There are very few surprises watching a Jason Statham; after all, it’s unlikely that he’ll be seen in either a rom-com or musical any time soon. Having said that, although the idea of the British hard man bursting into song is an intriguing one, he’s carved out a niche for himself, with the sharpest of knives, as one tough cookie.

The Mechanic then is yet another entry into Statham’s growing kick-ass oeuvre.

Hit men don’t have a bad life if Arthur Bishop’s (Statham) career is anything to go by. Sure he may take on a risk or two when it comes to taking out his mark, but the rewards are quite impressive; Bishop lives in a swanky house that looks like it could easily feature on the cover of Living Etc. As well as that he owns a stereo that plays black plastic discs with a needle. All he appears to listen to is classical music, which either means he’s a connoisseur of orchestral movements, or he got them free with the stereo.

When he’s not swanning around his luxurious home, Bishop is hired to kill folk. One of his biggest clients is Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland); he’s worked for McKenna for years and they’ve developed quite a relationship.

When a hit is taken out on McKenna over some business in South Africa that went bad, Bishop feels sorry for his grieving son Steve (Ben Foster) and takes him under his hit-man wing. He shows him the ropes, guns, knives etc and helps turn him into the kind of assassin his father would probably be proud of.

The only thing that could possibly spoil this budding bromance is if Steve was to learn that it was actually Bishop who murdered his father. But really, what are the chances of that happening?...

Ah, another successful day at the office.

There are three things that raise this killer thriller slightly above the rest:

1/ Despite the fact that Statham looks as if he’s had the one expression [tough guy] permanently tattooed on his face for the duration of his career this far, he always manages to look every bit the action man.

2/ The casting of Ben Foster. Foster doesn’t look like your typical tough guy, but due to his fine ability to act, he kind of pulls it off, even if he does so in a slightly effeminate way. The fact that he isn’t the first person you would expect for this kind of role is pretty damn impressive.

3/ Its director. Fellow Brit Simon West has had a patchy directing career to date, having had to resort to mediocre TV shows and made-for-TV flicks after such big screen hits such as Con Air and the first Tomb Raider film. His work on this film however proves that he’s still got a decent eye for action, and giving the film an overall slick look.

It may not be very original, it’s a remake of 1972 Michael Winner film starring his muse Charles Bronson after all, but it certainly solidifies Statham’s position as one of the toughest dudes currently on the Hollywood block.

Unlike his recent role in Blitz, this is the kind of thing Statham does well. If you’re looking for a film to get an enjoyable action fix on a Saturday night, then job done with this one.