Overrated

It is a performances centric movie

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

yes i really said that, i ain't into all that cgi superhero bull, i like all out action flicks like the mechanik, a brutal revenge movie with some of the best action iv'e seen for years. Dolph lundgren is a badaass in this and made me remember how much i love him sure he was never as big a star as most of the action hero's of the 80's but as he proves here, he's the one who's ruling the genre now cus he plays one mean mofo here, the story has Dolph's wife and kid murdered by the Russian mafia, he moves to los angelos and seven years later he is asked to go back to Russia to bring back somebody's daughter back, he refuses to do it at first until he realises it is the same gangster that killed his family seven years ago, so he goes to get his bloody revenge, the mechanik is violent and dark but its great entertainment and delivers the goods, sure the story has been done many times before but the way it is made and its style just make the mechanik an action classic, Dolph lundgren also directed it and does a brilliant job crafting one of the best action/thriller's for the past ten years. Dolph lundgren is back and he's bigger and better than ever

This to me is one of the better Dolph films to come out of the 2000's. I appreciate the simplicity of it but what makes it stand above the rest id the quality in the acting. Dolph is very good as Niko the mechanic. Ben Cross as well as the other guys are very good. The climax in the film makes it for me. The fact that Dolph directed this makes me wonder why doesn't he direct all the films he stars in. The Defender was good too but I like this one better. This is not your typical wall to wall action film, but the action scenes here as well as the shootouts are very good. Nothing new with the story, but it's crafted in a way that looks as if it was new.

But shot in the new millennium. Of course Dolph Lundgren does know, what his fans want (and some did enjoy it very much as can be seen here in the comments section, so if you're a Dolph Lundgren fan, read those other reviews for your enjoyment)! Still that doesn't make a good movie though! A man on a mission one could say (the character in the movie, but maybe that describes Dolph as man too) then. And the action scenes are shot in a really good way (for a B-Action-Movie). But the continuous cliché that pops up, is just too much to bare. Especially if there is no surprise in the story that awaits you. It's very straight forward. And even if Mr. Lundgren has an academic graduation, this doesn't make him a great actor ... not at all! Like 80s action movies and Dolph Lundgren? If so, then watch it, but even if your answer is yes, it might disappoint you!

I had read some encouraging reviews but still watched this with some trepidation (you can't always tell if some reviewers have seen more than one film!). After just watching a depressing B&W French movie called '13' I was in the mood for a good old action fest. I am happy to report that Dolph didn't disappoint. I found the plot to be fairly well structured, not perfect, but it has engaging characters and the straight forward revenge plot suited the mood I was in.After the fight scenes and chases the action ends with a shootout reminiscent of the "OK Coral". This encounter is set up quite well and the final gunshot is very creative whilst giving some satisfactory closure to the viewer. The scene is very effectively shot, rather like the bad guy actually! I understand that the film is released as either "The Russian Specialist" or "The Mechanik". Incidentally the term Mechanic used to be a slang reference for a hit man; although you don't hear it much now.Make no mistake, this movie isn't Oscar worthy but I do appreciate it for what it is. I found this a better viewing experience than other DTV fodder being put out by faded 80's action stars. I look forward to his next project and in the mean time I will re visit some of his earlier work such as Man of War and Red Scorpion.