The Transporter (2002)

Director:

Corey Yuen

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (written by) &
Robert Mark Kamen (written by)

Release Date:

11 October 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Rules are made to be broken

Plot:

This film is about a man (Statham) whose job is to deliver packages without asking any questions. Complications arise when he breaks those rules.

Plot Keywords:

France | Crop Duster | Motorboat | Face Slap | Vigilante

Cast

Jason Statham	...	Frank Martin
Qi Shu	...	Lai (as Shu Qi)
Matt Schulze	...	Wall Street
François Berléand	...	Inspector Tarconi
Ric Young	...	Mr. Kwai
Doug Rand	...	Leader
Didier Saint Melin	...	Boss
Tonio Descanvelle	...	Thug 1
Laurent Desponds	...	Thug 2
Matthieu Albertini	...	Thug 3
Vincent Nemeth	...	Pilot
Jean-Yves Bilien	...	Little Thug
Jean-Marie Paris	...	Giant Thug
Adrian Dearnell	...	Newscaster
Alfred Lot	...	Cop 1

Also Known As:

Le transporteur (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violent sequences and some sensuality.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English | French | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIA | Malaysia:18SG | Finland:K-15 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | India:A (cinema release) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A | Czech Republic:12 | France:U | Germany:16 | Ireland:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Indonesia:Dewasa

Filming Locations:

Avenue de Saissy, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

The trailer for the film showed Statham deflecting a missile with a tea tray. In the same scene in the film, the assault on Frank's house, there is no sign of this in the released version. It was taken out at Statham's request because he didn't think audiences would believe it.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Frank puts the pedals on his feet during the oil fight, they only have a strap across the top but in the close up of his right foot, you can see a strap going around the heel to keep them on his feet.

Quotes:

Darren 'Wall Street' Bettencourt: Poor Frank. What'd she tell you? That we're smuggling people in containers. You know *Lai's* a great name for her.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Robot Chicken: Due to Constraints of Time and Budget (#4.15)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Nadia

A few bumps mar an otherwise decent outing in "The Transporter"

There's no question that Luc Besson is one of Europe's biggest action producers. I mean with the cult classics "La Femme Nikita" (1991) and "The Professional" (1994) behind him, he's basically been given the green-light for every big action picture he comes across. One of his latest and most ambitious projects was "The Transporter," released in 2002.

I have to admit this is one flick I approached with a very open mind - very open. I mean, I like Jason Statham. I think he's a pretty cool guy and at first, even I questioned his casting as Frank Martin in "The Transporter." But the problem is, and I'm assuming this is the result of the quickly edited action scenes (which were toned down to make the film "PG-13"), he's not being given the room to really be the best he can be.

As the lead character, he'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 doesn'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.

It'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. There's a little more to the plot and Lai, and the circumstances surrounding her appearance in the trunk of Frank's car, and it involves some smuggling of poor Chinese immigrants from China to Europe, where much of the action takes place.

Speaking of action and there's plenty of it, Statham does display some pretty impressive moves but the frantic editing just doesn'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 he's just a British novelty to American audiences. Director Corey Yuen (whose work on Jet Li's 2001 action film "Kiss of the Dragon" I admired), is behind it and Besson's got a producer credit.

The problem may not be Statham because I think he'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 Frank'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).

But why am I making such complaints? "The Transporter" is an action movie; no plot required. Despite some bumps in the road, "The Transporter" is pure action fun from beginning to end, and I got my free ticket to see "The Transporter 2" on Friday.

7/10