- IMDb page: The Mechanik (2005)
- Rate: 5.5/10 total 2,476 votes
- Genre: Action | Drama | Thriller
- Release Date: 2 November 2006 (United Arab Emirates)
- Runtime: 94 min
- Filming Location: Bulgaria
- Budget: $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Director: Dolph Lundgren
- Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Ben Cross, Ivan Petrushinov | See full cast and crew
- Original Music By: Elia Cmiral
- Soundtrack: Cut Me
- Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
- Plot Keyword: Mechanic | Drug Lord | Escape | Blood | Rescue
Known Trivia
- When Dolph Lundgren approached Nu Image films with the wish of directing a second movie, Nu Image agreed, as long as two rules were followed: Lundgren must play the leading man, and the movie must incorporate locations under ownership of Nu image. This second rule meant Lundgren had to write the entire script based fully on the locations given to him by Nu image.
- Director of photography Ross W. Clarkson received two awards in Australia for "The Mechanik": Gold for feature film at the 2006 Queensland A.C.S (Australian Cinematographers Society) Awards, and an Award of Distinction at the National A.C.S. Awards.
- Principal photography took place during 32 days.
- In the beginning of the movie, the bad guys pull into the village. The license plate says LOH (In Cyrillic). Loosely translated, it means a**hole in Russian.
Goofs: Continuity: In some scenes the registrations of the cars are Russian, in others they are Bulgarian.
Plot: Spetnaz (Special Ops) veteran Nick Cherenko leaves Russia after his son and wife are killed in a gunfight... See more » | »
Story: Spetnaz (Special Ops) veteran Nick Cherenko leaves Russia after his son and wife are killed in a gunfight by drug lord Aleksandr 'Sasha' Popov's mob men. He's threatened with exposure as illegal car mechanic in L.A. by a fellow ex-pat tycoon who offers him $500,000 to liberate her kidnapped daughter. He only takes the job when told the capturers are Sasha's goons again. The mission's long path to find the girl and escape over the Finnish border, where his team is to be paid, is littered with blood and corpses. Written byKGF Vissers
Produced By:
- Dolph Lundgren known as Nikolai Cherenko
- Ben Cross known as William Burton
- Ivan Petrushinov known as Aleksandr 'Sasha' Popov
- Olivia Lee known as Julia Abramoff
- Raicho Vasilev known as Achmed (as Raicho Vassilev)
- Assen Blatechki known as Yuri
- Antony Argirov known as Serie
- Valeri Yordanov known as Alexi
- Dejan Angelov known as Pavel
- Ivaylo Geraskov known as Leo (as Ivailo Geraskov)
- Hilda van der Meulen known as Alina Cherenko
- Naum Shopov known as Vanya Cherenko
- Atanas Srebrev known as John Ridley (as Nasko Srebrev)
- Levana Finkelstein known as Mary Abramoff
- Nikolai Sotirov known as Victor Chertoff
- Emil Markov known as Misha
- Marianne Stanicheva known as Alla
- Teodor Yordanov known as Vladimir
- Alexander Tsitkilov known as Pushkin
- Anastasia Panayotova known as Hooker
- Barry Evans known as Barry
- Rushi Vidinliev known as Taxi Driver
- Maria Ilieva known as Natalya
- Nickolay Hadjiminev known as Garage Boss
- Nikolay Georgiev known as Thug
- Yoanna Boukovska known as Counter Girl
- Stefan Ivanov known as Doorman (Guard) 1
- Chavdar Simeonov known as Doorman (Guard) 2
- Veneta Harizanova known as Cocaine Girlfriend
- Slavi Slavov known as Nevski
- Kiril Efremov known as Man 1
- Stefan Shterev known as Man 2
- Valentin Burski known as German Man 1
- Velizar Binev known as The German
- Diyan Machev known as Dimitri
- Andrey Slabakov known as Gypsy Father
- Asen Mutafchiev known as Luda (Child)
- Victor Boichev known as Doctor
- Monika Ivanova known as Masha (Child)
- Nikoleta Stoicheva known as Luva (Child)
- Stanimir Stamatov known as Thug #4
Production Companies:
- Nu Image / Millennium Films
- Nu Image Films (as Nu Image) (presents)
- Höger Human Service Medien & Personal GmbH (for)
- Martien Holdings A.V.V.
