:36
Zach Sheets
No, what like when, like, Batman Forever, like, Two-Face rips the the bank vault off of the building and they're, like, stuck in it.
00:14:38
Chris Prime
Oh!
00:14:41
Chris Prime
Yeah, yeah.
00:14:42
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:14:43
Chris Prime
And then for whatever reason, he put acid in that bank thing. But, yeah, like, it was pretty clever. It's such a macho scene because, like, Donald Sutherland accepts that he's been beat.
00:14:59
Chris Prime
He gotta outsmart it, but it's like he realizes that, you know, he doesn't want to keep doing this game.
00:15:06
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:15:06
Chris Prime
Because even if he survived, I guess it's like it's just going get worse.
00:15:10
Chris Prime
So, you know, I understand like the metaphor. See, that's what I understand about the original. It kind of like shows you that, where the life of like a mechanic isn't like great.
00:15:22
Chris Prime
It's lonely. But that doesn't matter, because Statham is lives in Louisiana, and it's like he gets to hang out with this nightly cult.
00:15:31
Zach Sheets
burbert he's he goes like bourbon street just hangs out yeah
00:15:35
Chris Prime
Well, no, but that was saying about the call girl that he's just... Is it implied that's a call girl, or...?
00:15:38
Zach Sheets
is it is the call girl because it's it's such a weird because don't show him like explicitly like leaving money for her but then he also like doesn't tell her and like oh okay so then she was yeah then like she's like oh i don't know your name
00:15:48
Chris Prime
they do. No, he He leaves her, like, a stack of money.
00:15:56
Chris Prime
But the problem is that, like, they already have this working relationship, but I think he pays her. And then... Because they're not a couple.
00:16:04
Zach Sheets
No.
00:16:06
Chris Prime
So I think it's just their business transaction. But they get pretty close. And I thought it would come back, but it doesn't.
00:16:14
Zach Sheets
Yeah, that their relationship is healthier than the Bronson relationship in the original one.
00:16:19
Chris Prime
Well, in the Bronson one, that one is blatantly a call girl.
00:16:22
Zach Sheets
Yes.
00:16:23
Chris Prime
And that's the one where she's like, hey, why don't you love me? And he's just like, whoa, whoa, whoa.
00:16:30
Chris Prime
I pay for you to go away.
00:16:32
Zach Sheets
think I think Bronson paid her to like write him like love letters and stuff too. and like make Basically like fake. the A whole like fake relationship that but then he doesn't have to actually like deal with anything with it.
00:16:45
Zach Sheets
It's just like the illusion of relationship.
00:16:45
Chris Prime
Yeah. Yeah, he just wants the comfort, but not actually do anything.
Contrasting Lifestyles in Post-Katrina New Orleans
00:16:50
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:16:52
Chris Prime
But I didn't mind the like the like rough cuts between like Jace Statham's like, OK, I'll watch like this girl dance and then let's just have like New Orleans sex and like back to business.
00:17:08
Zach Sheets
ye a
00:17:12
Chris Prime
Like, it doesn't, it's not needed to show that, but they the movie was just like, let's just put some daring, like, scenes.
00:17:18
Zach Sheets
We gotta show how awesome Statham is.
00:17:21
Chris Prime
Yeah, pretty much. It's just like, what can we get away with that logically makes sense?
00:17:27
Zach Sheets
Yeah, he just goes and you know has sex with this this woman in or New Orleans and then like heads back to his like is crazy swamp mansion.
00:17:36
Chris Prime
Yeah, that's a wild like the the economic disparities. like There's like people like struggling in New Orleans in a post-Katrina area. And then then station Statham has like the coolest mansion.
00:17:52
Zach Sheets
In the middle of yeah i mean the middle like nowhere, because he has to drive a boat that to get there. and then But then yeah but then he has like then then he can drive up out from there too, I guess. Because he has he like his like his car, is like his Jaguar, and like his truck and stuff.
00:18:06
Zach Sheets
So I guess it's drivable too. you know it's It's like an island or something. But it seems seems like it takes a very long like boat ride to get there.
00:18:15
Zach Sheets
he And he's got all this, like, classical records. He's got, yeah, it's it's all... He's got his secret murder board that, like, rolls out.
00:18:24
Zach Sheets
but he But he goes to...
00:18:25
Chris Prime
Wait, wait, wait. Okay, so before we get a little more into the, like, what do you think about the use of music in this movie? Because like you think music's going to play heavy with like the vinyl collection that Statham has and stuff like that, and then the music score.
00:18:40
Chris Prime
But I just quickly looked up who this director is and what he did, and would you believe that he has a few banger music videos under his belt?
00:18:50
Zach Sheets
Oh, Simon West? Yeah.
00:18:52
Chris Prime
Yeah, Simon West directed the Never Gonna Give You Up music video.
00:18:55
Zach Sheets
me
00:18:57
Chris Prime
And it's like... If you know that and then go into the like how they use music and they're just like, anyway, here's a music video scene of like random things between like sex scenes and then like rage scenes. And and I guess like weapon like arming up scenes. And that's like the three musical like montage moments.
00:19:22
Zach Sheets
Yeah, I think Sam West is coming off When a Stranger Calls was his movie before this one, the remake. And then the year after he made Expendables 2, which I'm sure probably Statham was like, oh yeah, we gotta get this guy to make Expendables 2 for us.
00:19:37
Zach Sheets
and And obviously, I think i think Sam West is probably most famous for directing Con Air.
00:19:42
Zach Sheets
That was like his big like debut movie. but yeah your's interesting The thing about the mechanic, though, also its interesting is that it has David Leitch as second unit director, and he also shows up in the movie later on.
00:19:56
Chris Prime
Oh yeah, and he gets blown away.
00:20:00
Zach Sheets
But that was fun. That was like, oh, David Leitch is here a couple years before John Wick.
00:20:05
Chris Prime
I mean, there are elements. The action scenes are pretty good. And... The hand-to-hand fights, the one scene that they have at this bus, there are glimmers of the John Wick choreography or just like style.
00:20:20
Chris Prime
like You follow the fight there. you know It's not like...
00:20:23
Zach Sheets
Yeah, I definitely got that too. Some of the gun kata, very tactical, close-range gun stuff, you can tell, oh, this is where they're heading with John Wick. Because when Ben Foster and Jason Stanton, it's like two shots the chest, in the head, or fall to the ground, shoot a guy in the leg, shoot him in the head he's falling, stuff like that.
00:20:43
Chris Prime
Yeah, it's very tactical.
00:20:44
Zach Sheets
It's very John Wick.
00:20:45
Chris Prime
Yeah, very tactical shooting, very clean.
