The Mechanik (2005)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Dolph Lundgren

Writers:

Bryan Edward Hill (screenplay)
Dolph Lundgren (story)

Release Date:

2 November 2006 (United Arab Emirates)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They took his family. Now he's out for revenge.

Plot:

Nick Cherenko used to be a Spetznaz (Russian Special Forces), but now he lives peaceful with his wife and child...

Plot Keywords:

Vengeance | Revenge | Ex Soldier | Murder Of Family | Death Of Family

Cast

Dolph Lundgren	...	Nikolai Cherenko
Ben Cross	...	William Burton
Ivan Petrushinov	...	Aleksandr 'Sasha' Popov
Olivia Lee	...	Julia Abramoff
Raicho Vasilev	...	Achmed (as Raicho Vassilev)
Assen Blatechki	...	Yuri
Antony Argirov	...	Serie
Valeri Yordanov	...	Alexi
Dejan Angelov	...	Pavel
Ivaylo Geraskov	...	Leo (as Ivailo Geraskov)
Hilda van der Meulen	...	Alina Cherenko
Naum Shopov	...	Vanya Cherenko
Atanas Srebrev	...	John Ridley (as Nasko Srebrev)
Levana Finkelstein	...	Mary Abramoff
Nikolai Sotirov	...	Victor Chertoff

Also Known As:

The Russian Specialist (Canada: English title) (DVD title) (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, some sexuality and drug use.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

Russian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14A | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-15 | UK:15 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company:

Höger Human Service Medien & Personal GmbH

Trivia:

Principal photography took place during 32 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: In some scenes the registrations of the cars are Russian, in others they are Bulgarian.

Quotes:

Natalya: Men know how to kill, women how to survive.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Making of 'The Mechanik' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Do I

The Punisher goes to Russia!

Dolph's first directing effort, The Defender, was a nice little action piece. Granted, the movie was low budget, but there was enough enthusiasm and excitement to make it worthwhile.

The Russian Specialist,aka The Mechanik, as it should be called; is a distinct step UP for Dolph. His direction is incredibly assured for someone who's only directed one other movie.

I won't go into story specifics here because everybody already knows what this about. However, I will go into the production and performances.

Dolph has changed as an actor. He's matured, he's confident in his skin. That is half the battle, and he wins bigtime.

Ben Cross is the comedy relief/dramatic Brit. He's one of the film's better assets.

The rest of the performers are more than adequate. The villains in particular, are slimy and nasty. It's a good thing they're slaughtered in such a brutal fashion!!! The script for this film, while hardly original, is pretty good for low budget fare like this. It pushes all the right buttons at the right time. The dialog is also quite good.

Dolph, the director, is in very good form. His style is loose and fluid. Think Tony Scott meets John Woo and you're on the right track.

The score by Elia Cmiral is haunting when it needs to be and tense when the crap hits the fan. Which brings us to the action set pieces.

Although they're not numerous, the action scenes are well done and VIOLENT! Dolph pulls no punches with this flick. The deaths come fast, hard and furious! Overall, this little film is quite good. I eagerly await the next Dolph film. To those who have not checked out this film and The Defender, I recommend you do so.