Talk:The Mechanic (1972 film)

Requested move

The film deserves the title more than a redirect to a obscure Transformers character. --Apostrophe 03:49, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

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Moved. WhiteNight ^{T | @ | C} 05:40, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:TheMechanicposter.jpg

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BetacommandBot 04:39, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Existentialism?

Although I appreciated reading the section, where did this come from? It reads like someone's personal analysis. Should this section remain in the article? 199.2.126.188 (talk) 00:03, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Incorrect plot summary:

   Bishop didn't meet Steve at his dad's funeral, he met him a few weeks earlier when Bishop was at the mansion.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.192.211.182 (talk) 02:49, 19 May 2013 (UTC) 

The whole plot summary reads like someone's personal analysis. It should be rewritten, limited to a faithful chronology of events shown on the screen and words uttered in the dialog. For example, let's look at some of the problems of just the first paragraph.

Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson) is a "mechanic" — a hit man who performs his jobs cleanly, without leaving a trace of his work. He works exclusively for an international secret organization, which has very strict rules: even those members who are becoming slightly unreliable are assassinated, long before they might jeopardize their organization. It is noted that Bishop is very sophisticated, as he regularly listens to classical music, has a remarkable art collection, and is a connoisseur of fine wines. He is evidently very wealthy, as demonstrated by his lifestyle and his exceptional house, thanks to his successful career as a hit man. However, due to the dangerous nature of his profession, Bishop is forced to live in isolation - he cannot show emotions or trust people. Bishop is under constant emotional pressure, so much so that he is prescribed medication for depression, and one day he is temporarily hospitalized when he loses consciousness as a result of the stress. In an effort to cope, Bishop pays a prostitute (Jill Ireland) to write emotional and sophisticated love letters to him because he cannot risk making friends.

The notion of mechanic, or that Bishop is one, is not stated until midway through the film. It is never stated that he works exclusively for an international secret organization. It is never noted (by whom?) that Bishop is very sophisticated, or that he regularly listens to classical music (we hear it playing once while he studies a case). He does have an art collection, but how is it remarkable? He does drink wine, but never is it indicated that the wine drinks is particularly fine, and he is not noted to be a connoisseur. We do see him drinking wine several times, and we do see a wine rack in his house, and he does state something to the effect that one should take time to enjoy the taste, but those things hardly make one a connoisseur. He does live in what appears to be a large house with many decorations (does that make it exceptional?), but we do not know that he is wealthy solely due to his career. He did state that his late father was a mob boss. Maybe he inherited his father's estate, as Vincent's character inherited the estate of his late father, who also was a mob boss. Bishop does not live "in isolation." He lives alone in a house in a neighborhood in an unspecified community in what appears to be California. We do not know that he "cannot show emotions or trust people." He does display a rather cool external affect, but that's a normal trait in someone in his line of work, and it's not unusual to be distrusting in this day and age. We do not know that he is under "constant emotional pressure," or that he is prescribed medication for "depression," per se. We do, however, see one occasion of him taking pills to help him sleep, and we do see a physician, who has said (in other words) that he has post-traumatic stress disorder, hand him a prescription which he promptly throws into the trash. We do not know that Bishop visits a prostitute "in an effort to cope." Maybe it's just his thing. And we do not know that he pays Ireland's character to write love letters, plural. The scene's dialog suggests that's the first time a letter was included in their game, although Bishop does indicate his enjoyment of the letter and asks her to come up with something similar for their next appointment. And that's just the first paragraph. The entire plot summary suffers from similar problems.TSB Music (talk) 03:12, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Agree. The reviewer brings excess external baggage and minimal neutral perception. The film deserves better. Rainbow-five (talk) 19:58, 27 July 2023 (UTC)