00:20:45
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:20:47
Chris Prime
And you get the like how professional these people are.
00:20:50
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:20:51
Chris Prime
Even though ben Foster, for whatever reason, is like. He's not good. i mean, he's getting better. he has like a week of training and then it's like, yeah, I'm i'm just as good as Stephen now.
00:21:04
Zach Sheets
Yeah, so so Ben Foster is Donald Sullivan's son, who Statham runs into at the at like
Training and Guilt Dynamics
00:21:10
Zach Sheets
Harry's grave. like He goes to visit... I dont we think i think it's like like probably post-funeral, because they're like finishing up the dirt on the grave and stuff, but he runs into him and like, hey I know your dad. And then he's like, oh i yeah, i know I know who you are for somehow.
00:21:24
Zach Sheets
You're Arthur Bishop.
00:21:27
Zach Sheets
And then they go back to Harry's house and he's like, oh yeah, the bank's going to come and foreclose everything and sell everything.
00:21:33
Zach Sheets
So then then i think, so so Statham's kind of like, oh, I think he's feeling guilty about like, oh, I got killed this kid's dad. Like, all right, I'm going to train him to be an assassin.
00:21:45
Chris Prime
Yeah, the,
00:21:45
Zach Sheets
we got i guess he decides that after, like, because Ben Foster's like, I'm going go find the guys who carjacked my dad. Because that's the cover story is that carjackers, like, killed Donald Sutherland and, like, left it they left him in dead in the street.
00:21:59
Zach Sheets
So Ben Foster's like, I'm going find the carjackers that did this and, like, kill them.
00:22:03
Zach Sheets
So then he just drives around randomly and then does get carjacked, but then beats the carjacker up. But then Statham catches him like, hey, you don't do that in public. You don't like kill someone of them but but when you have a motive to do it.
00:22:18
Chris Prime
Well, it's like a code of honor. And plus, Satan probably doesn't want another, like, death on his hand.
00:22:20
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:22:25
Zach Sheets
Well, think, I mean, yeah, because this thing is like, oh, you have a motive. Like, who are the cops going to think that, like, did the guy whose father just got killed by carjacker, killed a carjacker? Like...
00:22:35
Chris Prime
Well, they don't. He's, like, not from there.
00:22:37
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:22:38
Chris Prime
So.
00:22:41
Chris Prime
It's not like he's a known associate right there. And then the cops are going to pick him up that night. But I get it. like Ben Foster's supposed to be all about impulse.
00:22:51
Chris Prime
no No planning.
00:22:53
Zach Sheets
yeah he's like i mean he's Yeah, he's like, he's out fueled by rage. He's just constantly drinking. like He's like a mess. And then Stacey's like, yeah, this is the guy I'm to train be an assassin.
00:23:05
Zach Sheets
I guess maybe maybe he thinks like it'll give him some discipline or something. Or like he can teach him some discipline. But that does that does not happen at all.
00:23:12
Chris Prime
No. See, I thought maybe after like more time has passed and more jobs, that's where there is a little bit of like the Statham method.
00:23:25
Chris Prime
Like planning, the observation, the whatever. But like a heist movie, Statham is like always supposed to be like one step ahead, I guess. He's like, at at any
Recklessness in Assassinations
00:23:35
Chris Prime
moment, like I'll get betrayed.
00:23:38
Zach Sheets
but kind But it kind of feels like they did like one afternoon of shooting. It's like, hey, we we shot a bunch of guns. You're ready now. Yeah.
00:23:44
Chris Prime
We shot a bunch of garbage on my land. You are totally ready to beat an assassin.
00:23:49
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:23:50
Zach Sheets
Which I do like i do appreciate i state that i kind of like he sets like he sets things in motion. It's like this week-long plan of, hey, you need you need to kind of make yourself a target of this. he's He's like a he's like a a and a rival hitman, I guess.
00:24:08
Zach Sheets
Burke. Yeah.
00:24:10
Chris Prime
is, yeah, I mean, that's cool that like they are picking another agency. So it's not just like it's world building. It's not like someone within their organization.
00:24:18
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:24:20
Zach Sheets
But he like burke bur likes chihuahuas and like young boys.
00:24:23
Chris Prime
Young boys.
00:24:24
Zach Sheets
So that's kind of like Ben Foster becomes like a honeypot for him. like He shows that it goes to this coffee store every day where like Burke goes. But then in between that, they go on a different job where Statham kills like an arms dealer. which That guy did not look like an arms dealer. He looks more like a cracked out drug dealer. But I guess he's an international arms dealer.
00:24:48
Chris Prime
that Like, why is that guy an international arms dealer? He's living like, a shady apartment in
00:24:53
Zach Sheets
He basic like it lives in a crack den in like a bathrobe. And he's like, oh, yeah. Because Statham gives him a list of things. I thought, you thinking you're like oh, he's like giving a list of drugs to get. it's like but now it's like, oh, he was an arms dealer.
00:25:08
Zach Sheets
But then Statham strangles him and makes it look like he was died from auto-erotic asphyxiation.
00:25:14
Chris Prime
I mean, cool strategy. No one's going look that deep in the case, but they'll still dust for prints and say, like, okay, there's still a lot of handprints here.
00:25:23
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:25:25
Chris Prime
And so I didn't get, like, Satham didn't really do the perfect crime because it's like, now your fingerprints are on record.
00:25:32
Zach Sheets
Yeah, they don't really, say them they don't really wipe anything down. Like, he doesn't, like, wipe the belt down or, like, wipe everything down. He's just like, all right, let's get out of here. oh He's dead.
00:25:41
Chris Prime
I'm the best. No one knows. Like,
00:25:42
Zach Sheets
e
00:25:43
Zach Sheets
We're ghosts. We were never here.
00:25:43
Chris Prime
forensics exist.
00:25:45
Chris Prime
Yeah, I mean, this is not like a 90s, in the 70s version where the forensics wasn't as popular, so they didn't really write in like clue and evidence like that.
00:25:54
Zach Sheets
Cops are just picking things up with bare hands in the 70s.
00:25:54
Chris Prime
Uh...
00:25:56
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:25:56
Chris Prime
Yeah. Uh... So I don't know to move the story along. They're just like, OK, it's New Orleans. Everything's like covered in like handprints and dirtiness, because honestly, later on the movie, that's how you only explain how they get away with a few things.
00:26:09
Zach Sheets
e
00:26:14
Zach Sheets
e
00:26:17
Zach Sheets
but but when But when Ben Foster like gets it basic like like it's thrown into like his first actual... like like oh now you have to kill Burke. like It's like his first mission. And should mention, Burke is played by Jeff Chase, who is literally like an arena football player. Probably like...