- Hollywood Intermediate digital intermediate services
- Pictorvision aerial camera system
- Nu Image / Millennium Films (2005) (Non-USA) (all media)
- Nu Image Films (2005) (worldwide) (all media)
- Eagle Films (2006) (United Arab Emirates) (theatrical) (Middle East)
- Big Time Entertainment (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
- Bridge Entertainment Group (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
- DNC Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD)
- Divisa Home Video (2012) (Spain) (DVD)
- Filmax Home Video (2006) (Spain) (video)
- Flashstar Home Vídeo (2006) (Brazil) (video)
- GAGA (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
- Gaumont/Columbia TriStar Home Video (GCTHV) (2006) (France) (DVD)
- Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (video)
- Magic Box (2007) (Czech Republic) (DVD)
- Martien Holdings A.V.V.
- Ninth Dimension Home Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
- Odeon (2005) (Greece) (video)
- Opening Distribution (2006) (France) (DVD)
- Pyramid Home Video (2005) (Russia) (video)
- Roadshow Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
- Scanbox Entertainment (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
Special Effects:
- Worldwide FX
Visual Effects by:
MPAA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, some sexuality and drug use
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database
Action superstar Dolph Lundgren directs and stars in this explosive andfast-paced action-thriller as a retired Special Forces soldier on amission of revenge.
ReplyDeleteThe Russian Specialist is terrific and surprisingly intense, it makesyou wonder, how did Dolph managed to make such a low budget movie looklike a high class movie with a big budget.
Dolph makes the violence in this movie realistic, you will hear bonescrack, necks snap and bullets fly causing damage to whatever it hits.Dolph as a great vision as a director and captures the scenes very wellin the movie. The locations are very well chosen for the movie and thescenery is breathtaking, especially the overhead shoots throughout themovie.
The cast for this movie is the best i have ever seen in a low budgetmovie, everyone plays out their role nicely done, Ben Cross does anamazing job with his character and Dolph does a great performance as avery well believable Russian character. This movies belongs on theA-list of movies and deserved a chance in a theatrical release.
Dolph's first directing effort, The Defender, was a nice little actionpiece. Granted, the movie was low budget, but there was enoughenthusiasm and excitement to make it worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteThe Russian Specialist,aka The Mechanik, as it should be called; is adistinct step UP for Dolph. His direction is incredibly assured forsomeone who's only directed one other movie.
I won't go into story specifics here because everybody already knowswhat this about. However, I will go into the production andperformances.
Dolph has changed as an actor. He's matured, he's confident in hisskin. That is half the battle, and he wins bigtime.
Ben Cross is the comedy relief/dramatic Brit. He's one of the film'sbetter assets.
The rest of the performers are more than adequate. The villains inparticular, are slimy and nasty. It's a good thing they're slaughteredin such a brutal fashion!!! The script for this film, while hardlyoriginal, is pretty good for low budget fare like this. It pushes allthe right buttons at the right time. The dialog is also quite good.
Dolph, the director, is in very good form. His style is loose andfluid. 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 whenthe crap hits the fan. Which brings us to the action set pieces.
Although they're not numerous, the action scenes are well done andVIOLENT! Dolph pulls no punches with this flick. The deaths come fast,hard and furious! Overall, this little film is quite good. I eagerlyawait the next Dolph film. To those who have not checked out this filmand The Defender, I recommend you do so.
