The funny thing about “The Mechanic,” starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster, is that it’s a movie with a hit man and a wanna-be hitman as the main characters. These are people who murder other people for a living, and yet we find ourselves completely on their side, rooting for their success. Every once in a while you question this, but for the most part you just sit back and root for them and enjoy the ride.
When I sat down with the two actors last week, I asked them about just this disconnect. “He’s killing bad guys, his moral compass is ‘these are bad people'” said Statham, “it allows him to erase some of the ‘dirt’ with the people he’s killing.”
Based on a 1972 film starring Charles Bronson, I asked Statham he felt a responsibility in taking on the role. “I could never be Charles Bronson, and I’m certainly not going to try.”
Ben foster was put through the ringer in this film, getting beat up repeatedly and actually repelling off a skyscraper on a single wire without any safety wires. “Some people like to bunjee jumping, but that’s not my bag… it was psychotic.”
Watch the full interview embedded above.
“The Mechanic” opens this Friday, January 28th in theaters everywhere.