00:26:37
Zach Sheets
I don't know how tall he is, but he's like a massive dude. so then Ben, like Satan's plan is like, Hey, slip him this thing, this drug, like slip him like a drug or like, like roof, like roof and all, but like overdose him and he'll die. And then we, we quick and easy.
00:26:54
Zach Sheets
But then Ben Fischer's like, Oh, I could take this guy. can, I can, I can beat this guy up.
00:27:00
Chris Prime
Yeah, I get that Ben Foster wanted to prove himself, but it wasn't like Satan was watching. It wasn't like he was going to try his own method to handle the accident.
00:27:14
Zach Sheets
Yep.
00:27:15
Chris Prime
He was literally like oh, I saw like that strangling. I'm going to try to do that. I'm going to mimic that.
00:27:20
Zach Sheets
yelped Yeah.
00:27:21
Chris Prime
And it's like there is a difference between like a cracked out arms dealer that was like not a professional. And then this monster sized man who is going from horny to like kill mode, like, you know, at a drop of a hat.
00:27:37
Zach Sheets
a guy who can rip, like like, smash the door off, like, a steel refrigerator was with a kick. Yeah. It's like, all right, yeah, good Go for Bedfoster. don't even have a gun. Mm-hmm.
00:27:49
Chris Prime
Yeah, I thought maybe like Ben Foster would would like have a backup kind of thing. Oh, I was going to more of a clever... like I thought more of this than Statham, where Statham was like, just put roofies in in like this guy's drink, and you'll win.
00:28:08
Chris Prime
Ben Foster could have done some things like, no, no, no, my plan is get him in the house, and then blow out the gas line or something. You know, like something...
00:28:15
Zach Sheets
yeah
00:28:17
Chris Prime
his His style, little more rage, but... or Or, like, violent, but he's all about rage, which, like, Satham should be like, I can't work with you. Like, you know, this is... You're gonna get caught.
00:28:32
Zach Sheets
Yeah, this is this is this is not a clean kill. This is a a giant mess.
00:28:38
Chris Prime
In fact, like, the other agencies agencies should be like, we are gonna get revenge. Like, we know it's you.
00:28:45
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:28:46
Chris Prime
You left, like, there's, like, another set of blood here that isn't just the one guy.
00:28:53
Zach Sheets
Well, Tony Goldwyn, like, like, Statham's company knows that he didn't do it. He's like, hey, use an outside contractor. Like, don't do that again.
00:29:01
Chris Prime
Yeah, like how they give him, like, a, uh, we caught you, but, okay. Anyway, we got another assignment for you.
00:29:08
Zach Sheets
You gotta go kill this, like, cult leader now.
00:29:13
Chris Prime
So, what's interesting is the portrayal didn't happen there yet. It's like they really gave him another shot.
00:29:20
Zach Sheets
mm-hmm they're like oh well he's arthur vicious the best so we we we really can't we we can't get rid of him like he's doing he's still doing good jobs for his come people for us still
00:29:31
Chris Prime
Like... Honestly, this is where the plot should have been the the nature of the wetworks is that like they approach Ben and and say like, hey, we'll offer you the money if you kill Statham.
00:29:47
Zach Sheets
i think I think in the Bronson movie, the the reveal was that like the Ben Foster character like played by J. Michael Vincent was he he was actually like an an independent contractor. yeah like He had no actual revenge plot. He just like wanted to kill Bronson. to prove be like Because like I choose my targets. I choose you this time. And he's like, oh, you come my dad? I guess it's bonus.
00:30:11
Chris Prime
Well, they didn't have like a good relationship in the original.
00:30:13
Zach Sheets
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:30:14
Chris Prime
Even here, they do hint. I mean, they they tell you that Donald Sullivan straight up says, like I hate my son. like He's like such a disappointment because like he he didn't raise him right.
00:30:21
Zach Sheets
yeah
00:30:28
Zach Sheets
He didn't go into like the military.
00:30:28
Chris Prime
Or like...
00:30:29
Zach Sheets
like Everyone in his family went to the military, but then Bedfuster didn't.
00:30:33
Chris Prime
And then when he got out, he's just like uncontrollable.
00:30:33
Zach Sheets
And he's like... a
00:30:37
Chris Prime
I'm surprised Ben Foster didn't have like a drug problem, too. Like, really upped the stakes.
00:30:43
Zach Sheets
Yeah, and especially hes he doesn't snort cocaine or something.
00:30:47
Chris Prime
But...
00:30:47
Zach Sheets
you mean yeah He mean just seems like he just like pounds, he just like jesus goes up to a burpee and just like, yeah, party!
00:30:53
Chris Prime
Well, I mean, that's just, see, that's what I'm like saying in this movie. That's just the people. He really lives like a New Orleans party person because they go to that, he goes that bar and he just like picks up some girl and that's it Like it's, it's just for like shock.
00:31:08
Zach Sheets
That girl who's like, man, I wish someone beat me up like you. yeah Like... you like
00:31:13
Chris Prime
And he's just like, okay. That, that's, that's,
00:31:14
Zach Sheets
Alright, let's go out and literally on top of garbage. Let's just bang on top of garbage.
00:31:21
Chris Prime
Here's the crazy thing. That's not a like a prostitute. mean, that was just like a normal like just a random lady.
00:31:26
Zach Sheets
Yeah. e
00:31:29
Zach Sheets
But yeah, but they are... so they Their their the target is like this... you know creepy cult leader who's like embezzling money and you know sleeping underage girls and doing all sorts of other horrible things so they have to plan and they but they have to plan their whole elaborate scheme to take him down which I do like i do like that there's like it's kind of like mini heists or mini like these like mini missions in between they make about the movie The second one, I think, does that even more. like the second the Mechanic for Resurrection is literally just like it's like four or five mini-assassin missions.
00:32:03
Chris Prime
But I think that's because it cuts out the the drama of the mentoring parts where Statham kind of chastains Ben Foster or has like a relationship with like the prostitute.
00:32:10
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:32:20
Zach Sheets
Yeah, Resurrection is is like du you're just like a straight up Statham movie. It has no illusions about being anything else. It's like oh yeah it's is just like straight up Statham going around it's like killing people.
00:32:31
Zach Sheets
It's
00:32:32
Chris Prime
It's been a while since I've seen the second one, but does he have a relationship with anyone?
00:32:36
Zach Sheets
he it's Jessica Alba and she's being held kept like captive and then the the the people holding her captive like are forcing him to go kill a bunch of people.
00:32:46
Chris Prime
I mean, that that's like the but like escalation, I guess, because now he... I don't know. If anything, this should have made him more paranoid about like helping anyone, because he's like, oh, is Jessica Alba going to betray me too?
