★ ½
Jason Statham reprises his role as indestructible hitman Arthur Bishop in this ridiculous and unnecessary sequel to the 2011 actioner. The retired assassin reluctantly returns to the death business when his new girlfriend Gina (Jessica Alba) is kidnapped by Crain (Sam Hazeldine), a childhood nemesis turned international arms dealer, who demands that Bishop carry out three high-profile hits for him or he’ll kill the bikini-clad beauty. In addition, the murders must look like accidents (although we’re never told why) and they must be carried out in a relatively short period of time, even though they span three continents.
The first target is an African warlord (Femi Elufowojo Jr.) who is ensconced in a Malaysian island prison; the second is a human-trafficking baddie (John Cenatiempo) isolated in a Sydney penthouse; and the third is an American arms dealer (Tommy Lee Jones) hunkered down in a Bulgarian fortress. Each kill, of course, is carried out with smooth efficiency by Bishop, and the ingenious ways he goes about his nasty trade are the most interesting aspects of this otherwise formulaic flick.
German director Dennis Gansel has referred to Bishop as a “dirty James Bond” in interviews, and he tries hard to make Mechanic: Resurrection look and feel like a Bond film, from its elaborately staged opening action sequence atop a cable car in Rio de Janeiro to its gorgeous globetrotting locales to Alba as the sexy “Bond” girl in need of rescuing. Unfortunately, the filmmakers are incapable of sustaining any suspense or injecting the story with any degree of believability. The whole enterprise feels more like a violent video game come to life than a carefully plotted, well-executed movie.
The buff Statham delivers the routine hubbub with cool flair, and Alba proves she can still rock a barely-there bikini, but they aren’t enough to overcome the simpleminded script, uninspired direction, and haphazard editing. Even the late appearance of the Oscar-winning Jones, dressed like a trashy Hugh Hefner in a gold robe, blue-striped silk pajamas, and orange-tinted granny glasses, can’t salvage the silly endeavor. He’s slumming but at least he looks like he’s having fun. Which is more than can be said of anyone who buys a ticket to this yawn-inducing bit of B-movie mayhem.