The Mechanic

A contract killer runs his work like precise engineering: every death has to look like an accident. The son of a man he has killed comes to him as an apprentice. The film spends its first twenty minutes almost without dialogue, showing the method in detail. The narrative hints from the start that passing on the craft is also preparing your own end, and holds that as tension until the last moment. Michael Winner directed, with Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent. Who it's for: those who like the hard action films of the seventies and heroes who say little. Who it's not for: viewers looking for depth of character; the film keeps its coldness deliberately.