00:33:00
Zach Sheets
a
00:33:01
Chris Prime
Should I put more explosives in all my things?
00:33:05
Chris Prime
But in this one, they really want to show that he's very calculated. And the only thing that he's got a weakness is is like when he wanted to help Ben Foster. And I believe in the original, there's a scene, or like a few lines, where
00:33:21
Chris Prime
Vince Michael Vinson, he even says, like everyone's got like a weak spot or something like You gotta expose yours.
00:33:22
Zach Sheets
Gemma convinced it. Yeah.
00:33:28
Zach Sheets
but What's yeah That's what Bronson teaches him is like, hey every person has a weakness. and when You find that weakness, you can kill them easy.
00:33:35
Chris Prime
And this one, i didn't really have that. it was just like, I don't know. Everyone's got terrible tells. where so I don't know why Satham kept the gun in the garage. I don't know why Ben Foster took the gun and wore it.
00:33:48
Zach Sheets
e even like So like like like this cult leader, they come up with this plan, they're going to inject him with adrenaline, and then make basically fake fake a heart attack, or make give him a heart attack, and then we inject him with like epinephrine to try to like get him back. They'll like they'll like work together and kill him.
00:34:06
Zach Sheets
but But they don't realize that he's like a ketamine addict. So like so they get there they're like, oh shit, he's like he's on ketamine. that counters are address so They don't know his was
00:34:20
Chris Prime
Did they just straight up strangled him then? Right?
00:34:22
Zach Sheets
Yeah, they yeah they sho they shove like there's like snake cam down his throat.
00:34:27
Chris Prime
Like, yeah, that they're not going show any forensics bruising that, like, this object went down his throat.
00:34:33
Chris Prime
But, I mean, that doesn't matter. that Because the plan goes botched, like, right like after.
Avoiding Law Enforcement in Film
00:34:39
Zach Sheets
Yeah, that's it's that whole mission is a giant mess. It's a giant shootout. Ben Foster shoots like it starts off like shooting a guy and like their entire security forces after them.
00:34:48
Chris Prime
I mean, for like a religious leader or like a scam artist, he has like top notch, like armed guards. That whole building is just like, all right, well, time to kill this intruder.
00:35:00
Chris Prime
i mean, they're not good because they get away.
00:35:03
Zach Sheets
Yeah, they they they do like we get the big summer where they jump off the roof on like rappel lines. Which I i love that Ben Foster's like freaking out and then his stone face is falling down this building.
00:35:17
Chris Prime
Yeah, that's where the analogy of like a Batman and Robin thing is happening for me. Because you see them do the repel and Statham has done this enough times where he's just like, this is like a Tuesday for him.
00:35:27
Zach Sheets
Mm-mm.
00:35:29
Chris Prime
Or Ben Foster, I'm pretty sure did not practice this. He just like, I mean, in the thing, he just like ziplined and then, or like, you know, repelled and it's just like a sh straight drop for them.
00:35:42
Zach Sheets
Yeah, they're not even, like, repelling, like, like you know, running down the building. there's like It's just, like, a straight, like, fall like a fall off the building.
00:35:48
Zach Sheets
And then, but then no one notices them, like, landing on the ground and getting, like, they just like, get on the ground and escape. Like, it's clean. like no one sees anything, apparently.
00:35:58
Chris Prime
Well, that's like the the crux of this movie. Like all the people aren't paying attention to the one calm person walking away from the obvious like thing they did.
00:36:09
Zach Sheets
Yeah, we we never see any like we never see like the like end game or like the end result of like any of these hits. like it It's always just like, oh, they got away. but Don't worry about it. like you You don't see like how Statham got rid of Downs Island's body.
00:36:24
Zach Sheets
you you you don't see like like he just like walks away from that like drug cartel leader. They're always just like walking away clean and like no one notices anything.
00:36:34
Chris Prime
Well, the Statham one, the first opening, they show that basically he did the boat trick and then he rode his way to freedom.
00:36:39
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:36:42
Chris Prime
But yeah, the downa one the Donald they do say that the plan was to like drive the car to shady part, leave the body there.
00:36:42
Zach Sheets
but but But, like...
00:36:50
Chris Prime
Hopefully like the the city will handle the body.
00:36:54
Zach Sheets
Yes. Mm-hmm.
00:36:56
Chris Prime
And just like make that neighborhood just lower the property value.
00:37:02
Chris Prime
Listen, I think that's also like New Orleans, right? So they just made New Orleans worse.
00:37:06
Zach Sheets
he
00:37:08
Chris Prime
Because Because they dropped a body off and was like, yeah, someone's going to carjack this and then it's going to get worse. like Then it's going to get more confusing and like no one's going solve this easily.
00:37:18
Zach Sheets
yeah there's There's never any... We never see any police investigating any of this stuff. is like we so It's just
00:37:25
Chris Prime
Well, I thought about that too, but I think they wanted to stay away from having Statham deal with a friendly cop or whatever, and then kind of become Transporter 2.
00:37:36
Zach Sheets
like... Yeah. The only thing we see from this like cult leader thing is a news report. Oh... oh cult leader was killed and like a massive shootout, but the suspects are like on the run. with No knows. but No one. They haven't been apprehended yet.
00:37:50
Chris Prime
And then... Even though there's probably like so much security footage and stuff. This is an era before cell phone footage was good.
00:37:59
Zach Sheets
he
00:38:00
Chris Prime
So no one was tweeting about it. No one just pulled out their phone and just like took a photo of this this dual repelling from the roof.
00:38:09
Zach Sheets
Yeah, theyre therere like every single person on the sidewalk would be like little bit filming it for TikTok or something if it just came out today.
00:38:16
Chris Prime
I mean, now we're in that age where people are are doubting footage because it's like, oh, that could be AI.
00:38:17
Zach Sheets
and Facebook.
00:38:21
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:38:22
Chris Prime
And to be honest, that those look like AI in the sense of like if you saw that real in real life.
00:38:28
Zach Sheets
But then Statham and Ben Foster, they're going to split up. They're going to take separate planes back, too. Because they're in Chicago, I think, to kill this guy. and then they need to fly back to New Orleans, so they're to take separate flights. But then, somehow,
00:38:44
Zach Sheets
and like Statham sees David Leach show up. like like there he He's at the same airport. What are the odds that he sees this guy at this airport at this time?
00:38:56
Zach Sheets
at like and like It's like a million to one.
00:39:00
Chris Prime
Well, okay, here's the thing. I thought initially that David Leach was there to kill Statham.
00:39:08
Zach Sheets
Oh, maybe, maybe he was. Yeah. Did he have a, did he have a folder like with his, like his picture in it or something or. Yeah.
