5 Best Movies Like Jason Statham's The Mechanic

Jason Statham might be the last of the old school action stars, a fist-first hero whose gung-ho persona and sheer star power are enough to get butts in seats. You know exactly what you're in for when you go to see a Jason Statham flick, and it's almost always worth the price of admission. One of his most popular films, 2011's "The Mechanic," remains an action classic for its slick set pieces and neo-noir story centered on a contract killer named Arthur Bishop who specializes in making his hits look like accidents.

Things get complicated for Bishop when his shadowy employer asks him to take out Harry McKenna (Donald Sutherland), a fellow killer and Bishop's mentor who taught him everything he knows. He begrudgingly agrees, and in the aftermath, must deal with the fallout, as McKenna's son Steve (Ben Foster) wants Bishop to train him to follow in his father's footsteps. Before long, the pair becomes a set of deadly partners in the dark business of contract killing.

A jaw-dropping action thriller, "The Mechanic" is a remake of a 1972 film of the same name starring Charles Bronson, which fans should definitely check out. It also received a sequel, 2016's "The Mechanic: Resurrection," which is also recommended if you haven't seen it already. If your thirst for movies like "The Mechanic" remains unquenched after that, then you're in luck, because we've assembled a lineup of five of the best films like "The Mechanic" that will leave your jaw on the floor.

When it comes to movies that will appeal to fans of "The Mechanic," there's really only one place to start: Luc Besson's 1994 masterpiece "Léon: The Professional." Like "The Mechanic," it centers on a professional killer who is as cool as they come, an elite assassin with ice in his veins who performs his missions with an uncompromising brutality. If you haven't seen it already, add it to your watch-list immediately — it's truly one of the greatest assassin films ever made.

The title character is played by Jean Reno, who gives Jason Statham a run for his money when it comes to cool, detached killers. Like Arthur Bishop, he suddenly finds himself with an unexpected partner. In this case, it's a 12-year-old girl named Mathilda, played by a young Natalie Portman in what would be her breakout role. Mathilda lives down the hall from Léon, who keeps to himself while performing hits for the mob by night. But when her family is killed at the hands of corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman), she attaches herself to Léon, hoping to learn the tricks of the killing trade in her quest to get revenge.

A truly genre-defining action movie, the likes of which few had ever seen in the early '90s, "Léon: The Professional" is a nail-biting story with an emotional heart. But above all, it's the impeccable performances from its star cast that will have you gripping the edge of your seat, with the result being a film that influenced every assassin movie that followed. It marked the start of a remarkable career for Natalie Portman, who has been on a transformative journey since debuting in "Léon: The Professional."

The next best movie like "The Mechanic" to watch after "Léon: The Professional" has to be "John Wick." It might be one of the most popular movies in the subgenre of films about contract killers, though no list of hitmen movies would be complete without it. Over a decade has passed since it landed in cineplexes, but this stylish action thriller hits just as hard today as it did back in 2014.

The titular character (Keanu Reeves) used to be a professional assassin, part of a network of deadly killers who live by a strict code, much like Arthur Bishop. But Wick has long since retired, and now seems lost after the death of his beloved wife. When a Russian gangster breaks into his home and kills the dog his wife left him, he finds a new purpose: exacting brutal revenge on those responsible. His return to the world of killing opens up a can of worms as he quickly realizes that he can never leave the life of a cold-blooded assassin behind for good.

While its premise may seem trite in a world littered with bad, clichéd action movies, "John Wick" changed action movies forever, upending the entire genre with a slick production that elevates it above almost every other similar film. Wick is a hero who isn't invincible — he feels every punch, and every fight wears him down — and the breakneck pace of those fights never lets up. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for?

Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise is probably best known for playing Ethan Hunt, a highly skilled intelligence operative in the "Mission: Impossible" movies. But while those are awe-inspiring action movies that come highly recommended, they're not the best Cruise movies for fans of "The Mechanic." In that regard, may we introduce you to what might be the "Top Gun" star's most under-the-radar film: "Collateral," directed with fervor by "Heat" helmer Michael Mann.

"Collateral," unlike most of the movies on this list, doesn't center most of its action on the shadowy assassin. Instead, the central figure is unsuspecting cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx), who, on one quiet evening, picks up a mysterious passenger named Vincent (Cruise). The enigmatic rider offers Max an enormous sum of money to become his personal chauffeur around Los Angeles for the evening, but Max quickly realizes that the deal isn't what it seems: Vincent is a professional assassin, and Max has just agreed to be his driver.

Throughout the fateful evening, Max's situation goes from precarious to deadly as Vincent's latest mission proves more dangerous than expected, and suddenly Max finds himself a party to cold-blooded murder. It's a different kind of assassin movie, one with a unique angle that sets it apart from your run-of-the-mill action flick. And if that wasn't enough to appeal to fans of "The Mechanic," Jason Statham also has a small role in the film, a cameo that makes "Collateral" part of a shared movie universe you never knew about (Statham's character from "The Transporter" pops up in a brief but pivotal scene).

If you were to take the action of "The Mechanic" and swap Arthur Bishop for a deadly woman, the result would look a lot like "La Femme Nikita." A 1990 classic that modern audiences may be less familiar with, it's the brainchild of Luc Besson, the French filmmaker behind "Leon: The Professional." Written and directed by Besson, "La Femme Nikita" was actually the blueprint for "Leon," a story about a young, troubled woman who is trained to become an elite assassin.

When we meet the young Nikita (Anne Parillaud), she's a petty criminal living on the streets and hardly seems like the person you'd expect to be a tough-as-nails killer. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she's sent to prison for murdering a police officer during a drug-fueled armed robbery. Then, one morning, she wakes up to find herself in the custody of shadowy government agents. Her death has been faked, and they will train her to become an elite assassin. On her first mission in Paris, however, she develops a romantic relationship that could threaten her new life.

Like "The Mechanic," you'll find plenty of inventive action and torturous drama in "La Femme Nikita." But unlike "The Mechanic," the film didn't get a theatrical sequel; instead, it spawned a franchise on television. There was a successful American series starring Peta Wilson (one of several underrated '90s TV shows you probably forgot existed), and a 2010 reboot with Maggie Q. There was also an Americanized remake on the big screen: 1993's "Point of No Return," starring Bridget Fonda. It's nowhere near as good as the original, which is a must-see movie for fans of "The Mechanic."

We would urge you to put aside its punny title and disregard the fact that it's a notorious box office flop, because "Lucky Number Slevin" is arguably one of the most underrated assassin flicks of the 2000s. It stars Josh Hartnett, who chose the film over playing Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins," an iconic role that Hartnett now regrets passing on. Nevertheless, he probably doesn't have qualms about the film itself, which is a somewhat more light-hearted version of movies like "The Mechanic."

Mixing neo-noir vibes with breakneck action, "Lucky Number Slevin" puts Hartnett into the role of Slevin Kelevra, an otherwise ordinary man who, through a case of mistaken identity, gets kidnapped by the mob and forced to carry out the assassination of the son of their greatest enemy, a man known only as the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley). But the Rabbi also pays Slevin a visit, and he also makes him a sinister offer. Now, due to circumstances totally out of his control, Slevin finds himself caught in between rival mobsters, all while a mysterious man named Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis) observes from the sidelines.

Though critics didn't love the film, it's the performances of the cast — which also includes Morgan Freeman and Lucy Liu — that make the film a must-see for fans of "The Mechanic." Splitting from professional viewers, audiences have long considered "Lucky Number Slevin" a hidden gem in the genre for its quick wit and dazzling dialogue, not to mention its white-knuckle action sequences.