Dolph Lundgren stars as Nick Cherinko, a former Russian super soldier(I think it is the same character in Red Scorpion!) who this time useshis special skills for vengeance when his family is wiped out byRussian mobsters however this is just the first fifteen minutes asLundgren wastes literally no time in delivering payback and it is whenhe finds out that the mobster lived that it becomes apparent that hemust return back to Russia and even the score. Rescuing a girl in theprocess is just secondary to satisfying his blood thirsty rage. I mustadmit that I enjoy a certain style of actioner, mainly the type inwhich the action is big, brutal and solid. Of course I was mildlysurprised by Lundgren's last movie The Defender due to it's good actionand solid story however I generally don't rent straight to video moviesbecause I got burned way too many times, however when this came on TV Isaw it and was VERY impressed with it. The Russian Specialist is athrow back to the Charles Bronson days when the heroes dispensedruthless justice and walked away with an ending that was happy foreveryone but them. Certainly there are some minor flaws and the mainone being that Lundgren has softened his accent so much he no longercan pull off that great of a Russian accent. Also Ben Cross (Best knownfrom Chariots Of Fire) is somewhat out of place in this movie but i'dbe lying if I didn't enjoy this brutal throwback to the classic revengeactioner. So this one is worthy of a rental. In fact I may go ontoAmazon and see if I can find a cheap DVD of this to add in mycollection. (The last Lundgren movie I bought on DVD was Bridge OfDragons)
ReplyDelete* * * out of 4-(Good)
My review gonna be long . [ spoiler] Nick Cherenko is an ancientspetnatz . He lives in a small village with his wife and his son . Butone day , a local "godfather" come in the town . A massarce begin . Hiswife and his son are killed . Nick want a vengeance . He (thinks ) hehas killed the godfather . [] 7 years later , Nick lives illegally inLos Angeles , as a Mechanik . A woman want him to come back in Russiato bring her daughter back . Nick refuse first , but change his mindwhen he discover that the girl has been kidnapped by the "godather".Second film as director , first masterpiece , after a very good firstmovie .
ReplyDeleteEven if "The Mechanik" is an action movie, it has its drama side . Thismovie mixes different genre . Drama , action , thriller ....
As in "the defender " , violent scenes are really violent . Peoplebleeds violently , and action scenes are really strong . Actors give areal great interpretation . Ben Cross is absolutely incredible . Whenhis favorite hooker is killed , he give us a great drama scene . Dolphis a great director . The photography is really great , the directionis as good . This movie is very good . Very 70's style . One hour and ahalf of pure entertaining dramatic action .
Some directors should learn from him . I hope ( and I'm sure) he willgive us other masterpieces like this one .
Dolph has really done it. The Mechanik is an action movie at it best.It has everything an action flick needs. A good guy, a bad guy,shooting, close combat, blood and broken bones and a huge death countat the (happy) end. The story is very simple. Nikolai Cherenko(Lundgren) is a former spetznas (Russian special forces) who, after hisfamily was killed by a mafia boss, went to the US to work as amechanic. After 7 years a lady comes to him and wants to hire him tosave here daughter which was kidnapped by the same gangster. Nickfinally takes the job but of course it is not about the money but allabout vengeance. He gets a backup team and… from here on the story andthe end is quite predictable. But it is not the story that makes thismovie a must see. It is the details, and mostly it is what the movieleaves out. You won't find long dialogs about morale and ethics,heroism in terms of "leave me behind I'm just slowing you down!" andthen the obligatory "never I'd rather die!". There are also no long manon man fights. What do you do if a black belt attacks you? Well if itwould bee any other movie, such a situation would develop into a 1 hourbare hands fight. But not here. Take your gun and shoot him. It is thatsimple. A very similar situation, the bad guy falls to the ground andloses his gun. Wait till he gets up? Continue the fight withoutweapons? Bah! You are standing, he is on the ground, you've got a gun,he hasn't. Shoot him! Not very honorable, but very fast and effective.After all he is there to get the girl not to win a karate tournament.At the end, The Mechanik is not your typical action flick. The hero isnot as heroic as you would perhaps like to have him. He is not doingall this because it is the right thing, but because he wants to seeblood. The Mechanik is a great action movie, just like in the good oldtimes when action didn't try to bee anything else, but simply action.It is simple, violent, direct and pure as the best Russian vodka! Amust see!