00:39:13
Chris Prime
No. That guy was just coming back from, like, vacation. It wasn't like they bumped in or, like, he the other guy's also smart and does the mechanic style. Because they're both all mechanics. So...
00:39:28
Chris Prime
he should be like, oh, I wanted you to follow me here. It's like an isolated place. But it's just like a New Orleans airport bus. You know, like it it wasn't like a quiet, like anyone at any time during their interaction could have got on the bus and like put their luggage up and like sat down.
00:39:44
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:39:47
Chris Prime
And they had a public fight.
00:39:49
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:39:51
Chris Prime
But yeah, you want to get into the whole like truth part of the conspiracy?
00:39:57
Zach Sheets
Well, cause because like the the main the main picture that Tony Golden showed Statham was like a picture like David Leach like his head, like a headshot. It's like, hey, look, they're all dead. Like here's like, here's a with Sebastian or something. It's like his name.
00:40:12
Zach Sheets
David Leitch's character is like, and then, then Satan's using the airport.
00:40:13
Chris Prime
Mm-hmm.
00:40:16
Zach Sheets
He's like, Oh, Hey, Sebastian, you're not dead. then, yeah, fell he follows him on like the, like the airport bus. And then David Leitch is like, Oh yeah. they, so Tony Golden paid me to kill the the rest of the team and then set it up and make it look like Harry, uh, did, did, uh, blew the job.
00:40:35
Zach Sheets
So, cause cause Tony Golden wanted like Harry out of the, of the company.
00:40:39
Zach Sheets
Because Tony Golden is doing all kinds He's the one doing all the shady dealings and all the like the wire transfers and the millions getting funneled like different places. and so so So... they framed Harry and then hired Satham to kill Harry and then cleaned up to all loose ends.
00:41:02
Zach Sheets
Which David Leach is very forthcoming about all that stuff. He's like, oh yeah, I'll tell you everything.
00:41:08
Chris Prime
Yeah, like he is no under no obligation to reveal anything. But for whatever reason, he just tells them the whole like, ha ha, we tricked you. Like, isn't that funny?
00:41:22
Chris Prime
Like, can you believe how easy it was? Like, it is like once he kind of explains it, like it is crazy that they were able to get Jason Statham to like kill the second person in charge of the company.
00:41:35
Zach Sheets
e I guess you think they thought he could take Statham? That's why he's like, he's like, well you' you'll be dead anyway. I'll just tell you our plan.
00:41:43
Chris Prime
Yeah, maybe, but that's like when he has them, not not so much when, i don't know, like, they're just having a conversation and he hopes that he can get to his, like, handle knife in time.
00:42:00
Zach Sheets
is it Is it a handle knife or did he just rip the handle off his suitcase and like using it as a weapon? i don't I don't know if it was a special like handle weapon.
00:42:08
Chris Prime
Listen, suitcase like handles don't have like sharp edges because it pierced the roof of that bust.
00:42:13
Zach Sheets
Yeah. e He has special assassin suitcase.
00:42:15
Chris Prime
So I think that was like his panel knife. Yeah, because I don't think he just like
00:42:22
Chris Prime
bent it did or whatever, right?
00:42:24
Zach Sheets
Yeah. Yeah.
00:42:25
Chris Prime
i I understood it as that was his like secret weapon.
00:42:29
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:42:29
Chris Prime
If you pull it out the right way, it detaches and now you have like spikes. But if like At least that's the way I interpret it. I could be wrong, but I see that he was prepared. His only preparation was he had that weapon on him.
00:42:44
Chris Prime
But it didn't matter because Satham fights like a deadly Jackie Chan and just uses whatever.
00:42:49
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:42:51
Zach Sheets
But yeah, Statham kills him, kills a bunch of other guys at like the docks. And then Ben Foster got to like back to Statham's house first. And then Statham's like, hey, you're on the couch. There's a gun in the couch. i Use that to kill these guys.
00:43:07
Zach Sheets
And then Ben Foster does probably the most competent like action he's ever done like like in the movie. like He does like he hes like three guys in a couple seconds. We do like crazy John Wick moves.
00:43:19
Chris Prime
Yeah, he he definitely got like better. In the, like... He's good as a brute force, like a blunt instrument. Which totally makes sense later on, where it's like, alright, here's the plan. We will just fight our way in.
00:43:35
Zach Sheets
yes we're gonna smash him with a garbage truck
00:43:41
Zach Sheets
but yeah so they so they they the other team to team up we're it's like we're gonna kill Tony Goldwyn we're gonna take out like cause he he's trying to take us out we'll take him out first and they come up with like a like a new plan which is just yeah to smash basically smash all his like his convoy with cars and garbage trucks and buses
00:44:01
Zach Sheets
And then they yeah theyve theylo the kill kill all his guards. They flip they flipped his car over. He's like crawling out. And then they basically just like unload like entire clips of machine gun fire and swim.
00:44:14
Zach Sheets
which is kind of It's kind of an odd shot because Tony Gulloden's climbing on the car, but then they unload the machine guns in him, but that he's not out to the car but when they cut back like showing like the cut the car scene Because you they would have shown him riddled with bullets?
00:44:30
Zach Sheets
but so He like crawled back into the car or something? It's weird because...
00:44:35
Chris Prime
Uh, no.
00:44:35
Zach Sheets
I just thought
00:44:36
Chris Prime
it the Unless they planted his body.
00:44:40
Zach Sheets
it was weird because like you know it's R-rated. They didn't care about like violence in this movie. But then they don't the main bad guy riddled with bullets. Mm-hmm. riddle with bullets
00:44:50
Chris Prime
That's true. and Now that you mention it, and like we saw, like, tits. And they were just like, okay, and we can do that.
00:44:53
Zach Sheets
a
00:44:55
Chris Prime
But, hmm. We can't show, uh... We can't show, like, a body getting shot.
00:45:07
Chris Prime
I mean, it's like overkill. like They definitely wanted to send a message.
00:45:10
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:45:11
Zach Sheets
But you cut to like the aftermath and it's just like there's no body outside the car. so they they were just like it's like oh he's like in he's in there trust us he's dead.
00:45:24
Chris Prime
Maybe like they shot him so much, he'd like...
00:45:27
Zach Sheets
Blew back into the car.
00:45:28
Chris Prime
animize.
00:45:28
Zach Sheets
yeah The force of the bullet shot him back into the car. Yeah.
00:45:32
Chris Prime
Yeah. i mean, they unload a lot, so
00:45:34
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:45:36
Zach Sheets
But then after they do that, like Statham and Ben Foster heading home, they're like, oh what are we going to do now Because basically destroyed the company we work for now. So what are we going to And Ben Foster's like, hey, I kind of want to still be an assassin.
