Well, here we go again. Another remake because that seems to be Hollywood’s favorite thing to do lately. “The Mechanic” has been over ten years in the works and almost 40 years later, writers Richard Wenk and company, bring the 1975 Charles Bronson original up to 2011 speed.

This time around Arthur Bishop is played by Jason Statham (“Crank”), who is an elite assassin or hit-man, called a ‘mechanic’ that takes his job to perfection and of course is the best around. In addition to him, Director Simon West (“Lara Croft Tomb Raider” and “Con Air”) brings on American actor Ben Foster (“Pandorium”, “The Messenger”) and 75 year old veteran actor Donald Sutherland (“The Italian Job”, “Reign Over Me”).

When Bishop (originally played by where is he now, Jan-Michael Vincent) kills his mentor and close friend, Steve McKenna’s (Foster) father, Harry (Sutherland) due to professional necessity, he goes on a self-imposed assignment. He wants those responsible for the set up, dead. Bishop becomes an instant lethal weapon to ‘fix’ the problem.

He befriends Harry’s son, Steve and forms a relationship with him by making him his apprentice although he has always acted alone. He takes the young student deep into his world and the blood bath trail begins.

We never see Steve formally trained in this film but it does not take him long to be an elite killer leaving his ultimate mark and with deceptions ready to surface.

Steve doesn’t know that Bishop killed his father and Bishop isn’t voluntering any info on the the matter. Statham does what he does best. He is always in character and all business all the time. He stalks his prey and when it comes down to Wenk’s best invention, cult leader Vaughn (John McConnell), he ‘fixes’ the problem very sophisticatedly, as if he was a stealth bomber.

The action is a good fix and does not let down in that catagory. It just lacks substance and all we are offered here is another same-ol, same-ol Statham action flick. But dudes like action flicks and when you combine Statham, parachutes and semi-automatic weapons along with lots of cool explosions, you have a script that you would only expect Statham to be a part of.

The film very well could have been a comedy but fortunately, Went steared away from that and focused on action and killings. Here’s an interesting artifact: Jason Statham was born when the original was made.

“The Mechanic” opened in theaters January 28, 2011 and when it first hit theaters in 1975, it shot Charles Bronson to immortality stardom.

It is rated R for strong brutal violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity. It runs 92 minutes, and thank you though Hollywood, for keeping 3-D away from this already punishing action flick.

By Hustlin Bob Higgins -- 3 stars