image courtesy of IMDB
Rating:
7
Year of release: 2002
Company: 20th Century Fox, Europa
Genre: action
Running time: 92 min.
Director: Corey Yuen
Script: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Action director: Philippe Guegan, Guo Jian Yong
Producers: Luc Besson, Steve Chasman
Cinematography: Pierre Morel
Editor: Nicolas Trembasiewicz
Music: Stanley Clarke
Stars: Jason Statham, Hsu Chi, Matt Schulze, Francois Bereland, Ric Young
Rated PG-13 for violence and language
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The Transporter
Jason Statham. Image courtesy of IMDB.
With the decline of the action movie mainstays like Stallone and Seagal, there has been a series of attempts to create new stars in the genre. Some of these attempts have worked (Vin Diesel in xXx) and some have frankly been laughable (Heath Ledger? Give me a break.) but the casting of Jason Statham into this movie was a canny move. While it's too early to call him the next "big action hero", Statham does stand above many of the MTV rejects stinking up so-called "action" movies these days.
The Transporter puts Statham into the role of a man simply known as Frank, an ex-special forces guy who now makes his living transporting packages of various illegal materials. Why exactly Frank left the military is never stated, but we really don't need to know that. More importantly, the screenwriters thankfully realized that also, and so we are spared a bunch of sappy flashback sequences, which are usually the cinematic equivalent of a crutch used to hold up a weak plot or pad thin running times.Anyway, during one of his jobs, Frank violates one of his rules and opens the package, which turns out to be Hsu Chi. From here on in, the plot is pretty simple. Frank's former employers now want him dead, and he must stay alive long enough to figure out exactly what's going on and how Hsu fits into the equation. There are, of course, a few twists thrown in and a bit of romance as well, but thankfully the film-makers keep the extraneous bits to a minimum and concentrate on the action.
Hsu Chi and Jason Statham. Image courtesy of IMDB.
Speaking of action, The Transporter definitely delivers the goods, even with a PG-13 rating. It starts off with a great car chase and rarely lets up from there. Jason Statham looks like a badass during the numerous fights, with the highlight being an Once Upon a Time in China 3-inspired oil-covered brawl that is one of the more exciting action set pieces to hit US screens this year.
My only real complaint with the action sequences is that the editing (like most recent action flicks) is a bit too fast. It's not as nausea-inducing as some other movies, but I would have liked some longer and wider shots to appreciate the action more. Also, there are a few parts which just screamed out for a good bit of the old ultra-violence or at least a bit more "punch". Overall though, as one might expect from a Corey Yuen film, the action in The Transporter is handled very well for the most part.
On the other side of the coin, if you're expecting some Oscar-winning acting or a deep plot, you'd better look elsewhere. Not that everything besides the action sequences are bad. Jason Statham does a good job with his role. I will admit that he is kind of a one-note actor, usually playing a tough guy, but Statham was born to play this kind of role, and it shows. He is your stereotypical "big action guy" from the 80's and 90's infused with a bit of a harder edge and ass-whooping attitude. It was a joy seeing someone that obviously relished this kind of role, unlike a lot of actors who think these kinds of movies are "below" them, or ones that try just a bit too hard to be tough and come off looking like a wussy in the process.
Jason Statham gets ready for the oil fight. Image courtesy of IMDB.
Staham's co-star, Hsu Chi, an actress better known for showing her naked body rather than acting talent, is surprisingly good in her English-language debut -- even if her screeching in the early parts of the movie gave me bad Young and Dangerous 5 flashbacks. Though her English isn't the greatest (she switches back to Mandarin for some of the scenes), she does a good job with the role (thankfully leaving the action bits to people that can handle them better), and she does look better here than in many of her Hong Kong movies.
Sadly, though, the rest of the cast is just kind of there. The main villain (Matt Schulze) was particularly dull and never really seemed to pose any threat to Statham. You always need a good villain to go up against your hero, and some weak Mafia/Euro-trash hybrid named "Wall Street" just doesn't cut the mustard when you have Jason Statham kicking ass and taking names. Ric Young does a decent job of creating a sleazy villain, but even together with Schulze, they still aren't half as good as your average Bond bad guy.
All this aside, you're mostly not going to be watching The Transporter to be "inspired" or some such crap. You're gonna be watching it to see people get beat up and some cool action sequences, and the movie does its' job in providing them and moving further into establishing Jason Statham as a major player in the US action genre. Overall, The Transporter is a fairly brainless flick, but is one worth your time if you're an action junkie.