00:45:50
Zach Sheets
And then they have like, they have like the super veiled like conversation of like Ben Foster knows that Statham killed his father and Statham's like, sorry for everything.
Planning and Precision as a Hitman
00:46:02
Zach Sheets
like And then the metaphor is like, and you want you you want anything? You want to tell me anything? He's like, no, I'm good.
00:46:12
Chris Prime
Like, there is, like, tension between the two.
00:46:12
Zach Sheets
so...
00:46:15
Chris Prime
And it's like, eh, they'll just play mind games. It's such a, like, a different, like, tone compared to how Donald Sutherland talked to Jason Statham before.
00:46:30
Chris Prime
I think it could have bookended.
00:46:30
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:46:31
Chris Prime
it Where it's like, Statham could have been like, oh, I know you're going to kill me.
00:46:37
Zach Sheets
like Like, accept his fate kind of thing.
00:46:39
Chris Prime
Yeah, but then last minute, just be like psyched. This part of my master plan.
00:46:44
Zach Sheets
This is the one thing I didn't teach you. like i kept one thing for myself.
00:46:49
Chris Prime
I breathe or whatever. just
00:46:50
Zach Sheets
I
00:46:52
Chris Prime
Just something crazy. Like, what? It's
00:46:54
Zach Sheets
always carry a knife.
00:46:57
Chris Prime
like, never bring a a gun to a car fight.
00:46:59
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:47:00
Chris Prime
Or, okay, so stupid, but it would totally make sense. Satham has his own, like, door handle knife. Just like the suitcase knife.
00:47:11
Zach Sheets
he
00:47:13
Chris Prime
So it's like he counters the gun and then just like stabs Ben Foster.
00:47:19
Chris Prime
But like, again, it's just more destruction for Louisiana.
00:47:19
Zach Sheets
But yep.
00:47:23
Chris Prime
It's like what the what the the pre-plan, like like I think we mentioned it, like Statham had to bet that they would stop at a gas station and that something would happen.
00:47:23
Zach Sheets
yeah
00:47:36
Chris Prime
you know And he didn't want to prevent it. He wanted it to happen in for in order for the plan to work.
00:47:42
Zach Sheets
Yeah, he he like he knew Ben Foster was going betray him. He knew there was... He was planning to like go like blow try to blow up his truck. But also, he knew that he was going to go back to his like Satan's house and like like like steal his Jaguar and play his record. So he rigged those up. are All those up to explode.
00:48:00
Chris Prime
Well, I think the record thing was Thao's kill switch for the house. because He never plays the record, I think.
00:48:04
Zach Sheets
Yeah. He plays the record, but i think he has a specific way of like playing it that doesn't like cause like the explosion.
00:48:09
Chris Prime
Oh.
00:48:12
Chris Prime
Okay. But...
00:48:12
Zach Sheets
Or no, I think or i think he he put like he put like a like a wire on it, but I guess, before they left Tony Goldwyn. So then if you played it with the wire on it that that like caused like the explosion, it like pulled like the detonator or whatever it was doing.
00:48:27
Chris Prime
Okay. That makes sense. But the car thing had to be pre-planned.
00:48:33
Zach Sheets
Yes.
00:48:33
Chris Prime
The whole note in car thing, that was definitely like, eh, there's a good chance I'm gonna get betrayed in case I don't make it. Here's my final like revenge. My post-humorous revenge.
00:48:47
Zach Sheets
which is Which is straight from the original one.
00:48:49
Chris Prime
Yeah.
00:48:49
Zach Sheets
Where Bruston actually dies in the original one, but then gets like...
00:48:52
Chris Prime
Well, that's the thing where it's like he knew or he he didn't know when it was coming. He just knew that it was a possibility.
00:48:58
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:49:00
Chris Prime
Where in this one, Statham knew was a possibility, but was like, I still want to live.
00:49:07
Zach Sheets
I'm too cool to die.
00:49:09
Chris Prime
Pretty much. If anything, this movie should be called The Machine. There's a big part in the beginning where Donald Sutherland says, oh, the way your mind works, you're like a machine, you know, like a meticulous calculated.
00:49:22
Zach Sheets
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:49:24
Chris Prime
It's like you got to think like when you're someone who in that level of planning, you have to not think about like sympathy or like or like humanity.
00:49:35
Chris Prime
You have to think about like brutal efficiency. You know, even that means like, oh, even if you die, like you still win. so As messed up as that is, that makes more sense when you're called the machine.
00:49:48
Zach Sheets
Yeah. Well, guess the the mechanic, because when they go adopt like the chihuahua, like he's like, oh, he's like do you know what a mechanic is? And he's like, yeah, you fix things. You like take care of the like you like take care of like what needs to get taken care of.
00:50:04
Chris Prime
It's so funny because that's like any kind of blue collar job that requires repair. You know what I mean? Like, The carpenter.
00:50:15
Zach Sheets
Yeah. what's It's also crazy because Statham ants like he gets his like jobs from like Craigslist.
00:50:21
Chris Prime
Yeah, like an encrypted Craigslist that's always signed to the mechanic.
00:50:25
Zach Sheets
It says mechanic needed and then you click on and it's just like gibberish. like Are are people other people besides Statham clicking on that thing being like, this is a corrupted like ad? i don't know what this is.
00:50:34
Chris Prime
Maybe. i mean... it It's implied that basically they're hiding in plain sight, but they're using code. But after a few postings online, someone complains. It's like someone keeps posting these jobs that are broken links.
00:50:47
Zach Sheets
<unk>s It's always like mechanic needed. and I'm want a mechanic. i want I want a job. I repair cars.
00:50:54
Chris Prime
And you click it and you're just like, I have a virus on my machine, don't I?
00:50:57
Zach Sheets
Yep. or When they somehow, for somehow they're able to like decrypt it. Like there's like someone decrypting it and like, oh, what the hell is this?
00:51:05
Chris Prime
Their Norton antivirus kicks in and then just like scrambles it for them.
00:51:12
Chris Prime
But then it's just like an obituary.
00:51:15
Zach Sheets
Yeah. Yeah.
00:51:16
Chris Prime
So it's not exactly... Like... Like, exact. you know they want Oh, kill this person. That's it. It's up to them to decide how to do it.
00:51:28
Zach Sheets
yeah
00:51:28
Chris Prime
That's why it was very clever because they're like, oh, you have to kill them with like a very special method. You have to eliminate them with like your your trademark like weapon.
00:51:41
Chris Prime
That's why I think it's clever. And and like we said about that that heist movie feel where it's just improvising like what they have because the constraint is we need to get to this person and they're not like going for a jog.