ReplyDeleteI just viewed "The Mechanik/Russian Specialist". It was a better moviethan I expected. The basic plot has been done multiple times and I rateit favorably with other comparable movies. The action was good thoughin some instances a bit over the top. I would have liked to have seenmore character development from the character Nick and the youngkidnapped lady. Nick's character was too one dimensional. There weremissed opportunities to develop these characters, (especially when theystayed overnight with the family in the countryside. (by the way,Bulgaria seems like it is a beautiful country). I think that the actorsthat portrayed that family did a superb job. The only real problem Ihad was during the Early scenes in the movie. The lighting was poor. Icould barely see the actors. Overall, I was pleased with this movie.
ReplyDeleteI've never been much of a Lundgren fan, with my preferred viewing beingNorris and Seagal, with also Van Damme too. But to my surprise, duringa DTV rampage of these guys (The Hard Corps, Shadow Man and also theCutter too) Dolph's film the Mechanik was by a long, long, way the bestof the bunch. I've fallen by the wayside a little in recent years, andhaven't kept up to much with the action boys, but when your in themood, your in the mood. Anyway The Mechanik was fantastic. It's asimple storyline, and a simply delivered film, but it promisessomething, and delivers. The result is a violent, dirty and damn funaction movie. It's a great little regression to 70's and 80's actionfilms. I also understand it was shot on a fraciton of the budgets ofChuck's, Stevens and Jean Claudes, movies and still manages to look themost expensive too.
ReplyDeleteLundgren too gives a solid performance and looks in great shape. Infact dare I say it the other guys like either old, tired or overweight(all three in Seagal's case). Lundgren looks fresh and in great shape.Ben Cross was really good. That guy should have been a bigger star, areally good actor if anyone's seen his earlier work.
On the negative side, the girl in the movie seems little more than apointless inclusion to aid the bloodshed, and the bad guy is a littletoo "hey look at me I'm the bad guy!" After all though, it's expectedfrom this sort of film so it's not a big problem. I also wasn't toosure what was with all the dissolves either, but on the most part thisfilm is directed with assurance and a great sense of pace, and ofcourse directed by Dolph himself! This film really acts as a showcasefor Dolph Lundgren. It's the Dolph show, and it's a good show. Itbrought back fond memories of cool Peckinpah movies. Good work Dolph!
The Mechanik is a solid bare-bones action movie. If amazing specialeffects and an all-star cast are required to enjoy a movie, lookelsewhere.
ReplyDeleteNick Cherenko (Lundgren) previously of the Russian special forces, hashis family brutally killed by Russian Mobsters. Now he is offered areward to recover the daughter of a millionaire, forced intoprostitution by the same men. The plot is a no-brainer, its a simplerevenge story which has been done a thousand times. While the actingvaries, the locations give a real presence in the film. Wide sovietcountryside and wartorn villages help thicken the atmosphere.
Action is paced, with some nicely executed shootouts. The violence isdepicted as gritty - bricks chip and windows shatter as mercenariesfall. Deaths come with an abundance of blood and gore.
Overall, an entertaining flick with nice camera work and solid action.One of the better Dolph movies.
I saw this film for rent and although it's not the sort of film I'dusually go for, being a Dolph Lundgren movie, I was intrigued by thecool looking front cover. I read up some reviews, courtesy of IMDb, theonly ones I could find. It did seem a popular movie.
ReplyDeleteAnyways I hired it and I must say the IMDb rating doesn't do this filmjustice. It is really a surprise because it has some great littlemoments in it. Also it packs a punch in the more violent scenes anddoesn't hold back, and I mean I was really wincing in some moments.
It didn't occur to me until the film opened and credited Lundgrenhimself as director. He did a fantastic job and his portrayal ofviolence really hits home like my favorite director Mr Paul Verhoeven.Lundgren I know is someone critics always mock, like Schwarzenegger,but Lundgren really shows talent as a director. I will have to watchhis other film the Defender. In regards to the acting, Lundgren alsodid a good job. Ben Cross is a good actor too and he does well in thisfilm.
This is overall a quality piece, well worth watching.