The Transporter (2002)

The Transporter: Directed by Louis Leterrier, Corey Yuen. With Jason Statham, Shu Qi, François Berléand, Matt Schulze. Frank Martin, who “transports” packages for unknown clients, is asked to move a package that soon begins moving, and complications arise.

“Thereu0026#39;s no question that Luc Besson is one of Europeu0026#39;s biggest action producers. I mean with the cult classics u0026quot;La Femme Nikitau0026quot; (1991) and u0026quot;The Professionalu0026quot; (1994) behind him, heu0026#39;s basically been given the green-light for every big action picture he comes across. One of his latest and most ambitious projects was u0026quot;The Transporter,u0026quot; released in 2002.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI have to admit this is one flick I approached with a very open mind – very open. I mean, I like Jason Statham. I think heu0026#39;s a pretty cool guy and at first, even I questioned his casting as Frank Martin in u0026quot;The Transporter.u0026quot; But the problem is, and Iu0026#39;m assuming this is the result of the quickly edited action scenes (which were toned down to make the film u0026quot;PG-13u0026quot;), heu0026#39;s not being given the room to really be the best he can be.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs the lead character, heu0026#39;s a transporter. He can get you, your associates or your property anywhere, anytime, on time, no questions asked. But you know what? Common sense tells us that it was curiosity that killed the cat, and the cat in this picture thankfully doesnu0026#39;t die some horrible death but instead, curiosity yields him a break – a beautiful woman named Lai (Shu Qi) – bound and gagged, and in the trunk of his BMW.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s not spoiling much that she and Frank get together and as a result, are forced to do battle with shady and vicious American businessman Wall Street (Matt Schulze) and his army of high-kicking, disposable assassins. Thereu0026#39;s a little more to the plot and Lai, and the circumstances surrounding her appearance in the trunk of Franku0026#39;s car, and it involves some smuggling of poor Chinese immigrants from China to Europe, where much of the action takes place.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSpeaking of action and thereu0026#39;s plenty of it, Statham does display some pretty impressive moves but the frantic editing just doesnu0026#39;t do him justice. He obviously worked out for this part and there are frequent moments when his ripped torso is on display. He also (barely) manages to shy away any possible accusations that heu0026#39;s just a British novelty to American audiences. Director Corey Yuen (whose work on Jet Liu0026#39;s 2001 action film u0026quot;Kiss of the Dragonu0026quot; I admired), is behind it and Bessonu0026#39;s got a producer credit.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe problem may not be Statham because I think heu0026#39;s a really cool actor with a raspy British accent, but the script is worth some deeper examination by more thoughtful minds. There are plenty of holes and unanswered questions (i.e., the extent of Franku0026#39;s military training and experiences, Lai and how she wound up with Frank and her quarrelsome relationship with her father who is played by Ric Young, and the plot with the Chinese smuggling).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut why am I making such complaints? u0026quot;The Transporteru0026quot; is an action movie; no plot required. Despite some bumps in the road, u0026quot;The Transporteru0026quot; is pure action fun from beginning to end, and I got my free ticket to see u0026quot;The Transporter 2u0026quot; on Friday.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e7/10”