00:51:55
Chris Prime
Though in the second movie, they just like get lazy with a few of them.
00:51:58
Zach Sheets
a
00:52:00
Chris Prime
It's still cool, but it's lazy in the whole, like, we need to infiltrate. We need to do this, like, observation.
00:52:08
Zach Sheets
that's That's why it kind of feels like the Hitman games. like this is like It feels more like the games than like the actual like Hitman movies because you can see 47 going in like these places and doing kind of this kind of thing.
00:52:21
Chris Prime
Yeah, i mean he's supposed to be the master of, like, walking in and really just like, okay, I know when and where, but I dont i get to choose what I can bring. And the better you make it look like an accident, the better your score.
Statham's Methodical Roles in Cinema
00:52:34
Chris Prime
And I'm surprised that, like, they they they know this. like as Like, they wanted to make, like, a movie, and they just choose not to. And the mechanic's such a perfect template.
00:52:46
Zach Sheets
yeah like The second Hitman movie, they're like, let's just make Terminator 2.
00:52:49
Chris Prime
Yeah, pretty much.
00:52:52
Zach Sheets
We're going to have a not liquid metal, but still a weird enhanced hitman.
00:52:57
Chris Prime
Enhanced person.
00:52:58
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:53:01
Chris Prime
what What did you think about, like, the like i think we talked about the the duck and roll.
00:53:07
Zach Sheets
he
00:53:08
Chris Prime
Statham's secret weapon against a fiery explosion.
00:53:13
Zach Sheets
Well, yeah, so Ben Foster, they stop the gas station, they're they're getting gas. Ben Foster, like, moves the the gas nozzle so it's, like, spraying gas everywhere. And then he, go like, walks to the side of the building, pulls out his dad's gun that he had, like, this special, like, Donald's other gun, and then shoots the car it blows up. And he's like, oh, I killed Jason Statham.
00:53:34
Zach Sheets
I win. And then he goes, stays his house, and he's like, I'm going to play his record that he told me never to play. I'm going to drive his car. I'm going to steal his Jaguar that he's been working on. But then when he turns the Jaguar on, it gets there's like a note that says, like, Bang, you're dead.
00:53:51
Chris Prime
Does it say bang you're dead or he goes you're dead?
00:53:53
Zach Sheets
i think Bang, you're dead. I think Bang, you're dead was in original one. because I remember like that was like our like that like the most hilarious way to end that movie. Was it Bronson voiceover too, I think, maybe?
00:54:04
Chris Prime
Yep, it was.
00:54:05
Zach Sheets
hear him like, it's like, Steve, if you're reading this, you're dead. Bang! Bang, you're dead.
00:54:14
Chris Prime
No, he in the original one, like, Steve, you're reading this. i didn't make I did make it out. Bang, you're dead.
00:54:20
Zach Sheets
Yep.
00:54:21
Chris Prime
Because he knew like Steve would be the one.
00:54:22
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:54:26
Zach Sheets
But yeah, Statham's just like, you're reading this, you're dead. and then Ben Foster blows up. But then you find out you come back to the gas station and like some cops are like watching the footage.
00:54:38
Zach Sheets
And then they see Statham doing a weird like action roll away from the explosion.
00:54:44
Zach Sheets
And then he had a he had another truck. and so he like They're driving a truck, and he had another truck parked somewhere like nearby that he could go to, like, drive away.
00:54:56
Chris Prime
Yeah, and it's just like... It was all part of the plan, this whole movie.
00:55:04
Chris Prime
Everything... It should have been like... At the end, he sees like... He's just writing things off a list. Of like... Like... Like, oh.
00:55:14
Chris Prime
Got my revenge. Blew up my house. ga I blew up my car.
00:55:17
Zach Sheets
e
00:55:19
Chris Prime
Kill Steve.
00:55:20
Zach Sheets
Well, I guess...
00:55:21
Chris Prime
You know i mean?
00:55:21
Chris Prime
Because I don't know if like...
00:55:23
Chris Prime
Because it's supposed to show that like he is so meticulous that even this was like a scenario he planned on his murder board.
00:55:30
Zach Sheets
e Oh, yeah, they should have cut to, like, when the house is blowing up, the murder board should have showed, like, Ben Foster on it. Mm-hmm.
00:55:38
Chris Prime
Mmm, that would have been cool. But I mean, it shouldn't be in the same house because I feel like Ben Foster discovered it like immediately.
00:55:48
Zach Sheets
But guess I guess, i guess why what why would he why would he check the murder board, though? of like Because he's like leaving. So I guess he wouldn't need to. Maybe that's, maybe Satan thought like he's not going to check the murder board. And the house blowing up is like him burning the pitchers, because that's what he always does. But now it's the whole house blows up.
00:56:05
Chris Prime
Well, it should have been a secret murder board that Ben Foster couldn't get to. And that's the one where it's like, kill Ben, foley kill Steve.
00:56:12
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
00:56:13
Zach Sheets
But yeah, it's it's a... I'd say like this is like... i don't know where I'd rank in Statham movies. It's it's to middle... I'd say like middle top of Statham's filmography.
00:56:24
Zach Sheets
This is one of his better ones.
00:56:27
Zach Sheets
It's... Mm-hmm.
00:56:27
Chris Prime
Uh, it's hard to rank per individual, but I think it's still, like, it's, it over time, it's looked upon very well.
00:56:43
Chris Prime
You know, like, I don't see it, I'm thinking, what's the other way phrases? I mean, he's got a lot of movies. I think he's got over, like, 40 movies.
00:56:51
Zach Sheets
Yes.
00:56:55
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:56:55
Chris Prime
Oh, is it?
00:56:57
Zach Sheets
I mean, yeah, it's it's quite it's quite a lot.
00:57:00
Chris Prime
Yeah, it's like 40. He's about like 40-something. Where it's like, he's at least... He's either in it as an ensemble, or he's leading it. But of the leading roles that he took since like the 2000s,
00:57:14
Chris Prime
it's it's definitely a grounded movie. you know like It's fantasy for just like how they get away with it and what's happening with the world, but...
00:57:23
Chris Prime
At least when you watch it, you understand that he plans certain things. It's it's just like just not up to coincidence. And then the movie, his planning doesn't really work, but he planned the overall, like, if that fails, then this happens, kind of you know thinking. Because it doesn't seem like he panics. like every He's very collected during the whole thing.
00:57:47
Zach Sheets
Blitz and Killer Elite came out the same year as this too.
00:57:51
Chris Prime
Let's switch one again.
00:57:52
Zach Sheets
Blitz is the one where it's like it's a super British one where he like he's like Aiden Gillen's like the serial killer is to like fight him.
00:58:05
Zach Sheets
Like, Jason Dibb is like an angry cop. He's like an angry, like, British cop. He's like, I gotta find a serial killer. he's kill He's killing the cops.
00:58:13
Chris Prime
Well, Kill Elite is also like a period piece movie, I remember.
00:58:17
Zach Sheets
yeah that won yeah that Yeah, that one was was like in the 70s. That was like kind of more even more of like a, like the original mechanic.
00:58:26
Chris Prime
Because it's like, it takes place in this in the 80s, yeah.
00:58:30
Zach Sheets
in the 80s.
00:58:32
Chris Prime
did you ever Did you know that the Kill Elite is actually a diszz mo a Disney distributed movie?
00:58:38
Chris Prime
the apparently in Australia, yeah, Disney was just like, hey, crikey, you want some Killer Elite?
00:58:39
Zach Sheets
Oh, in Australia. Yeah.
00:58:51
Zach Sheets
I think the main thing I remember about Killer Lee is like, I think like Statham and Clive Owen have like a, like, I think Statham like flips a chair, like flip flips himself in a chair and like breaks a chair and then like, like fights Clive Owen. Cause like Clive Owen, like I think he's real be the bad guy.
00:59:04
Chris Prime
But it's like given through the trailer. That's why I always assumed that he was the bad guy.
00:59:07
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
00:59:10
Chris Prime
i haven't seen that movie since like the one time I've seen I wonder if that holds up.
00:59:17
Zach Sheets
i feel I feel like of the three from 2011, feel like the mechanics probably the best one.
00:59:22
Zach Sheets
but Blitz is probably close to that. Blitz was pretty good. if But it's it's it's less action, more of like a crime thriller.
00:59:29
Chris Prime
what understood, Blitz is more like a want-to-be-a-guy-rich-y movie, but it doesn't have any style.
00:59:34
Zach Sheets
It's a Guy Ritchie movie without Guy Ritchie.
00:59:36
Chris Prime
Yeah.
00:59:40
Chris Prime
But, uh...
Podcast Future Promotions
00:59:42
Chris Prime
Yeah, I forgot, like, how pivotal the mechanic was for a few people. You know, like, this movie kind of boosted more Satham eyes on him. It showed Ben Foster being in an action movie.
00:59:54
Chris Prime
If I remember correctly, I think a year or two before this movie, Ben Foster was in 310 to Yuma.
01:00:03
Zach Sheets
Uh, maybe. Oh, yeah. hmm.
01:00:07
Chris Prime
that was like the reintroducing Ben Foster from X3 to now where Ben Foster was like slowly getting into more like gun action movies.
01:00:20
Zach Sheets
Don't forget Pandorum. That was a couple years before this.
01:00:23
Chris Prime
yeah I didn't mind Pandorum.
01:00:25
Zach Sheets
Yeah, that was like, it had a fun twist.
01:00:27
Chris Prime
I appreciate that. and I feel like Ben Foster was one of those actors that when it's like it he surprises you, he could still he acts well. like he in this i mean At least they try to make him like an angsty why some late twenty year old in this
01:00:48
Zach Sheets
Mm-hmm.
01:00:51
Chris Prime
but I don't know, like... yeah he He really shines, basically, by the third act. His first, like, I guess, like, kill is the sloppy part, but i that's supposed to be.
01:01:03
Zach Sheets
Yeah.
01:01:05
Chris Prime
But, yeah. You got anything else to say?
01:01:09
Zach Sheets
Uh, no, I mean, just if you're, uh, you want, you want, you see shelter this weekend, you want some more state them? I'd say like, yeah, check out the mechanic is, uh, you want to revisit that one? would say, I'm going to save for shelter. it's you know It's getting really good reviews.
01:01:25
Zach Sheets
We've been getting some like pretty solid, like we got the beekeeper, we got, you know, uh, uh, working man. basketball like we're but We're back on like a, like a, say the movie a year schedule.
01:01:37
Zach Sheets
i feel like, I feel like, uh, shelters like is like between beekeeper and like working man as far as like, cause I heard shelters like, is like kind of like, it gets like John Wick level insanity where he's just like killing an entire company. Yeah.
01:01:49
Zach Sheets
Because it's also the thing where like he's an assassin and his company's trying to kill him, so he has to kill them.
01:01:54
Chris Prime
Yeah.
01:01:56
Chris Prime
It's another like, oh, you activated me and I'm going to kill the people activated me.
01:02:02
Zach Sheets
I'll kill you before you kill me.
01:02:04
Chris Prime
Yeah.
01:02:05
Zach Sheets
i would say i say also, if you haven't seen the original one, the the Charles Bronson movie, go watch that too, because that that' is a crazy, weird movie.
01:02:15
Zach Sheets
like the the kind Like the hitman training in that is like drastically different. I think don't they at one point just like fly a plane? That's part of the training. It's like, we're to fly this plane.
01:02:25
Chris Prime
I think they just want to do that for fun. Like, it has nothing to do with anything.
01:02:31
Zach Sheets
or B. Yeah. I mean, it's just like, ro is like this is what I do with my free time. I fly a plane.
01:02:36
Zach Sheets
But yeah, so I think that'll do it for this week. Come back next week, we're going to be diving into the world of illusion and talk about FX, the 1986 movie, because it's celebrating its 40th anniversary.
01:02:48
Zach Sheets
The Deadly Art of Illusion. Although I think that's the second one. think the first was Master of Illusion is the subtitle, but we'll find out how you can use Hollywood special effects to you know fake fake murders and get out of escape like deadly CIA agents trying to kill you.
01:03:06
Zach Sheets
And head over to the site, we got all our usual stuff there. We got news, reviews, trailers. We got our January commentary up there. You can watch Primal Rage with us, the 1988 crazy rage virus fueled Italian American horror movie.
01:03:21
Zach Sheets
With a a crazy like 80s like TJF style sitcom song to open everything and wacky Halloween costumes, all sorts of stuff go out of that movie. So watch that with us.
01:03:32
Chris Prime
I still can't believe like it had nothing to do with the college.
01:03:38
Chris Prime
That movie's all about... The first two acts are all about like how the life on the college is like high school.
01:03:43
Zach Sheets
hey
01:03:44
Chris Prime
And then of nowhere, it's like, all right, now here comes the like horror movie element.
01:03:50
Zach Sheets
all those All those crazy experiments they do on on colleges where they just like you know experiment on monkeys and get them crazy viruses. yeah yeah Also, we have our Gamebox 2.0 for January up there. So you can check out what games you played this past month.
01:04:06
Zach Sheets
And all the all use other stuff is up there as well. Have you check all the stuff out? And yeah, so for Chris, I'm Zach, and we will see you next week.